Commercial Electricity in Dallas
ElectricChoice Energy Research · Updated
- Commercial energy rates in Dallas start around 5¢/kWh before delivery.
- Most Dallas businesses end up paying 10–12¢ per kWh all-in.
- Rates drop with higher usage. Comparing providers gets you custom pricing.
The Rate You Were Quoted Is Not the Rate You Pay
Somebody quoted your Dallas business 5.95¢ per kWh. That number is real, it is just incomplete. It covers the electricity itself and nothing else. Here is the arithmetic that turns it into the figure at the bottom of your bill.
A Dallas business using 6,000 kWh a month
Mid-market fixed energy rate plus current Oncor delivery charges
The quoted rate roughly doubles. Nobody is cheating you — Oncor's charges are set by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and show up identically on every offer in Dallas. But it means a quote comparison that only looks at the headline number is comparing the smaller half of the bill.
| 5.15–6.60¢ | Energy rates you can shop | Fixed commercial offers in the ERCOT North load zone this month, before delivery. |
| 5.1227¢ | Oncor delivery, fixed by the state | Per kWh for secondary service at 10 kW and under. Identical on every quote you get. |
| 11.18¢ | Realistic all-in rate | What a 6,000 kWh Dallas business pays per kWh with everything counted. |
| $12.97 | Per kW once you pass 10 kW | Charged on your single highest 15-minute demand each month if you have no interval meter. |
What Oncor Charges, and What For
Oncor is the wires company for Dallas. It reads your meter, fixes the line when a storm takes it down, and bills a delivery charge that the state approves twice a year. Roughly three fifths of it is local distribution, and most of the rest is high-voltage transmission.
Inside Oncor's 5.1227¢
Secondary service, 10 kW and under · effective
| Component | What it pays for | ¢ / kWh | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution | The local grid: poles, wires, transformers, your meter | 3.1236¢ | 61% |
| Transmission recovery | High-voltage lines moving power across North Texas | ~1.69¢ | 33% |
| Interim surcharge | Approved grid investment recovered between rate cases | 0.2878¢ | 6% |
| Energy efficiency | Rebate programs for commercial lighting and HVAC work | 0.0055¢ | < 1% |
| Total | Plus $6.70 every month no matter what you use | 5.1227¢ | 100% |
Oncor has a large capital plan running through the end of the decade to add substations and harden lines for North Texas growth. Those costs flow through the transmission and interim lines above, which is the main reason to expect this number to keep drifting up at the March and September resets rather than down.
Nobody can negotiate this away
If a salesperson claims they can lower your Oncor charges, walk. Every retail provider in Dallas passes them through at exactly the same amount. What they can do is lower the energy half, which is the part worth your attention.
A fixed rate does not fix your bill
A 24-month fixed contract locks the energy rate only. Oncor delivery resets each March 1 and September 1, so your total cost per kWh can move even while your contract holds steady. That is normal and not a breach of your agreement.
You already paid for the rebates
The efficiency charge funds Oncor's commercial incentive programs for lighting, HVAC and controls upgrades. Dallas businesses contribute every month and most never file a claim. If you are planning a retrofit, check eligibility first.
Dallas Does Not Have the Cheapest Grid in Texas
You will read the opposite on plenty of energy websites. For small commercial accounts it is not true, and the state's own rate filings are the easiest place to check. Oncor charges more per kWh and more per month than any other major Texas wires company in this rate class.
Small commercial delivery charges, same month, same rate class
Secondary service at 10 kW or kVA and under · PUCT monthly reports effective September 1, 2026
| Wires company | Where | ¢ / kWh | Per month | Delivery at 6,000 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oncor | Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Waco, Midland | 5.1227¢ | $6.70 | $314.06 |
| CenterPoint Energy | Houston, Galveston, Katy | 4.1993¢ | $4.96 | $256.92 |
| AEP Texas North | Abilene, San Angelo | 4.3749¢ | $5.66 | $268.15 |
| AEP Texas Central | Corpus Christi, McAllen | 4.5181¢ | $5.66 | $276.75 |
On 6,000 kWh a month, a Dallas storefront pays roughly $57.14 more in delivery than the identical business in Houston. Over a year that is about $686.
