"Texas has retail choice." Yes, but not where VEC delivers.
Most pages about Victoria Electric Cooperative copy the line that Texas is a deregulated market and that members can pick a supplier. That advice is wrong inside VEC territory.
When Texas passed Senate Bill 7 in 1999 opening the market, the law let municipally-owned utilities and electric cooperatives opt out of retail competition. VEC opted out. Its members buy power from the cooperative itself, at one board-approved rate, and there is no shopping list of REPs to switch to.
The flip side: the city of Victoria proper (most of 77901, 77904 and part of 77905) sits inside AEP Texas Central's wires territory, not VEC's, so city residents can shop. Same town, two different rules, based on which side of the meter line you live on.
Three layers. One bill. No shopping option.
Even though VEC members cannot shop, the cooperative still assembles each bill from the same three layers as any deregulated state. The difference is who controls each layer.
Layer 1: Wholesale
Power from STEC
VEC does not own power plants. It buys generation in bulk from STEC, its G&T cooperative. STEC dispatches into the ERCOT grid like any other generator.
Layer 2: Distribution
VEC's own poles & wires
The ~3,000 miles of distribution line that carry power from STEC substations to your meter. VEC owns it, maintains it and sets the rate, not a state regulator. Unlike an IOU, the cooperative is self-governed.
Layer 3: Fixed
Customer charge & PCRF
A flat $28/month service charge regardless of usage, plus the variable PCRF that tracks fuel cost month to month. The PCRF is the only part of your bill that swings with ERCOT wholesale prices.
VEC publishes a sample bill of $126.12 at 1,000 kWh, consistent with the three layers above before the monthly PCRF adjustment.
Every line on your VEC statement, decoded.
A VEC bill uses cooperative-specific labels that do not appear on a deregulated REP statement. Here is what each line really is.
| Line on your VEC bill | What it really is | Who sets it | Member can change? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale power cost | Layer 1: STEC generation pass-through | STEC board / ERCOT market | No |
| Distribution / energy charge | Layer 2: VEC poles, wires, transformers | VEC elected board of directors | Vote, not shop |
| PCRF | Monthly fuel-cost true-up | ERCOT wholesale prices | No |
| Customer / service charge | Layer 3: flat $28/mo connection fee | VEC board | No |
| Sales tax | State & local tax (varies by jurisdiction) | Texas Comptroller | No |
| Capital credits (year-end) | Patronage refund: profits returned to members | VEC board, based on margins | Earn back |
Capital credits are the cooperative twist: unlike an IOU, profits at year-end are allocated back to members in proportion to their bills, and paid out when the board approves a retirement.
VEC undercuts the Texas retail-choice average by about 14%.
The standard line is that retail choice produces the lowest prices in the United States. That is true on average across Texas. It is not true on the Gulf Coast.
VEC's published $126.12 at 1,000 kWh works out to ~12.6¢/kWh all-in. The Texas residential retail-choice average sits closer to 14.9¢/kWh per the EIA's March 2026 data, so about $149 for the same use.
That ~$23/month gap is the cooperative dividend showing up in the rate itself. No profit, no investor margin, no advertising budget. Just the wholesale cost from STEC plus VEC's actual cost to keep wires up across 3,000 miles of rural country.
VEC quoted residential bill, all-in
Who really decides what you pay.
A VEC rate is not approved in Austin by the PUCT. It moves through a four-step chain that ends at people you can actually call.
Members elect the board
Seven directors are elected from VEC's six counties: one member, one vote, regardless of how much electricity you use. The board meets monthly and sets all retail rates.
General manager runs the budget
The CEO/GM presents an annual operations and capital budget. The board approves it. That budget, not a profit target, determines what the local distribution rate (1.5497¢/kWh) must be to break even.
STEC sets the wholesale rate
STEC is itself a cooperative, owned by VEC and other south Texas distribution co-ops. STEC's board sets the wholesale power price (currently 8.26344¢/kWh), based on its plant fleet, fuel contracts and ERCOT market purchases.
PCRF passes fuel cost month-to-month
When ERCOT wholesale prices spike (winter storms, summer scarcity, gas-price shocks), the difference flows through the PCRF a few weeks later. It is the only volatile line on a VEC bill.
