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Texas Utility & Home Battery Eligibility · 2026

Which Texas utility serves your home — and does it qualify for a home battery program?

One fact decides it: your transmission utility. $0 upfront for qualified homes.

  • $0 upfront
  • Monitored, maintained & insured
  • Backup during outages

The short answer

In Texas, one fact decides whether your home can join a $0-upfront home battery and Virtual Power Plant program: which transmission and distribution utility (TDU) delivers power to your address. Homes on a deregulated TDU — Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, TNMP, or Lubbock Power & Light — sit inside the competitive market where this program operates. Homes served by an electric cooperative or most municipal utilities do not. Your exact address confirms it.

Last updated July 11, 2026 · By VPP Home Energy

  • Your transmission and distribution utility (TDU) — not your retail electric provider — decides whether your home can join this program.
  • Deregulated TDUs whose homes may qualify: Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP), and Lubbock Power & Light.
  • Most homes served by an electric cooperative or most municipal utilities (for example Austin Energy or CPS Energy in San Antonio) are outside the competitive market and do not qualify.
  • You can find your TDU on your electricity bill or Electricity Facts Label — or let the quick check sort it out from your address.
  • Qualified homes pay $0 upfront; the provider maintains, monitors, and insures the equipment.

This page is the map. Below, you can see the five deregulated Texas utilities in one table, find yours, and jump to the guide for your area — or just run the two-minute check and let it sort out your utility for you. Either way, eligibility is decided by your address, and a specialist confirms the fit in writing before anything moves forward.

Check my eligibility

No upfront cost. No obligation. If it’s not a fit, we’ll tell you honestly.

First, the key idea

What is a TDU, and why does it decide your eligibility?

In most of Texas you have two different electricity companies, and people mix them up all the time. Sorting them out is the whole game here.

Your retail electric provider is the company that bills you and whose name is on the plan you shopped for. Your transmission and distribution utility (TDU) is the company that actually owns the poles, wires, and meter that bring power to your home — you don’t choose it, your address does. When a storm knocks out your power, the TDU is who restores it.

This program runs inside Texas’s deregulated (competitive) electricity market, so the deciding fact isn’t who bills you — it’s which TDU serves your address. Five deregulated TDUs cover most Texas homes; homes on a co-op or a municipal utility sit outside that market. The table below shows which is which.

The map

Which Texas utilities qualify for a home battery program?

Find your transmission utility, see whether its homes may qualify, and open the guide for your area. Eligibility is always confirmed by your exact address.

Texas transmission and distribution utilities, the major areas they serve, whether homes they serve may qualify for the home battery and Virtual Power Plant program, and where to learn more.
Your utility (TDU) Major areas served Eligibility Learn more
Oncor Dallas–Fort Worth, North and West Texas May qualify Texas 2026 guide
CenterPoint Energy Houston and much of the Gulf Coast May qualify Houston backup power
AEP Texas Corpus Christi, Laredo, the Rio Grande Valley, Victoria, Abilene, San Angelo May qualify Corpus Christi Laredo Rio Grande Valley
Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP) Parts of the Gulf Coast, West and North Texas May qualify Texas 2026 guide
Lubbock Power & Light Lubbock May qualify Texas 2026 guide
Electric co-ops & municipal utilities For example Austin Energy and CPS Energy (San Antonio) Not eligible Outside the competitive market

Territories can overlap at the edges, and a single city can sit across more than one utility. This table is a starting map, not a final eligibility decision — your exact address is what settles it.

Check my eligibility

No upfront cost. No obligation. The check takes about 2 minutes.

Find yours

How do I find out which utility serves my home?

Two easy ways — and if neither is handy, the quick check does it for you.

  1. Check your electricity bill.

    Your TDU usually appears under the delivery or “TDU” charges, separate from your retail provider’s name at the top.

  2. Check your Electricity Facts Label (EFL).

    Every Texas plan has one; it names the transmission utility for your service area.

  3. Or just run the quick check.

    Enter your address and the check sorts out your utility area for you — then a specialist confirms it before anything moves forward.

Check my eligibility

No upfront cost. No obligation.

Why it matters

Why look into backup power at all?

Because the Texas grid keeps being pushed to its edge, and no one can tell you when the next outage reaches your block.

ERCOT, the operator for most of Texas, forecasts a record 92.2 gigawatts of peak demand for summer 2026 — above the 85.5 GW all-time record (The Texas Tribune, Jan. 29, 2026; ERCOT seasonal update). And federal Department of Energy data shows Texas led the nation in major power outages from 2019 through 2023 — 263 events, averaging about 160 minutes and roughly 172,000 people affected each time (Governing.com, Mar. 13, 2024).

