One rate, locked for your whole contract. No seasonal surprises, no provider raising your price mid-summer, no exposure to what happens on the ERCOT market. Here's how fixed rate energy plans actually work in Texas — and how to check that the plan you're looking at is genuinely fixed.
Free. No signup, no credit check, no obligation.
Short version: A fixed rate electricity plan locks your energy charge per kWh for the length of your contract — usually 12 to 36 months. Your provider cannot raise it, even when wholesale prices spike during a heat wave or a freeze. Your total bill still changes with usage and with TDU delivery charges, but the rate you're paying per kilowatt-hour stays put.
This is where most Texans get tripped up, so it's worth being precise. A fixed rate plan locks one component of your bill: the energy charge, measured in cents per kWh. That's the part your Retail Electric Provider controls and sells to you.
Two other things on your bill are not locked and never can be:
So a realistic expectation: on a fixed rate plan, your cents-per-kWh stays identical for the contract term, and your monthly dollar total still moves with the seasons. What you've eliminated is the risk of the price moving against you.
Texas sells three fundamentally different rate structures. They look similar on a comparison site and behave very differently when the weather turns.
| Plan type | Can the rate change? | Risk during price spikes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed rate | No, for the contract term | None — your provider absorbs it |
| Variable rate | Yes, monthly with short notice | Real — providers raise rates after spike events |
| Indexed / wholesale | Yes, tied to market prices | Severe — this is what caused 2021 bill shocks |
Variable rate plans are the one people underestimate. They're not the same as indexed plans and they won't produce a five-figure bill. But providers do raise them, and they tend to raise them right after an expensive month, when their own wholesale costs went up. You get the increase in arrears, often for two or three months running.
Indexed and wholesale-priced residential plans have effectively disappeared from the Texas retail market since 2021. If you encounter one, the word to look for on the label is "indexed" — and the right response is to keep looking.
Worth knowing: "Fixed rate" and "bill credit" are not the same thing, even though bill credit plans have a fixed underlying rate. Bill credit plans only hit their advertised price if your monthly usage lands inside a specific window. Miss the window and your effective rate can nearly double. We cover the mechanics in the Texas bill credit trap.
Fixed rate plans in Texas are typically sold in 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 month terms. The term isn't just about how long you're committed — it determines what time of year you'll be shopping again.
Covers a full seasonal cycle. You see one summer and one winter at the same rate, which makes budgeting predictable and makes year-over-year comparison meaningful. When it ends, you're shopping at the same point in the calendar you shopped last time.
Longer locks protect you if Texas rates rise, and cost you if they fall. There's no way to know which in advance. The practical argument for a longer term isn't prediction — it's that you stop thinking about it for three years, and you avoid the risk of forgetting to switch and rolling onto a month-to-month rate.
Short terms end mid-season. A 6-month plan signed in March expires in September, which means you're shopping during or just after peak summer, when rates are at their annual high and your negotiating position is worst. The low advertised rate on short terms rarely survives that timing problem.
Enter your ZIP and we'll pull current fixed rate plans for your area — with the real per-kWh cost, not the teaser rate.
Every Texas plan must publish an Electricity Facts Label. It's a one-page standardized document and it will tell you exactly what you're buying, if you know which four lines to read.
That fourth point catches most of the plans that are technically fixed but behave like something else. A genuinely clean fixed rate plan shows nearly identical per-kWh pricing across all three usage levels. A bill credit plan dressed up as fixed shows a large gap. Our full walkthrough is in how to read a Texas EFL.
Houston is on the CenterPoint Energy delivery network, and it's the largest deregulated electricity market in Texas — which means more providers competing and a wider spread between the best and worst fixed rates available in the same ZIP.
Two Houston-specific things worth knowing. First, CenterPoint's delivery charges run higher than Oncor's, so a Houston bill at the same energy rate will total more than a Dallas bill at the same usage. That's not something a plan can fix, but it does mean the energy charge is worth optimizing harder. Second, Houston's summer usage is among the highest in the state, so the difference between a good and bad fixed rate compounds over the June-to-September stretch more than it does elsewhere.
Current fixed rate options for the Houston area are on our Houston electricity rates page. The same comparison works for Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
Being straight about this: fixed rate is the right default for most Texas households, but not for everyone.
If you're moving within a few months. Early termination fees on fixed rate plans typically run $100 to $250. If you know you're relocating out of the service area, a month-to-month plan may cost less overall even at a worse rate. Some providers waive the fee with proof of a move — worth asking before you sign.
If you're renting short-term. Same logic. A 12-month lock on an 8-month lease creates a fee you didn't need to pay.
If rates are unusually high right now. Locking a 36-month term during a market peak means paying that peak for three years. If current fixed rates look high relative to the last year, a 12-month term keeps your options open without leaving you exposed.
Outside those situations, the case for fixed is straightforward: you're paying a small premium over the cheapest variable rate to remove the possibility of your price moving against you. For most households that's a good trade, and it's the reason fixed rate plans dominate the Texas market.
If you're currently on a variable rate plan, or you don't know what you're on, the first step is to pull your most recent bill and find the plan name, then look up its EFL on your provider's site. That tells you your rate, your type, your contract end date, and your termination fee — everything you need to decide.
If you already know you want to switch, compare current fixed rate offers in your ZIP. Rates move weekly, and the spread between the best and worst fixed rate plan in the same ZIP is routinely 3 to 5 cents per kWh — which on 1,500 kWh a month is $45 to $75 you're leaving on the table every month.
Enter your ZIP to see what's available now. We'll show the real per-kWh cost at your usage level, and you can talk to someone if you'd rather have help choosing.
One quick conversation. We'll review what you're paying, find you a better fixed rate, and handle the switch if it makes sense. No obligation, no pressure.