How to read an Electricity Facts Label, section by section.

By Evan Wakefield · Updated October 20, 2026

Every electricity plan sold in Texas has an Electricity Facts Label, or EFL: a short document, required by the state, that sets out what the plan charges. Whatever an ad or a website says, the label is what you agree to.

Where to find it

On a provider's website, the label is usually linked from the plan's page as "Electricity Facts Label" or "EFL." The state's Power to Choose site (we're not affiliated with it) links most plans' labels from their listings. If you can't find it, ask the provider before you sign up.

A label is written for one delivery area, because each utility's delivery charges are different. Check that it names the utility on your bill, and note its date or version: providers update labels, and the one you sign up under is the one that counts.

The average price table

Near the top is a small table of average prices per kWh at three usage levels: 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month. Each one is the plan's whole bill at that usage, divided by the kWh. The label says whether delivery charges are included; usually they are.

Read the three together, not just the middle one. If the 1,000 kWh price is far below both of the others, the plan depends on a bill credit near that level. If the 500 kWh price is the high one, look for a minimum usage fee or a large base charge. A plan whose three prices sit close together usually costs about the same per kWh across that range. Don't guess a price between the three points by drawing a straight line: a credit or a fee can sit anywhere between them.

The charges underneath

Energy chargeThe provider's price per kWh. Some plans have two or more, each for a block of usage.

Base chargeA fixed monthly amount from the provider, charged whatever you use.

Delivery chargesThe utility's charges for the wires, passed through to you. They're the same whichever provider you pick. When the utility changes them, your bill follows the new figure, even if the label was printed before the change.

Bill creditsMoney off in months you meet a usage line, or for Auto-Pay and paperless billing. Read the exact condition.

Minimum usage feeA charge added in months you use less than a set amount.

Other key terms

Lower on the label, often under a heading like "Other Key Terms and Questions," are the parts that decide what happens over the contract rather than in one month.

Type of productFixed, variable or indexed (the price follows a market index). On a fixed-rate plan the price can change during the term only for the reasons the label lists, such as a change in delivery charges. A variable or indexed price can change month to month.

Contract termHow many months the plan runs. The label or the Terms of Service says what happens when it ends.

Cancellation feeUsually either one flat amount or an amount for each month left on the contract; some plans have none. A per-month fee is largest right after you sign. Some labels waive the fee if you move and show proof.

Renewable contentHow much of the plan's electricity comes from renewable sources.

What the label leaves out

The average prices usually exclude taxes, and they never include charges that depend on what happens to your account, such as a late payment fee, a returned-payment fee or a deposit. Two other documents come with every plan: the Terms of Service and Your Rights as a Customer. They cover how billing, deposits and cancellation work.

What it takes to check this yourself

You can check this from the label and your bills. For each plan you're considering, it takes this:

The label names your utility, and its date is current.
The product type is the one you want. Fixed means the price holds for the term, except for the changes the label lists.
The three average prices: close together, or low at one usage level and high on both sides.
Every credit and fee, with its exact condition, against your own twelve months of usage.
The cancellation fee, and whether it's flat or charged per month left.
The contract term, and what happens when it ends.

Then do it again for every other plan in your area. That's the arithmetic watt marshal does for you, for every plan we can price.

How watt marshal uses the label

We read each plan's label and price the ones we can, month by month, on your twelve months of usage. Delivery charges come from the utility's current rates as filed with the state. Your report links the label for each plan wherever one is published, so you can check us against it. Plans with different rates at different hours (time-of-use), variable-rate plans and prepaid plans depend on things a monthly usage total can't tell us, so we can't estimate them reliably yet. We leave those out, along with any plan whose label we can't price with confidence.

More guides

Bill credits

How a usage bill credit works, why a month just under the line costs the whole credit, and how your report counts it.

Minimum usage fees and usage tiers

A fee for using too little, a rate that changes past a line, and how each one lands on a real year of bills.

Want your own plans read this way? Start with your ZIP.

We rank every fixed-rate plan we can price in your delivery area on your twelve months of usage, within each contract length.