"Call CenterPoint to turn on the power" is wrong for Houston.
Most national moving guides recycle the same instruction : call your utility a week before move-in. In Houston that line skips the entire Texas competitive market. CenterPoint Energy is a TDU, the regulated wires company, not your retail provider. It cannot sell you electricity, and its call center will redirect you to the Power to Choose website without taking your order.
The right Houston workflow is the opposite. You shop and sign up with a REP first. The REP then submits a move-in service order through ERCOT MarkeTrak, the centralized switching system the PUCT requires every REP to use. CenterPoint receives that order at the meter level (identified by your ESI ID) and physically activates service.
You only call CenterPoint directly in two situations : when you cannot find the ESI ID for the address, or when the lights are out. For pricing, contracts, deposit waivers and move-in dates, the conversation is always with the REP.
How a Houston move-in actually works.
Three discrete steps on the customer side. Everything else happens between the REP, ERCOT and CenterPoint in the background.
Step 1 - Identify the meter
Find the ESI ID
A 17-digit number that identifies the physical meter at your new address. Enter the street address at powertochoose.org, or call CenterPoint at 713-207-2222. Without it, the REP cannot submit a clean move-in order.
Step 2 - Pick a REP
Compare on Power to Choose
Over 70 Texas REPs compete in Houston. Filter by 1,000 kWh usage on powertochoose.org, read each plan's EFL, then sign up on the REP's own site. A 12-month fixed plan is the standard first contract.
Step 3 - REP enrolls you
REP coordinates with CenterPoint
You give the REP your ESI ID, ID, lease and desired move-in date. The REP submits a move-in transaction to ERCOT, CenterPoint receives it, and the meter is enabled, usually 1 business day if already physically connected, up to 5 business days if a truck must visit.
Notice what is missing : there is no separate call to CenterPoint to "turn on the power". The REP makes that call for you, in machine-to-machine form, through ERCOT.
Every move-in step, decoded.
A clean map of who does what, where it happens and how long each step takes for a typical Houston household.
| Step | Who does it | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find the ESI ID | You | Power to Choose or CenterPoint 713-207-2222 | 5-15 minutes |
| Compare plans | You | powertochoose.org, filtered to your ZIP | 15-30 minutes |
| Enroll with the REP | You (online or phone) | REP's own website | 10-20 minutes |
| Move-in order to ERCOT | REP (back-office) | ERCOT MarkeTrak system | Same business day |
| CenterPoint activates meter | CenterPoint (TDU) | Remotely if connected, truck if not | 1-5 business days |
| Enroll Power Alert Service | You | centerpointenergy.com (use your ESI ID) | 5 minutes |
| First REP bill | REP | By mail, email or app | ~30 days after activation |
Standard, no-friction case. Add 1-3 business days if you need a credit-deposit waiver, prepaid plan setup or a same-day expedited order.
~70% of Houston move-ins land on the wrong plan first.
Industry surveys of Texas movers consistently show that the majority of new Houston households pick a plan based on the headline rate, not the all-in price at their expected usage. The result is a contract that looks cheap on the Power to Choose grid and turns expensive at 1,000 kWh once the TDU charges, base fees and bill-credit cliffs are applied.
The fix is one extra click. On Power to Choose, sort by "Price per kWh at 1,000 kWh" rather than the default "Lowest price". That column already includes the CenterPoint delivery rate of roughly 5.79¢/kWh and the customer charge of $4.39/month, so two plans displayed at the same number really are the same price for the same household.
A second common error is signing up the day of the move. CenterPoint's typical activation is 1 business day for a connected meter and up to 5 business days if a truck must roll. Expedited same-day orders are available from most REPs for roughly $30 extra, but the cleanest path is starting the conversation 3 to 7 days out.
all-in price / kWh, typical 12-month fixed in 2026
What happens after you click "enroll".
Between the moment you submit a sign-up form on a REP website and the moment your meter reads kilowatt-hours, four discrete things happen. None of them involve you.
REP signs you up
The REP runs a soft credit check (no impact on score), confirms the ESI ID against the address, and either accepts you on a standard plan or, if credit is thin, routes you toward a prepaid plan or a small deposit. PUCT rules cap deposits at twice the highest expected monthly bill.