Four Fifteen-Minute Windows Next Summer
This is the strangest bill mechanic in Texas, and the one that catches Dallas businesses with interval meters completely off guard. ERCOT picks the single busiest 15-minute interval in each of the four summer months. Your demand during those four moments is averaged. That average sets your transmission charge for the following twelve months.
Your worst hour of the summer bills you all year
Oncor charges interval-metered Dallas businesses $6.05 for every kilowatt of 4CP demand, on top of the regular distribution demand charge. Add 100 kW during those four intervals and you have added roughly $7,261 across the next year. Cut 100 kW and you save the same amount.
Typically lands between 4 and 6 p.m. on the hottest weekday of the month.
Peak month for North Texas cooling load. The most likely of the four to hurt.
Often a triple-digit afternoon late in the month, sometimes after 6 p.m.
Businesses relax after August and get caught by a late heat wave.
What a Dallas business can actually do about it
Get on a 4CP alert list
Most commercial suppliers and consultants will text you when a likely peak interval is forecast, usually a day ahead. It is free, it takes one email to set up, and it turns an invisible charge into something you can react to.
Pre-cool the building before the window
Drop the thermostat two degrees in the early afternoon, then let it drift up during the 4 to 6 p.m. window. The building coasts on thermal mass, nobody gets uncomfortable, and your recorded demand drops.
Move the heavy work off the afternoon
Shop equipment, forklift charging, laundry, compressors, big pumps. Anything that can run at 9 a.m. or 8 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. on the hottest day of July is worth shifting for that one afternoon.
Check whether this even applies to you
Look for a 4CP line on the delivery portion of your bill. No 4CP line means you are not interval-metered and this section is not your problem. Most Dallas businesses under roughly 700 kW of peak demand fall in that group.
The 10 kW Cliff
Oncor has a hard line at 10 kW of peak demand. Below it you are billed almost entirely on usage. Above it, the per-kWh charge nearly disappears and a demand charge takes over. Businesses that cross it during a hot summer often think the bill is wrong.
Three ways Oncor can bill a Dallas business
Secondary voltage service · effective September 1, 2026
| Up to 10 kW | Over 10 kW, standard meter | Over 10 kW, interval meter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who lands here | Offices, small shops, most restaurants | Mid-size retail, shops, churches | Large facilities, roughly 700 kW and up |
| Per kWh | 5.1227¢ | 0.0546¢ | 0.0546¢ |
| Demand charge | None | $12.97 per kW | $7.95 per kW plus $6.05 per 4CP kW |
| Fixed monthly | $6.70 | $44.99 | $44.99 |
| The lever that matters | Your energy rate | Your worst 15 minutes each month | Your worst 15 minutes, plus four summer intervals |
Note the standard meter column. At $12.97 per kW it carries the highest demand rate of the three, because Oncor cannot see when your peak happened and prices it conservatively. A Dallas business sitting just above 10 kW with a standard meter is often in the worst possible spot — and asking Oncor about interval metering can be worth more than shopping suppliers.
Find your peak
Pull twelve months of bills and write down the demand figure on each. If the highest month is far above the rest, you have one bad day driving a year of charges, and that is fixable.
Spread out the morning
Ten minutes between starting your HVAC, your equipment and everything else is usually enough to knock the peak down. It costs nothing and no customer notices.
Ask for a demand cap
Some suppliers will write a maximum monthly demand charge into a commercial contract. If your load is spiky, that clause is worth more than a tenth of a cent on the energy rate.
Cost by Type of Dallas Business
Modeled at a 5.95¢ energy rate with current Oncor charges, for accounts still under the demand threshold. Compare these against your own bill to see whether you are paying a fair rate or an expired one.
What Dallas businesses pay each month
Energy at 5.95¢ plus Oncor at 5.1227¢ and $6.70 per month
| Business | What drives the usage | kWh / month | All-in rate | Monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law office or agency suite | Lights, computers, one rooftop unit. Closed nights and weekends. | 2,500 | 11.34¢ | $283.52 |
| Salon, clinic or small restaurant | Equipment load through the day plus cooling from April to October. | 6,000 | 11.18¢ | $671.06 |
| Retail store in a strip center | Long hours, heavy lighting, cooling against a glass storefront. | 8,500 | 11.15¢ | $947.88 |
| Church or event space | Big square footage used in bursts, which is hard on demand charges. | 11,000 | 11.13¢ | $1,224.70 |
| Light industrial or auto shop | Compressors and lifts. Almost always demand-metered. | 18,000 | 11.11¢ | $1,999.79 |
If your actual bill divides out to more than about 13¢ per kWh and your contract is over a year old, you are very likely on a rolled-over month-to-month rate. That is the single most common reason a Dallas business overpays, and it is also the easiest to fix.
