How to Calculate Your Electric Bill – Calculator Included!

To calculate your Texas electricity bill, multiply your kWh usage by the sum of your energy charge and TDU delivery rate, then add the TDU monthly fee.

The formula is: Energy Bill = kWh Usage × (Energy Charge + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee.

You can find the relevant fees on your electricity plan’s Electricity Facts Label.

Learning how to calculate your electricity bill is a great way to understand your home’s energy consumption and how to reduce those costs.

Find out how your energy bill stacks up against the average in Texas.

Texas electricity bill calculator

If you would rather not do the math yourself, feel free to use our custom Texas electricity bill calculator.

Compare two electricity plan bill estimates

Use this calculator to compare the estimated costs of two different electricity plans.

How to estimate costs for different types of plans

Estimate the electricity cost for simple fixed-rate plans

Here is the equation to calculate the bill of a simple fixed-rate energy plan:

Energy Bill = kWh Usage x (Energy Rate + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee

Let's take a real example of a BKV Energy energy plan to see how the bill estimates play out at 500, 1000, and 2000 kWh.

• 500 kWh x ($0.087124 + $0.03848) + $4.23 = $67.04
• 1000 kWh x ($0.087124 + $0.03848) + $4.23 = $129.85
• 2000 kWh x ($0.087124 + $0.03848) + $4.23 = $255.47

Estimate the energy cost for a free nights plan

Here is the equation to calculate the bill of a free nights electricity plan (let's operate under the assumption that your electricity is free 40% of the time):

Energy Bill = 60% x kWh Usage x (Energy Rate + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee

Let's look at another real-life example from TXU Energy to see how this calculation plays out. This plan also included a $9.95 monthly base fee.

• 60% x 500 kWh x ($0.22 + $0.03848) + $4.23 + $9.95 = $91.73
• 60% x 1000 kWh x ($0.22 + $0.03848) + $4.23 + $9.95 = $169.28
• 60% x 2000 kWh x ($0.22 + $0.03848) + $4.23 + $9.95 = $324.38

Estimate the electricity bill for a free weekends plan

You can find the equation needed to calculate the bill for a free weekends plan below (in this situation, we assume that your electricity is free 30% of the time):

Energy Bill = 70% x kWh Usage x (Energy Rate + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee

Here is another real-life example from a Reliant Energy contract:

• 70% x 500 kWh x ($0.178243 + $0.03848) + $4.23 = $77.92
• 70% x 1000 kWh x ($0.178243 + $0.03848) + $4.23 = $151.61
• 70% x 2000 kWh x ($0.178243 x $0.03848) + $4.23 = $299.00

Estimate the electricity bill for a bill credit plan

Use the following formula to calculate the bill for a plan with a $125 credit applied at 1000 kWh:

Electricity Bill = kWh Usage x (Energy Charge + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee - Bill Credit

Only subtract the bill credit if you have met the kWh usage threshold for the bill credit to apply.

Here's a real-life example of a bill credit plan:

• 500 kWh x ($0.14859 + $0.056183) + $4.23 = $106.62
• 1000 kWh x ($0.14859 + $0.056183) + $4.23 - $125 = $84.00
• 2000 kWh x ($0.14859 + $0.056183) + $4.23 - $125 = $288.78

The bill is rather cheap, but only at 1000 kWh. If you use less or significantly more, these plans are not recommended for your household.

Estimate the electricity bill for a plan with a minimum usage fee

Use the following formula to calculate a bill for a plan with a $9.95 applied when you use 799 or fewer kWh:

Electricity Bill = kWh Usage x (Energy Charge + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee + Minimum Usage Fee

Only add the minimum usage fee if you use fewer than the specified kWh usage.

Here's a real-life example of a minimum usage fee plan:

• 500 kWh x ($0.103056 + $0.049993) + $4.90 + $9.95 = $91.37
• 1000 kWh x ($0.103056 + $0.049993) + $4.90 = $157.95
• 2000 kWh x ($0.103056 + $0.049993) + $4.90 = $311.00

These plans punish customers with low usage and should be avoided by most Texans living in apartments or smaller homes.

Understanding different charges on your energy bill

If you're unfamiliar with the meanings of each of the charges and terms on your energy bill, we're here to help.

kWh usage

Your kWh usage or consumption measures exactly how much electricity you used in your home to power your lights, appliances, television, heating and cooling, and more. The lower your energy usage, the lower your bill and vice versa.

Learn how to calculate kilowatt hours.

Energy charge

The energy rate is the price per kWh that you pay to your retail electricity provider. Depending on the type of plan you are enrolled in, the energy rate may vary depending on how much electricity you use. Check your EFL for those details.

