01
ESI ID
The ID for your meter's service point. It's how the utility and every supplier identify your location.
Learn / Reading your bill
Learn · 01
How to read your commercial electric bill
Texas guide: A commercial bill packs a lot onto one page. Most of it is routine. A few lines decide what you pay. Here's what each part means and where to look first. Bills in other states use some different names, but the same ideas apply.
Find these five things first
Layouts differ by supplier, but every Texas commercial bill has these somewhere.
02
Usage (kWh)
How much electricity you used in the billing period. This is the volume your energy price gets multiplied by.
03
Demand (kW)
Your peak draw during the period. On many commercial meters it drives part of the delivery charge.
04
Contract end date
Often printed near the agreement details. If you can't find it, that's worth finding out.
05
Total vs. energy rate
The energy rate is one line. Your real cost per kWh includes delivery, fees and taxes. More on that below.
Line by line
- ESI ID
Short for Electric Service Identifier. A long number, usually 17 or 22 digits, tied to the service point at your address, not to you or your supplier. It stays the same when you switch. If you have several meters, each has its own.
- Service period and meter reads
The dates covered and the meter readings at the start and end. The difference, times the meter multiplier, is your usage. Some bills show two partial periods if the read date moved.
- Usage (kWh)
Kilowatt-hours: total energy used. A walk-in cooler running all month racks these up. So do long hours and big HVAC loads.
- Demand (kW)
The highest rate at which you pulled power during the period, generally averaged over a short interval like 15 minutes. If kWh is miles driven, kW is your top speed.
For many commercial accounts the utility bills part of delivery on demand, and some utility tariffs carry a high-demand month forward into later bills. Staggering when big equipment starts can matter.
- Power factor
How efficiently your equipment uses the power it draws. Many small businesses never need to think about it. If it's low on a large account, it can affect billed demand.
- Energy charge
Your supplier's price for the electricity itself, shown as a rate per kWh times your usage. This is the part suppliers compete on, and the part a broker can shop.
- Delivery charges
What your utility (delivery company) charges to move power over its lines and maintain the meter. In Texas it's called the TDSP: Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, TNMP or Lubbock Power & Light, depending on your area. These charges are regulated and pass through at the same rates no matter which supplier you choose. They're often a big share of the bill and may include fixed monthly charges, per-kWh charges and per-kW demand charges.
- Grid and regulatory fees
Small line items set by the grid operator (ERCOT) and regulators, such as administrative and securitization charges. They pass through to every customer and aren't something to negotiate.
- Taxes and assessments
Sales tax, local taxes, a gross receipts reimbursement and a small state assessment are typical. They scale with the bill.
- Agreement details
Your product type (for example, fixed), your contract rate and often your contract end date. Some bills also show the average price you paid per kWh that month.
- Usage history
A small chart of the past year. It shows your seasons. In Texas, summer is usually where the big months are. This history is what accurate pricing is built on.
- Outage number
Usually printed on the bill, and it's your utility's number, not your supplier's. Outages and line problems go to the utility.
Do the math once
Take total current charges and divide by kWh used. That's your all-in cost per kWh for the month, with delivery, fees and taxes included.
Now compare it to the energy rate on the same bill. The all-in number will be noticeably higher. That gap is why "what's your rate?" is a trickier question than it sounds, and why comparing a quoted energy rate to your all-in cost isn't apples to apples. When we quote, we tell you what's in the number and what still passes through.
Worth a second look
No contract end date anywhere, or words like "variable" or "month-to-month" near your rate. A demand number that jumps in some months. More than one meter you didn't know about. Any of these is a good reason to send us the bill.
Send the bill. We'll read it.
Upload your latest bill and we'll walk through it with your quote: usage, demand, end date and the real all-in picture, on a call by the next business day, with an emailed copy while you talk.