REP submits move-in to ERCOT MarkeTrak
A standardized 814_16 "move-in service request" transaction is sent through ERCOT's MarkeTrak switching platform. The transaction carries your ESI ID, the requested service date and the REP's identifier. ERCOT routes it to CenterPoint within minutes.
CenterPoint enables service at the meter
If the previous occupant's meter is still energized, the smart meter is simply assigned to your REP, no truck. If service was disconnected, a CenterPoint field technician visits to reconnect, typically within 1 to 5 business days. CenterPoint then sends a confirmation message back to the REP through ERCOT.
REP starts billing you
Every 15 minutes, the CenterPoint smart meter reports your interval data to ERCOT, which forwards it to your REP. About 30 days after activation, the REP issues a single bill that bundles its own energy charge plus the CenterPoint TDU charges and taxes.
In short : you enroll with a private retailer, and a regulated wires company delivers physical service. The contract is yours, the meter belongs to the grid.
Five mistakes Houston new-residents make.
Patterns we see repeatedly in first-month Houston bills. Each is fixable in under 15 minutes if you catch it early.
Houston move-in 2026 includes hurricane prep.
Hurricane Beryl, July 2024, left roughly 2.2 million CenterPoint customers without power at peak, some for over a week. The PUCT investigation that followed pushed CenterPoint to harden its grid and to overhaul its public-facing outage tools.
Two things every new Houston resident should do in the first week, on top of the REP enrollment : sign up for Power Alert Service with the ESI ID on your bill, and store the outage line in your phone. During an active outage, dispatch goes faster when meters are pre-enrolled, and call-center wait times on the day of a storm are unworkable.
What to do in your first Houston week.
Find your ESI ID
Enter the address on powertochoose.org, or call CenterPoint at 713-207-2222. Save the 17-digit number.
Shop on Power to Choose
Filter by 1,000 kWh, compare the EFL of three to five plans, then enroll on the REP's own website 3 to 7 days before move-in.
Save the outage number
Add 1-800-332-7143 to your contacts as "CenterPoint outage". You will not have time to search for it during a storm.
Enroll Power Alert Service
Five-minute setup at centerpointenergy.com using your ESI ID. Choose text, voice or email notifications for outages at your meter.
Confirm activation on day one
On move-in day, plug in a small lamp before unpacking. If service is not active, call your REP first, they own the ERCOT order. Skip CenterPoint unless the REP says so.
Get help if needed
Federal LIHEAP and the Texas CEAP can cover deposits and arrears for eligible Houston households. Start with our assistance guide.
Houston move-in : the questions new residents actually ask.
No. CenterPoint is the regulated TDU, it cannot sell you electricity and will not take a sign-up over the phone. You pick a Retail Electric Provider (REP) on powertochoose.org, enroll with the REP, and the REP submits a move-in order to CenterPoint through ERCOT. You only call CenterPoint at 713-207-2222 to look up an ESI ID, or at 1-800-332-7143 to report an outage.
Enter the new street address at powertochoose.org, the site queries CenterPoint and returns the 17-digit Electric Service Identifier for the meter at that address. If the address is new construction, a duplex or an apartment complex with multiple meters, call CenterPoint directly at 713-207-2222 with the unit number to confirm.
For a meter that is already connected (most apartments and most homes between tenants), CenterPoint enables service within 1 business day of receiving the REP's order through ERCOT. If the previous occupant disconnected service and the meter is de-energized, a CenterPoint truck must roll, which extends activation to up to 5 business days. Expedited same-day orders are available from most REPs for about $30.
Three to seven days is the comfortable window. That gives the REP time to run the credit check, file the ERCOT move-in transaction, and confirm activation date with CenterPoint without expediting fees. You can sign up the day-of, but most REPs charge a same-day or priority-move-in fee in that case.
Power Alert Service is CenterPoint's free outage notification system. You register the ESI ID from your bill at centerpointenergy.com and pick text, voice or email alerts. After Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, enrollment is the single highest-value 5-minute task most Houston households can do, you get pushed restoration estimates instead of having to call.
Your name, the new Houston address, the 17-digit ESI ID for that meter, a government ID number (driver's license, Texas ID or Social Security), a desired move-in date, a phone and email. The REP may also ask for a copy of your lease, especially for new construction. Banking details for auto-pay are optional and can be added after the first bill.
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