TDU delivery rate / pass-through charges

The TDU delivery rate is the price per kWh that you pay directly to your utility company for the management and maintenance of the power lines and other infrastructure responsible for sending the electricity to your home from the power plant. Retail electricity providers pass 100% of this cost directly to the utility company. These rates are determined solely by the utility company and approved every six months by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).

TDU monthly delivery charge

In addition to the kWh rate, TDUs also charge a flat monthly fee to cover more of the management and maintenance of electricity infrastructure in your region.

Learn more about TDU regions and their charges.

Miscellaneous gross receipts tax reimbursement

This is a required tax for electric utilities conducting business within an incorporated city with a population of more than 1,000 people.

PUC Assessment

This is a fee assessed to recover the statutory fee for administering the Public Utility Regulatory Act.

Sales tax

These are state-imposed taxes on sales.

How to calculate your electricity usage

There are three ways to figure out how much electricity you will use in a given month in your home.

1. Look at your past bills and find how much energy you used in the same month during the prior year. Generally, it should be about the same kWh consumption if you haven't moved or made significant energy efficiency improvements to your home.
2. Create an account on Smart Meter Texas (https://smartmetertexas.com)
3. Manually calculate your electricity consumption by estimating the usage of your lighting and appliances. If you calculate the usage of each of the items in your home that consume electricity, you can estimate your upcoming electricity bills.

How to calculate kWh usage and energy cost of specific appliances

Follow these steps to estimate how many kilowatt-hours your appliances and devices require.

1. Find the energy label on the back of the appliance and look for the wattage.
2. Divide that wattage by 1,000 to get the energy usage in kilowatts. (1000 watts = 1 kilowatt)
3. To calculate the kilowatt-hour usage of the appliance, multiply the kilowatts by the average number of hours the appliance is used per day.
4. Next, multiply the average daily kilowatt-hours by 30 to get the usage for an average month.
5. Multiply the average monthly kWh usage of the appliance by your average kWh rate in your EFL to get the electricity cost of that appliance.
6. Repeat this process and add up the total cost of all appliances.

Why your bill doesn't match the advertised rate

When you're shopping for an electricity plan, you will see three average prices on an Electricity Facts Label at 500, 1000, and 2000 kWh of usage.

In some cases, you may be shocked at your bill amount because you signed up for a plan with a low average price of 8 cents.

Unfortunately, you may have fallen into a bill credit trap. That low average price only applies at one specific usage level, usually 1000 kWh.

If you use less or more than the amount at which the bill credit is applied to your bill, you can end up spending much more than you expected.

Frequently asked questions about electricity bill calculations

How is my electricity bill calculated in Texas?

Electricity bills are calculated with the following elements: Energy Charge, TDU Delivery Charges, and kWh usage.

The formula to calculate an electricity bill is Bill = kWh Usage x (Energy + TDU Delivery Rate) + TDU Monthly Fee.

Why is my electric bill so high?

Electricity bills can be high for the following reasons:

• High kilowatt-hour usage: Check your bills for your kWh usage. You may be using more power than you expect.
• High energy charge rates: Check your plan's EFL document. Look at the Energy Charge instead of the Average Price table.
• Increased TDU delivery charges: TDU delivery charges are subject to change at least every six months, and they may have increased recently.
• Unexpected fees from your electricity provider: Check your plan's EFL document. Your provider may be tacking on extra costs like base charges or minimum usage fees.
• No bill credit applied: Check your plan's EFL document. If you were expecting a bill credit, you may not have used enough kWh to earn it.

What is the average electric bill in Texas?

The average Texas electricity bill is $163.72, based on an average usage of 1,096.

This data is from the Energy Information Administration's annual report on average monthly residential bills by U.S. state.

Everything you need to calculate your electricity bill

Now that you know the different charges that make up your energy bill and the equations to estimate the cost of electricity, you have everything you need to know to better budget for your monthly spending. Additionally, you can apply this math when you are shopping for your next electricity plan.

Use the details from the Electricity Facts Label and compare the rates against your historic usage to see how much you would've spent. If your bills would have been higher throughout the previous contract at these new potential rates, we do not recommend signing up for that plan.

Simple fixed rates lead to lower bills

As indicated in the above real examples of electricity bill calculations, you can see that simple fixed rate plans lead to overall lower energy bills compared to gimmicky plans like free nights and free weekends plans. The same goes for other types of gimmicky plans, such as those with base fees, bill credits, and plans designed for charging electric vehicles.

If you're interested in a simple fixed-rate energy plan, enter your zip code below to explore BKV Energy's electricity plans available in your area. Rates vary by location.

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