Understanding changes
in TDSP charges and
their impact on your
electricity bill
Understanding changes
in TDSP charges and
their impact on your
electricity bill
Since 2002, much of the Texas electricity market has had the ability to choose a retail electricity provider (REP), such as Reliant.*
In these areas of Texas, REPs aren’t the only companies involved in providing electricity. Transmission and Distribution Service Providers (TDSPs) are among the entities that also play an important role.
They manage and maintain the infrastructure, like
poles, wires, transformers and meters, essential for
ensuring that you have power.
You can’t choose your TDSP. If you live in an area served by a TDSP, you may be served by CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Oncor, Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), AEP Texas Central Company (TCC), AEP Texas North Company (TNC), or Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L), depending on your service address.
These charges are total amounts assessed by your Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) for the electricity that's delivered to your home through poles and wires. Delivery charges are passed through from the TDSP to your Reliant bill without markup.
Delivery charges are approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and apply to all residential customers, regardless of which retail electricity provider (REP) you've chosen. They're easy to find on your Reliant bill under the section labeled "Delivery Charges."
Some delivery charges are calculated based on the length of your billing cycle, and some are calculated based on your electricity usage per kWh, so your total delivery charge amount may fluctuate from bill to bill. The table below shows a list of the amounts that make up delivery charges in your area. They don't include discretionary charges (those not charged to all customers in a TDSP's territory) or non-recurring charges (charges that don't appear in 3 or more billing periods in a 12-month period).
TDSP delivery charges (total per month & total per kWh by TDSP) |
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Residential Total @1000kWh |
CNP |
AEP TCC |
AEP TNC |
ONCOR |
TNMP |
LP&L |
Total per month TDSP charges: |
$4.39 |
$3.24 |
$3.24 |
$4.23 |
$7.85 |
$0.00 |
Total per kWh TDSP charges: |
$0.053509 |
$0.059038 |
$0.057927 |
$0.052974 |
$0.064135 |
$0.063120 |
Use the following formula to calculate the TDSP delivery charges billed: TDSP delivery charges = [total per month TDSP delivery charges + (total per kWh TDSP delivery charges * monthly billed kWh usage)] |
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To make your TDSP Delivery Charges easy to find, we list them as a separate line item on your monthly Reliant electricity bill.
If you need help paying your electricity bill, Reliant has relief options available. Click here to learn more about our financial aid programs.
TDSPs charge the same fees for your premise regardless of the REP serving you. Fees may change if you move to a new TDSP territory.
TDSP fees typically change at least twice per year, in March and September. Changes can result in a net increase or decrease in fees.
This depends on the fee. Certain fees are charged at a flat rate per billing cycle, while some are multiplied by the usage. For commercial customers, certain fees may be based on demand. A demand charge is based on the rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system at a given instant, or averaged over a designed period, during the billing cycle.
* With certain exceptions, the areas within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) with customer choice do not include areas served by Municipally Owned Utilities or Electric Cooperatives.