The chain is short on purpose: no state regulator, no shareholders, no marketing intermediary. The members vote, the board sets the rate, STEC supplies the power.
Five expensive habits in cooperative territory.
Patterns we see across cooperative members across the south Texas Gulf Coast. Each is fixable.
VEC sits on the Gulf Coast hurricane path.
Calhoun, Refugio and the coastal edge of Victoria county catch named storms most years. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 made landfall about 30 miles southwest at Rockport and put parts of VEC's grid offline for days.
Before each June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season, three steps cut your outage exposure:
- ▸Save the outage number in your phone (1-361-582-5555) before the storm. You cannot Google during an outage.
- ▸Set up GenerLink if you own a portable generator. VEC sells the install for between $650 and $1,025 including the $100 processing fee.
- ▸Trim trees away from drop lines. Call VEC at 1-361-573-2428 before you touch anything near a service line.
What to actually do as a VEC member.
Set up the customer portal
Register at epay.victoriaelectric.coop to see your kWh history; it is the only data that exposes how PCRF shifts hit you month to month.
Enroll in AutoPay
Bank-draft on the 5th of the month or card AutoPay on the 1st; both forms are at victoriaelectric.coop. Avoids late fees and the office trip.
Vote in the board election
Annual meeting ballots arrive in spring. One member, one vote: the elected directors set the distribution rate and approve the budget.
Report outages immediately
Call 1-361-582-5555 the moment power drops. Outage maps update from these calls; one report can cover a whole circuit.
Ask about bill assistance
VEC partners with local CEAP / LIHEAP agencies in all six counties; staff at 1-361-573-2428 can route you.
Moving outside VEC?
If you move into AEP Texas, Oncor, CenterPoint or TNMP territory you can shop a Texas REP. Inside VEC, you cannot.
VEC phone numbers & office.
| Call reason | Contact |
|---|---|
| Downed pole or live wire | 9-1-1 first, then 1-361-582-5555 |
| Report an outage | 1-361-582-5555 (24/7) |
| Customer service / start or stop service | 1-361-573-2428 (Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm) |
| Infinium Internet service | 1-361-582-5550 |
| Digging / call-before-you-dig | 8-1-1 or 1-800-344-8377 |
| Headquarters address | 5502 US Hwy 59N, Victoria, TX 77905 |
Common questions about Victoria Electric Cooperative.
No. Victoria Electric Cooperative opted out of Texas retail competition under Senate Bill 7 (1999), so members cannot pick a separate Retail Electric Provider. Power supply, distribution and billing are all done by VEC. If you live in the city of Victoria itself (most of 77901, 77904 and part of 77905) you are in AEP Texas Central territory and you can shop a REP.
The published residential tariff is 8.26344¢/kWh wholesale power cost + 1.5497¢/kWh distribution + a $28/month customer charge, plus the monthly PCRF (Power Cost Recovery Factor) that tracks ERCOT fuel prices. VEC quotes a $126.12 sample bill at 1,000 kWh of monthly use, which works out to about 12.6¢/kWh all-in, below the Texas retail-choice average of 14.9¢/kWh.
VEC buys wholesale power from South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC), a generation & transmission cooperative owned by VEC and other south Texas distribution co-ops. STEC dispatches its own plants and buys from the ERCOT market, then sells the blended cost to its member co-ops at a single wholesale rate.
Six counties on the Texas Gulf Coast: Victoria (excluding the city itself), Calhoun, Refugio, Goliad, DeWitt and Jackson. About 3,000 miles of distribution line carry power to roughly 15,000 members across that footprint.
Call the 24/7 outage line at 1-361-582-5555. The line accepts reports from members and non-members; outage maps update from these calls. If a pole or wire is down, dial 9-1-1 first, then VEC. Do not touch anything within 30 feet of a downed line.
VEC is a not-for-profit cooperative. When the year ends with positive margins, those margins are allocated back to members in proportion to how much they were billed that year, called patronage capital or capital credits. The board chooses when to retire (pay out) older years' allocations, usually as a check or bill credit. If you move out of VEC territory, keep your forwarding address current so the cooperative can reach you when a retirement is approved.
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
