Your Electric Provider Rights in Texas

Find out about your protected electric provider rights in Texas, as well as how to resolve issues with an electricity company, where to file your complaint, how to get electric bill assistance, and how to keep the electric company from disconnecting your electric service.

SECTIONS
What are my rights as a electric utility customer?
Who do I report to if I have an issue with my electric company?
What are the electric company options in Texas, and who regulates and monitors them?
How do I submit a complaint to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT)?
What programs are available to help pay my electric bill?
What criteria must I meet to protect myself from disconnection?
How can I take preventative measures to insure my electric service is not disconnected?

What are my rights as a electric utility customer?
The PUCT Rights page tells you when an electric provider can disconnect your electric service or refuse you new service.

If a previous occupant did not pay the electric service you cannot be refused service. You have to get a full ten days’ notice before an electric provider can turn your electric service off for non-payment.

The PUCT rules only apply to private retail electric providers. Cooperatives and municipalities do not have to follow PUCT rules as they are not overseen by the PUCT.

Who do I report to if I have an issue with my electric company?
For the resolution process to work correctly be sure to first call your electric company and try to resolve the problem before escalating further.

The first answer likely will not be what you want to here so be sure to ask to speak to someone higher up.

After exhausting your efforts over the customer helpdesk phone lines you can then submit a complaint with the PUCT.

What are the electric company options in Texas, and who regulates and monitors them?
Texas has three categories of electric companies: cities (such as Garland Texas), cooperatives (Like Brazos Cooperative), and private companies (often called retail electric providers).

If your city provides your electric service, you call them with your problems related to billing and reliability of service. Municipally owned electric providers are typically not overseen by Public Utility Commissions.

If you belong to an electricity cooperative, you can call or visit their website and leave a complaint with their service desk. Co-ops are member-owned, because of this you go through the co-op to address any problems. If you believe you are being billed incorrectly the Texas Attorney General can do a great job at helping you arrive at a resolution.

If you have a concern about a retail electric provider, you can contact the Public Utility Council as well as the PUCT. The Public Utility Council oversees electric companies and works hand in hand with the PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas). You can also file any electric bill disputes with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

You can learn more about you cooperative or municipality and the various charges on your electric bill by going to the Public Utility Council website. They have a lot of helpful consumer resources.

The Public Utility Council provides representation to residential and small commercial consumers needing to argue their complaint with their electric provider.

How do I submit a complaint to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT)?

You can send your complaint to the Public Utility Commission in many ways.

You can can mail, fax, or email your complaint:

PUC – Customer Protection
P.O. Box 13326
Austin, TX 78711-3326
Fax: 1-512-936-7003
E-mail: [email protected]

To reach Public Utility Commission customer service:

Call: 1-888-782-8477
TTY: 1-800-735-2988

The File an Informal Complaint page tells you what to expect from the PUCT after you file your complaint. There are also instructions on the page for what to do if you are not happy with the provided resolution.

What programs are available to help pay my electric bill?

For a list of all the programs that help pay electric utilities visit “Help with Utilities”

What criteria must I meet to protect myself from disconnection?

If you meet certain criteria you may be protected from having your electric service disconnected.

Those circumstances include:

If there is a heat advisory in effect.

When the temperature does not go above 28 degrees the previous day and is not forecasted to go above 28 degrees for the next 24 hours.

On weekends or holidays or the day immediately proceeding when no one is available to receive electric bill payment.

If you can establish that disconnection of electric service will cause you or someone living at your house to become ill or more seriously ill from electric service being turned off.

When a pledge, letter of intent, purchase order, or other notification from the energy assistance provider is sending sufficient payment to continue service.

You can learn more about these options by visiting the “Know Your Rights” page on the Public Utility Council’s website.

How can I take preventative measures to insure my electric service is not disconnected?

If you have trouble making a payment call your electric provider and let them know.

You can ask the electric company to give you a deferred payment plan or levelized payments. You will be put on a bill payback plan where the price is the same each month instead of varying in amount each month.

Try enrolling in available payment assistance programs like the weatherization program, or the other energy efficiency programs.