Most Texas business owners assume that adding a new electricity meter is a utility company task — you call someone, they install it, power flows. The installation is straightforward. What's not straightforward is what happens to the rate on that meter on day one.
Every new commercial meter in Texas's deregulated market needs a retail electricity provider before the utility will energize it. If you don't select a competitive provider before your meter goes live, your meter activates on the TDU's default service rate — the most expensive electricity available in that territory. For a Dallas business adding a meter in Oncor territory, the default service rate runs materially higher than any negotiated competitive contract. Every month on default service before you switch to a contracted rate is money you can't recover.
This guide covers the complete process for adding a new electricity meter to a Texas commercial account — from permit through energization — and specifically what to do about the electricity supply contract so your new meter isn't paying default rates from day one.
Every commercial electricity meter in Texas's deregulated ERCOT territory has three separate relationships:
Your transmission and distribution utility (TDU) owns the physical meter, maintains the grid infrastructure, and is responsible for delivery. In most of the DFW area and North Texas, that's Oncor. In Houston, it's CenterPoint. In West Texas and the Corpus Christi area, it's AEP Texas. The TDU's role is non-negotiable — they serve your address regardless of which provider you choose, and their delivery charges are regulated and fixed.
Your retail electricity provider (REP) supplies the energy and sends your bill. This is the competitive piece. In Texas's deregulated market, over 100 licensed REPs can serve most commercial addresses. The supply rate on your electricity bill — the energy charge per kWh — is what varies between providers and what a competitive auction drives down.
Your ESID (Electric Service Identifier) is the unique number assigned to your specific meter by the TDU. The ESID is what links the physical meter at your address to the billing system. When you switch providers or enroll a new meter, the ESID is what the new REP submits to the TDU for enrollment. It's the 17–22 digit number on your electricity bill labeled "ESI ID" or "ESID" — every Texas commercial meter has one.
When you add a new commercial meter in Texas, the TDU creates a new ESID for that meter during the installation process. Until a REP enrolls that ESID on a competitive contract, the meter is either not energized or on default service. Enrolling it on a competitive contract before energization is the correct approach — and the way to ensure your new meter never pays default rates.
Step 1: Permits and electrical work. A licensed electrician installs the meter base, service entrance equipment, and main electrical panel to your TDU's technical specifications. Every TDU publishes construction standards — Oncor's are in their Electric Service Requirements document, CenterPoint's are in their Business Construction Handbook. Your electrician should be familiar with your specific TDU's requirements. After installation, the city or county performs an electrical inspection and issues a release to energize.
Step 2: TDU coordination and meter set. Once the city releases the installation, your electrician or contractor notifies the TDU (Oncor, CenterPoint, or AEP Texas depending on your location) to schedule meter installation. The TDU sets the physical meter at the service point, creates the ESID for that meter in the Texas market system, and registers the meter as ready for service. This step can take 3–10 business days from the city release depending on TDU workload and project type.
Step 3: Enroll a competitive REP before energization. As soon as you have the ESID — which your TDU or electrician can provide once the meter is set — you can submit that ESID to a PUCT-licensed broker for enrollment on a competitive supply contract. The broker runs a reverse auction: 25+ licensed Texas providers bid on your new meter's projected load simultaneously. You receive side-by-side bids within 24–48 hours. You select the winning bid and sign the contract electronically.
Step 4: REP enrollment and energization. Once you sign the supply contract, your new REP submits an enrollment request to the TDU using your ESID. The TDU processes the enrollment and energizes the meter — typically within 3–7 business days of REP enrollment for standard commercial service requests. For new construction with next-available scheduling, timing varies by TDU and project complexity.
Step 5: Verify, monitor, and integrate. After energization, review your first bill to confirm the supply rate matches your contract and the meter classification is correct. Request access to Smart Meter Texas (smartmetertexas.com) to view 15-minute interval data for the new meter — this shows you exactly when the meter uses the most power and is the data set you'll want for future procurement auctions.
The ESID is the single most important number in the Texas electricity enrollment process. Without it, a REP cannot enroll your meter on a supply contract. Getting the ESID as early as possible in the process gives you maximum time to run a competitive auction and execute a supply contract before energization.
Here's how to get your ESID at each stage:
Before meter installation: You can request a preliminary ESID from Oncor or CenterPoint when you submit your service application for the new meter. This allows you to begin the REP enrollment process before the physical meter is set in some cases, though the REP enrollment won't complete until the TDU finalizes the meter installation.
After meter installation: Your electrician or contractor will receive the ESID from the TDU as part of the meter set confirmation. Ask for it immediately upon meter set. If your contractor doesn't have it, contact your TDU's commercial service center with your service address — they can provide the ESID for any meter at that address.
On your existing bills: If you're adding a meter to a location where you already have service, your ESID is printed on your current electricity bill, typically in the account information section. New meters at the same address get new, separate ESIDs.
If you use a broker to run the enrollment, the broker can often obtain your ESID directly from the TDU using your service address and business name — simplifying the process for you.
If your new meter is energized before a REP enrollment is in place, two things happen depending on your TDU territory.