A home battery can keep your essentials running through an outage and gives you more control over your home’s energy — without the upfront cost of buying a system yourself.

  • Keeps your essentials running

    Home battery storage sized for your home — lights, fridge, and Wi-Fi can stay on through an outage.

  • $0 upfront, fully managed

    No system to buy. The provider installs, monitors, maintains, and insures the equipment.

  • Grid-resilience peace of mind

    Your battery supports the wider Texas grid at peak demand — and stands by your home the rest of the time.

Check my eligibility

No upfront cost. No obligation.

Check eligibility

See if your Texas home qualifies

Not sure which utility serves you? The check sorts it out. Pricing depends on your home and utility, so a quick check gives you a real answer — not a generic one.

Your details are only used to check your home’s eligibility and to follow up with you. If it’s not a fit, we’ll tell you honestly.

A battery program specialist may follow up by phone or email about your request. No obligation. See our Privacy Notice and Terms.

Preliminary fit check only; not a final eligibility decision. Program terms vary by home, provider, and program path.

How it works

How does the program work?

Three steps: check your eligibility, talk to a specialist, and get set up at $0 upfront if your home qualifies.

How a home virtual power plant works A continuous energy line threads left to right through three nodes: a Texas home with its lights on, a home battery that stores energy, and the grid. The home battery provides backup during outages and supports the shared grid network at peak demand. Your home Backup during outages Home battery Stores your energy The grid Supports the network HOW THE BACKUP FLOWS $0 upfront
  1. Check your eligibility.

    Answer a few quick questions about your Texas home and utility.

  2. Talk to a specialist.

    A specialist reviews your home and the exact terms in plain language — everything in writing before you decide.

  3. Get set up at $0 upfront.

    If your home qualifies, the provider installs and handles maintenance, monitoring, and insurance.

Check my eligibility

No upfront cost. No obligation. If it’s not a fit, we’ll tell you honestly.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers on TDUs, finding your utility, co-ops and municipal utilities, cost, solar, and program terms.

What is a TDU, and why does it decide my eligibility?

A TDU — a transmission and distribution utility — is the company that owns the poles and wires that deliver electricity to your home and reads your meter. It is separate from your retail electric provider, which is the company that bills you. In Texas, this program is available in the deregulated (competitive) market, so the deciding fact is which TDU serves your address: Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, TNMP, and Lubbock Power & Light are deregulated TDUs whose homes may qualify.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

How do I find out which utility serves my home?

Your transmission utility is listed on your electricity bill and on your plan’s Electricity Facts Label, usually as the TDU or delivery charge. If you would rather not dig through paperwork, the quick eligibility check sorts out your utility area from your address, and a specialist confirms it before anything moves forward.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

Do electric co-ops or municipal utilities qualify?

Usually not. Most homes served by an electric cooperative or most municipal utilities — for example Austin Energy or CPS Energy in San Antonio — sit outside the competitive Texas market and do not qualify for this program. If you are not sure whether your home is on a co-op, a municipal utility, or a deregulated TDU, the quick check confirms it.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

Is there really no upfront cost?

Qualified Texas homeowners pay $0 upfront. Your specialist explains the full program details on your call before you decide anything.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

Does this program include solar?

Yes — it’s a solar-and-battery agreement, not just a battery. The provider installs, maintains, monitors, and insures the solar-plus-battery system, so there is no upfront cost to you. Your specialist walks through exactly how it fits your home and roof, and the full terms, on your call before you decide anything.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

What about pricing and program terms?

Your specialist reviews the full details with you, including the provider’s Electricity Facts Label, so you see the exact terms before you decide. Program terms vary by home, provider, and program path.

Curious whether your home’s a fit? Check my eligibility →

Sources

Where do these facts come from?

Every statistic on this page traces to a dated, named source. Nothing here is estimated by us.

  • The structure of Texas’s competitive retail electricity market and the transmission and distribution utilities that operate in it — Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, AEP Texas, Texas-New Mexico Power, and Lubbock Power & Light — are matters of public record through the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT.
  • The Texas Tribune (January 29, 2026) and ERCOT’s seasonal forecast: ERCOT projects a record 92.2 GW summer 2026 peak, above the 85.5 GW all-time record.
  • U.S. Department of Energy outage data, reported by Governing.com (March 13, 2024): Texas led the nation in major power outages from 2019 through 2023 — 263 events, averaging about 160 minutes and roughly 172,000 people affected each.
  • Eligibility facts (deregulated-market participation by TDU) reflect the program’s current Texas service rules. A specialist confirms your exact address before anything moves forward.

Keep reading

City guides & the full Texas guide