When you compare commercial electricity offers in Texas, you focus on the rate per kilowatt-hour, as you should. But there is a second set of charges on every bill that does not come from your retail provider at all: the delivery charges from your TDSP. For most Houston businesses, that is CenterPoint Energy, while much of North Texas is served by Oncor. Understanding the CenterPoint vs. Oncor question, and how TDSP delivery charges work, helps you read offers correctly and avoid comparing apples to oranges.
What a TDSP Actually Does
TDSP stands for Transmission and Distribution Service Provider. This is the regulated utility that owns and maintains the poles, wires, substations, and meters that physically carry electricity to your building. It is different from your retail provider, which is the company that sells you the electricity supply and sends your bill. You choose your retail provider. You do not choose your TDSP, because it is assigned by geography.
In most of the Houston area, your TDSP is CenterPoint Energy. In much of the Dallas-Fort Worth region and other parts of the state, it is Oncor. Both deliver power reliably, but they are separate companies with separate rate structures approved by state regulators.
Why CenterPoint and Oncor Charges Differ
Because TDSP rates are set through a regulatory process rather than by competition, CenterPoint and Oncor can have different delivery charges. Each utility files its rates with regulators, and those rates reflect the cost of building and maintaining that specific grid territory. So a business in Houston served by CenterPoint and a similar business in Dallas served by Oncor can see different delivery line items even if their supply rate is identical.
The important takeaway is that you cannot change your TDSP or shop it the way you shop supply. What you can do is understand it, so the delivery portion of your bill never surprises you and so you compare retail offers correctly.
How TDSP Charges Show Up on Your Bill
TDSP delivery charges usually appear as a few line items. There is often a fixed monthly customer or metering charge, plus a per-kilowatt-hour delivery charge that scales with how much energy you use. Larger commercial accounts may also see a demand-based charge tied to their peak kilowatts. Whether these are listed separately or bundled into your rate depends on how your contract is structured.
This is exactly where comparing offers gets tricky. One provider might quote an all-in rate that already includes CenterPoint delivery, while another quotes an energy-only rate that adds delivery on top. The second can look cheaper at a glance and cost more in reality.
A Houston Example: Reading Two Offers Correctly
Say your business uses around 200,000 kilowatt-hours a year on a CenterPoint meter. Provider A quotes an all-in rate that bundles delivery. Provider B quotes a lower energy-only rate but adds CenterPoint TDSP charges separately. To compare them fairly, you have to put both on the same basis, either all-in or energy plus delivery, before you decide. The provider with the lower headline number is not always the lower total.
A quick checklist helps. Confirm whether each quote is all-in or energy-only. Identify your TDSP, CenterPoint for most of Houston, so you know whose delivery charges apply. Ask the provider to show delivery and supply separately. And compare totals, not just the supply rate.
A Simple Next Step
TDSP delivery charges are not something you can shop, but understanding them is the key to comparing offers honestly and never overpaying by mistake. At Excelsior Energy, we break out CenterPoint delivery from supply so Houston businesses always see the true total. If you want help comparing offers on an even basis, we are happy to do a free bill review. Call us at 713-898-3164 and we will walk through your numbers, no pressure and no jargon.