In Oncor territory (most of Dallas-Fort Worth including Dallas, Frisco, and Fort Worth): The meter may not energize at all until a REP enrollment is submitted, or it may be assigned to a provider of last resort (POLR) at the POLR rate. POLR rates in Texas are set by PUCT and are among the highest commercial rates available — they are explicitly designed as a temporary measure, not a cost-effective supply option.
In CenterPoint territory (Houston and surrounding areas): Similar POLR assignment may occur for unenrolled meters at energization. The POLR rate in CenterPoint territory has historically run significantly above competitive market rates.
The fix for either situation is the same: submit the ESID to a broker, run a competitive auction, execute a supply contract, and submit REP enrollment. The POLR or default service billing stops at the next meter read boundary after enrollment completes. However, you cannot recover the above-market charges paid on default service before the enrollment was in place — those months are gone.
Adding a new meter through a broker is structurally similar to a contract renewal or switch, with one key difference: there is no existing contract to compare against and no early termination fee to evaluate. The auction focuses entirely on finding the best supply contract for the meter's projected load profile.
For a new commercial meter, the load profile is projected rather than historical. If the meter is for a new business location, you provide an estimate of your expected monthly consumption and peak demand based on equipment load, operating hours, and space size. If it's an expansion meter at an existing location, your existing meters provide the best reference point — and adding the new meter's load to the existing meters' load profile often produces better pricing through volume aggregation.
Portfolio aggregation is one of the most underused advantages in Texas commercial electricity procurement. If your business has three existing meters under active contracts and you're adding a fourth, running a portfolio auction that combines all four meters produces materially better pricing than enrolling the new meter separately. Providers price larger, aggregated accounts more competitively because they represent more total revenue and lower per-account acquisition cost.
For businesses adding meters in Plano, Arlington, or across North Texas as part of a multi-location expansion, aligning all meters under a unified contract expiration date through portfolio aggregation also eliminates the administrative overhead of managing multiple renewal windows — reducing the risk of individual meters lapsing onto holdover rates.
The process differs depending on whether you're adding a meter at a new construction site or taking over an existing meter at an already-built address.
New construction: The TDU must install a new meter from scratch. This requires a service application to the TDU, coordination with your electrician on service entrance specifications, city inspection and release, TDU meter set, ESID creation, and REP enrollment before energization. Timeline from service application to energization: 3–6 weeks for standard commercial service, longer for larger services requiring transformer installation.
Existing address, new occupant: The meter already exists and the ESID already exists. You're not adding a meter — you're transferring service from the previous occupant's provider to yours. This is faster: identify the existing ESID using the address, submit to a broker for a competitive auction, execute the supply contract, and submit REP enrollment. Most transfers complete within 7–10 business days. Confirm with your landlord that the previous tenant's supply contract has been terminated and there are no outstanding enrollment holds on the meter.
Adding a sub-meter: Sub-metering a space that was previously billed under a master meter requires an electrician to install the sub-meter infrastructure and coordination with your TDU on whether the sub-meters need to be registered in the Texas market system. In many cases, sub-meters for internal cost allocation don't require TDU registration — only the master meter has an ESID. Check with your TDU before assuming sub-meters need their own REP enrollments.
Yes, and this is the preferred approach. Once the TDU creates the ESID for your new meter, a REP can enroll it on a supply contract with a forward start date aligned to your energization date. This ensures your meter is on a competitive rate from the first day of service rather than defaulting to POLR or default service rates at energization.
Your ESID, your projected monthly kWh consumption, your estimated peak demand in kW, and your preferred contract term. If you don't have precise projections, a broker can help estimate based on your space size, equipment type, and operating hours. For expansion meters at existing locations, your existing usage history is the best proxy.
Contact your broker with the new ESID and your projected load. The broker will either add the new meter to your existing portfolio contract (if terms align) or run a separate auction for the new meter and align the expiration date to your existing contracts. Either approach is better than handling the new meter independently outside your existing relationship.
No. TDU territories are independent. If your existing meters are in Oncor territory in Dallas and you're adding a meter in CenterPoint territory in Houston, the new meter gets a separate ESID, a separate REP enrollment, and separate delivery charges. However, many Texas REPs are licensed in multiple TDU territories and can supply accounts across Oncor, CenterPoint, and AEP Texas — so a portfolio auction can still aggregate meters across territories under a single supply contract.
Nothing. EnergyBrokerTX's service is 100% free to the business. The broker earns a commission from the winning REP, built into the supply rate at the same level whether you use a broker or contact a provider directly. You pay the same amount for the electricity either way — but with a broker you see 25+ competing bids rather than one quote.
Whether you're adding a meter for new construction in Dallas, expanding to a new Houston location, or taking over service at an existing address anywhere in Texas, the enrollment process is straightforward when you start early.
Visit our add a new electricity meter page for a quick start, or contact EnergyBrokerTX directly with your ESID and projected usage. We'll run a competitive auction with 25+ licensed Texas providers, present every bid transparently, and handle the REP enrollment — ensuring your new meter is on a competitive rate from day one. PUCT License #BR260054.
