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    UNDERSTANDING THE CHANGES TO TDSP CHARGES 

    The Transmission and Distribution Service Provider for your area assesses charges that are fees associated with delivering and maintaining your electricity service. Learn more about what these charges cover, why they can change and how they affect your bill.

    UNDERSTANDING THE CHANGES TO TDSP CHARGES 

    Since 2002, much of the Texas electricity market has had the ability to choose a retail electricity provider (REP), such as Discount Power.1 In these areas of Texas, REPs aren’t the only companies involved in providing electricity. Transmission and Distribution Service Providers (TDSPs) also play an important role.

        

    TDSP charges are the fees assessed by your TDSP to cover the cost of its services, like maintaining the wires to your home and reading your meter, as well as transmitting and distributing your electricity. The amount assessed may fluctuate based on your usage and price changes allowed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which regulates all TDSPs in the state. 

     

    It’s important to note that the same TDSP charges for your premises are billed by the TDSP to your REP, regardless of your REP. Discount Power passes these charges through to their customers without markup.

    An electric line worker with safety hat and vest is holding a clip board, standing in front of large transmission lines.
    An electric line worker with safety hat and vest is holding a clip board, standing in front of large transmission lines.
    An electric line worker with safety hat and vest is holding a clip board, standing in front of large transmission lines.

    TDSPS’ ROLES INCLUDE TRANSMITTING, DELIVERING AND RESTORING POWER.

    They manage and maintain the infrastructure, like poles, wires, transformers and meters, essential for ensuring that you have power.

    Image of an entrance to a house.
    Image of an entrance to a house.
    Image of an entrance to a house.

    EACH TDSP HAS A SPECIFIC TERRITORY IN TEXAS.

    Depending on your service address, you may be served by CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Oncor, Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), AEP Texas, Central Company (TCC) or AEP Texas North Company (TNC). You can’t choose your TDSP

    YOUR TDSP DELIVERY CHARGES ARE EASY TO FIND.

    To make your TDSP Delivery Charges easy to find, we list it as a separate line item on your Discount Power electricity bill. You can find detailed information on our TDSP charges page.

    See Details

    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

    Show all answers

    A. 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.

    A. TDSP fees typically change quarterly. Changes can result in a net increase or decrease in fees.

    A. 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 electricity is delivered to or by a system at a given instant, or averaged over a designed period, during the billing cycle.

    Disclaimer

    1 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. Certain exceptions may apply.