"Call AEP Texas about your bill" is the wrong instruction.
Most Texas energy guides treat AEP Texas as if it were a vertically-integrated utility that generates power, sells it and bills you. It is not. Texas split that model up in 2002.
Today AEP Texas is a TDU, also written TDSP. Its job is the physical delivery of electricity: high-voltage transmission lines, neighborhood poles, the transformer on your street, the meter on your wall, and the crews that restore power after a storm. AEP Texas does not produce a single watt; it does not sell you a single kWh.
The company that bills you, sets the price per kWh and answers billing questions is your Retail Electric Provider (REP). TXU, Reliant, Gexa, Direct Energy, Ambit and about 70 others compete for your contract in the AEP Texas service area. If your bill looks wrong, you call your REP. Calling AEP Texas about a billing dispute will get you politely redirected and waste an hour.
The one moment AEP Texas is the right phone call: when the lights are out, when a power line is down, or when you smell something burning. That is their job. That is the only number on the fridge you actually need.
How an AEP Texas TDU charge is built.
Every TDU charge AEP Texas passes through to your REP is made of three pieces. Your REP shows them combined on your bill, but they are set by three different processes.
Per kWh, you use it you pay it
Delivery rate
Roughly 4 to 4.5¢/kWh, charged on every kilowatt-hour you consume. Pays for the local distribution lines, transformers, substations and meter reading.
Flat fee, every month
Customer charge
A fixed monthly fee of roughly $5 to $10 for residential service, paid whether you used 0 kWh or 5,000 kWh. Pays for the meter, the connection to your home and basic account administration.
Updates each spring
Transmission rider
Roughly 1¢/kWh, refreshed annually through the TCRF filing. Covers AEP's share of the statewide ERCOT transmission backbone.
All three pieces are bundled into a single "TDU delivery charge" line on the bill your REP sends you. None of them change when you switch REPs.
Which lines come from AEP, which come from your REP.
Your bill arrives from your REP. But about half of it is just a pass-through of AEP Texas charges. This table tells you which is which.
| Line on your bill | What it really is | Set by | Shoppable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy charge (¢/kWh) | The electricity itself | Your REP's contract | Yes |
| Base / monthly REP fee | Supplier admin / minimums | Your REP's contract | Yes |
| TDU delivery charge (¢/kWh) | AEP local wires & meter reading | PUCT rate case | No |
| TDU customer charge ($/mo) | AEP fixed connection fee | PUCT rate case | No |
| Transmission cost recovery | AEP share of ERCOT backbone | PUCT / ERCOT | No |
| PUCT assessment | Regulator funding | Texas legislature | No |
| Sales tax (state and local) | Government revenue | State / city | No |
The blue rows are AEP Texas pass-throughs. The green rows are the only ones a different REP can change.
About 40% of an AEP Texas bill is locked.
On a typical residential bill in the AEP Texas service area, roughly 40% of the total is AEP Texas TDU charges, plus PUCT assessments and sales tax that no REP can negotiate away.
The remaining ~60% is the energy charge from your REP. That is the only part a "switch and save" promotion can reduce.
This is the math behind why a "20% off" offer from a new REP can feel underwhelming: 20% off 60% of the bill is about 12% off the total. Still real money, but never the headline number.
at ~14.92¢/kWh Texas average, all-in
How AEP Texas's rates actually get set.
Two parallel processes set what AEP can charge you. One happens every few years; the other happens every spring.
Rate case filing
Every few years, AEP Texas files a full rate case at the PUCT with a proposed customer charge and per-kWh delivery rate, backed by audited capital and operating costs.
PUCT hearings + intervenors
The Office of Public Utility Counsel, large industrial customer groups, cities and ratepayer advocates intervene. Each side files testimony. PUCT staff make a recommendation.
Settlement or contested order
Most cases settle: AEP agrees to a number lower than its initial ask but higher than the intervenors'. If no settlement, the PUCT issues a contested order. Either way, the resulting tariff is binding.
PUCT effective date
The new tariff takes effect on a date the PUCT specifies (usually 30 to 60 days after the order). REPs update their billing systems and start passing the new TDU charges through.
Annual rider updates
Between rate cases, AEP files annual DCRF and TCRF riders to recover new transmission and distribution capex. These small adjustments quietly nudge your TDU charge up or down each spring.
Your REP has no influence on any of this. They simply pass the PUCT-approved AEP Texas tariff through to you, exactly as the order requires.
5 mistakes AEP Texas customers make.
Each of these patterns either costs money or wastes hours. All five are avoidable.
Outage map and storm preparation.
AEP Texas operates a public outage map updated every 15 minutes. You can search by ZIP code or county to see affected customers and estimated restoration time. During hurricanes (RGV and Coastal Bend are in the Atlantic basin path) the map can run minutes behind reality; the phone line stays the fastest report.
Before storm season: sign up for outage alerts at aeptexas.com/account/alerts, save 1-866-223-8508 to your phone, and confirm your service address is correct in your account so a crew is dispatched to the right pole.
What to do, and who to call.
Report a power outage
Call AEP Texas at 1-866-223-8508 (24/7) or report at aeptexas.com/outages/report.
Start service at a new address
Pick a REP first. The REP triggers the move-in order through AEP Texas. Compare Texas REPs.
Stop service when you move out
Tell your REP your move-out date. They send the disconnect order to AEP. Do not call AEP directly to stop service.
Pay your bill
You pay your REP, not AEP. AEP does not collect money from residential customers; your REP handles all billing and payment.
Find or switch your REP
Use the official PUCT comparison tool at powertochoose.org, or browse our Texas REP directory.
Apply for bill help
Texas uses the CEAP program (Texas's LIHEAP) via TDHCA. Apply through a local community action agency.
Common questions about AEP Texas.
No. AEP Texas is your TDU: it owns the wires, the poles and the meter that deliver electricity to your home. The company that actually sells you electricity and bills you is your REP (TXU, Reliant, Gexa, Direct Energy or one of about 70 others). AEP Texas does not generate or sell electricity to retail customers.
Your REP bundles AEP Texas's PUCT-approved TDU charges into the bill it sends you. The delivery, customer charge and transmission lines you see are pass-throughs: your REP collects them and remits them to AEP. They appear on every Texas bill regardless of which REP you choose. You cannot avoid them by switching REPs.
Call AEP Texas at 1-866-223-8508 (24/7). Only the TDU can dispatch a line crew. Do not call your REP for an outage: they have no crews and no ability to restore power. If you see a downed line, call 911 first and stay at least 35 feet away.
Call your REP. Their phone number is on every bill. AEP Texas does not handle retail billing disputes. If your REP refuses to resolve a legitimate dispute, the PUCT runs a customer protection program at puc.texas.gov where you can file a formal complaint.
No. Inside the AEP Texas Central zone (Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, Eagle Pass and the rest of the Coastal Bend and Rio Grande Valley) the TDU tariff is the same. AEP Texas North (San Angelo, Abilene, Vernon, Alpine) has its own separate tariff schedule, slightly different from Central, because the two former utilities were merged into one company in 2016 but kept their separate rate structures.
Texas runs its version of the federal LIHEAP program as CEAP, administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Apply through your local community action agency. Find yours at tdhca.texas.gov/ceap. You can also dial 2-1-1 for utility assistance referrals statewide.
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