What Is a TDU or TDSP? The Texas Delivery Company Explained

• Owns and maintains the poles, wires, transformers and meters that carry power to your home.
• Restores service after outages and storms.
• Reads the meter, and runs the smart meter data portal that customers and providers use.
• Carries out connects, disconnects and moves when your provider requests them.
• Charges for delivery, which your provider passes through on your bill.

It does not sell electricity, set your plan price or send your bill. Those jobs belong to your retail electric provider. See what a retail electric provider is.

Four companies deliver power to most of the competitive Texas market: Oncor, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, AEP Texas and Texas-New Mexico Power. Which one serves you depends on your address.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data), delivery-only residential service. These are 2025 averages, not tariff rates. A utility's profile on this site is independent and not affiliated with it.

Not every part of Texas is in the competitive market. Some areas are served by municipal utilities or electric cooperatives that sell power directly, and some are outside the main grid. Check your bill or ask your address provider. The find my electric company tool shows which utilities report service in your county.

Your bill, or the plan's Electricity Facts Label, lists the delivery charges under a name such as TDU delivery charges, TDSP charges or delivery charges. These are usually a fixed monthly amount plus a per-kWh amount. They are passed through, which means they come from the delivery company, and a cheaper plan does not lower them.

The Electricity Facts Label is a standard disclosure that Texas rules require for residential plans. It shows the average price at three usage levels including delivery. Read the rule at 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 25.475, checked October 9, 2026. See also how to read a Texas plan label.

When you move in, you choose a retail electric provider, and that provider asks the delivery company to connect or switch service at your meter. The request uses the meter's ESI ID, which identifies the meter at your address. The delivery company carries out the connection and, if the meter needs a visit, schedules it.

Fees for a visit, a reconnection or a special read come from the delivery company and are passed through by your provider, so ask your provider which fees apply before you schedule. Our ESI ID page explains how to find your number.

Delivery companies run outage maps and alert systems, and most let you report an outage by phone or online. Sign up for alerts with your delivery company, since your retail provider does not run the lines. If someone in your home relies on electric medical equipment, ask your delivery company what programs exist for customers like you.

• "Switching providers changes who delivers my power." It does not. The delivery company stays the same.
• "A cheaper plan lowers the delivery charge." It does not. The charge is set by the delivery company and passed through.
• "My provider will fix an outage." It cannot. Report outages to the delivery company.

• 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 25.475, Information disclosures to residential and small commercial customers
• U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data)