If You Run More Than One Location
Dallas businesses with several sites usually have several contracts, several renewal dates, and no single view of what they are paying. Consolidating is worth more than shaving the rate, and Oncor territory makes it straightforward because most of the metro sits on the same grid.
Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Richardson, Frisco, McKinney, Carrollton, Grand Prairie, Mesquite and most of the surrounding metro. Meters in these cities can sit on one aggregated contract.
Served by Garland Power & Light. A location here stays on the city utility and cannot join your contract.
Denton Municipal Electric serves the city. Same situation: no retail choice, no aggregation.
How to pull it together
Build a list of every ESI ID you own
One line per meter with the address, the current supplier, the rate, and the contract end date. This single spreadsheet is what turns five weak negotiations into one strong one, and most companies have never made it.
Align the end dates
Use short bridge terms on the meters that expire early so everything lands on the same month. Once they match, you can shop the whole portfolio at once and suppliers price it more aggressively.
Do not sign a power of attorney you have not read
Some brokers use a letter of authorization to renew contracts on your behalf. Sign a limited authorization that lets them gather usage data only, and keep the signature on the actual contract for yourself.
Ask what the broker is making
Commercial brokers are paid by the supplier through a fee baked into your rate, commonly a few hundredths of a cent per kWh. That is a normal way to do business, but you are entitled to know the number before you sign. See how energy brokers get paid.
Straight Answers
How much does commercial electricity cost in Dallas?
Small Dallas businesses generally land between 10.8¢ and 12¢ per kWh all-in. That breaks into a supplier energy rate of about 5.15¢ to 6.60¢ plus Oncor delivery of 5.1227¢ and a $6.70 monthly delivery fee. Larger demand-metered accounts pay a lower rate per kWh but add demand charges that can be a third of the bill.
Who is the electric utility for Dallas?
Oncor Electric Delivery. It owns the poles, wires and meters and handles outages across Dallas and most of North Texas. Oncor does not sell electricity and you cannot choose a different wires company. You choose the retail provider that sells you the energy, and Oncor delivers it either way.
Is Dallas cheaper than Houston for business electricity?
On the energy half, usually yes, because supply in the ERCOT North zone tends to price slightly below the Houston zone. On the delivery half, no. Oncor charges 5.1227¢ per kWh for small commercial service against CenterPoint's 4.1993¢. The two effects mostly cancel out, so the honest answer is that they are close and it depends on your usage.
What is 4CP and does it apply to my business?
Four Coincident Peak is how ERCOT allocates transmission cost. Your demand during one 15-minute interval in each of June, July, August and September is averaged, and that average sets your transmission charge for the entire following year. It only applies to interval-metered accounts, which generally means peak demand above roughly 700 kW. If your bill shows a 4CP line, cutting load on the hottest summer afternoons is worth real money.
Can I switch providers if I am in the middle of a contract?
You can sign a new contract now with a start date the day after your current one ends. That is standard practice and avoids an early termination fee. Switching before your term ends usually triggers a fee calculated on remaining months times estimated usage, so check that clause first.
My Dallas company has several locations. Can they go on one contract?
Yes, and they usually should. Aggregating meters gives you more volume to negotiate with and one renewal date to manage instead of five. It works best when all the meters sit in Oncor territory, which covers Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Irving, Arlington and most of the metro. A location in Garland or Denton may be on a municipal utility and cannot be included.
Why did my bill jump when my usage did not change?
Three common reasons in Dallas. Your fixed-rate contract expired and you rolled onto a month-to-month rate. You crossed 10 kW of peak demand and moved to demand billing. Or Oncor delivery charges reset, which happens every March 1 and September 1. Check the contract end date on your supplier bill first, because that is the expensive one.
Delivery charges come from the Public Utility Commission of Texas monthly TDU rate report effective September 1, 2026. Supply ranges reflect fixed commercial offers in the Oncor North load zone during October 2026. Keep reading: Texas commercial electricity rates, contract renewal timing, and office electricity costs.
