Texas Billing Terms and Definitions
Base Charge — A charge assessed during each billing cycle without regard to the customer’s demand or energy consumption.
Demand Charge — A charge based on the rate at which electric energy is delivered to or by a system at a given instant, or averaged over a designated period, during the billing cycle.
Energy Charge — A charge based on the electric energy (kWh) consumed.
kW — Kilowatt, the standard unit for measuring electricity demand, equal to 1,000 watts.
kWh — Kilowatt-hour, the standard unit for measuring electricity energy consumption, equal to 1,000 watt-hours.
Advanced Metering Charge — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s charges for Advanced Metering Systems, to the extent that they are not recovered in a TDU’s standard metering charge. Acceptable abbreviation: Advanced Meter.
Competition Transition Charge — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s charges for nonsecuritized costs associated with the transition to competition. Acceptable abbreviation: Competition Transition.
Energy Efficiency Cost Recovery Factor — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s costs for energy efficiency programs, to the extent that the TDU charge is a separate charge exclusively for that purpose that is approved by the Public Utility Commission. Acceptable abbreviation: Energy Efficiency.
Late Payment Penalty — A charge assessed for late payment in accordance with Public Utility Commission rules.
Meter Charge — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s charges for metering a customer’s consumption, to the extent that the TDU charge is a separate charge exclusively for that purpose that is approved by the Public Utility Commission.
Miscellaneous Gross Receipts Tax Reimbursement — A fee assessed to recover he miscellaneous gross receipts tax imposed on retail electric providers operating in an incorporated city or town having a population of more than 1,000.
Nuclear Decommissioning Fee — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s charges for decommissioning of nuclear generating sites.
PUC Assessment — A fee assessed to recover the statutory fee for administering the Public Utility Regulatory Act.
Sales Tax — Sales tax collected by authorized taxing authorities, such as the state, cities and special purpose districts.
System Benefit Fund — A non-bypassable charge approved by the Public Utility Commission, not to exceed 65 cents per megawatt-hour, that funds the low-income discount, one-time bill payment assistance, customer education, commission administrative expenses, and low-income energy efficiency programs.
TDU Delivery Charges — The total amounts assessed by a TDU for the delivery of electricity to a customer over poles and wires and other TDU facilities not including discretionary charges.
Transmission Distribution Surcharges — One or more TDU surcharge(s) on a customer’s bill in any combination. Surcharges include charges billed as tariff riders by the TDU.
Transition Charge — A charge assessed to recover a TDU’s charges for securitized costs associated with the transition to competition.
Cargo base — un cargo evaluado durante cada ciclo de facturación, independientemente de la demanda o consumo de energía del cliente.
Cargo por demanda — un cargo en base a la tarifa a la que la energía eléctrica es distribuida hacia un sistema o por el mismo en un momento dado o el promedio durante un período determinado, durante el ciclo de facturación.
Cargo por energía — un cargo en base a la energía eléctrica (kWh) consumida.
kW — kilovatio, la unidad estándar para medir la demanda de electricidad, igual a 1,000 vatios.
kWh — kilovatio-hora, la unidad estándar para medir el consumo de energía eléctrica, igual a 1,000 vatios-hora.
Cargo por medición avanzada — un cargo evaluado para recuperar los cargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por Sistemas de Medición Avanzada, en la medida en que no son recuperados en un cargo de medición estándar de una TDU. Abreviatura aceptable: Medidor avanzado.
Cargo por transición de competencia — un cargo evaluado para recuperar los cargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por costos no titularizados asociados con la transición a la competencia. Abreviatura aceptable: Transición a la competencia.
Factor de recuperación de costo de eficiencia energética — un cargo evaluado para recuperar los costos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por programas de eficiencia energética, en la medida en que el cargo de la TDU sea un cargo por separado exclusivamente para dicho objetivo que está aprobado por la Comisión de Servicios Públicos. Abreviatura aceptable: Eficiencia energética.
Penalidad por pago atrasado — un cargo evaluado por pagos atrasados según las normas de la Comisión de Servicios Públicos.
Cargo por medidor — un cargo evaluado para recuperar los cargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por medir el consumo de un cliente, en la medida en que el cargo de la TDU sea un cargo por separado exclusivamente para dicho objetivo que está aprobado por la Comisión de Servicios Públicos.
Reembolsos varios de impuestos a los ingresos brutos — un honorario evaluado para recuperar los impuestos a los ingresos brutos varios que se cobran a los proveedores de electricidad minoristas que operan en una ciudad o pueblo incorporado con una población de más de 1,000 personas. Abreviatura aceptable: Reembolso de ingresos brutos.
Honorario por desactivación nuclear — un cargo evaluado para recuperar cargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por la desactivación de centrales nucleares. Abreviatura aceptable: Desactivación nuclear.
Evaluación de la PUC (Comisión de Servicios Públicos) — un honorario evaluado para recuperar el honorario estatutario por la administración de la Ley Regulatoria de Servicios Públicos.
Impuesto sobre ventas — impuesto sobre ventas cobrado por las autoridades impositivas autorizadas, tales como el estado, ciudades y distritos de objetivos especiales.
Fondo de beneficio al sistema — un cargo que no se puede trasladar aprobado por la Comisión de Servicios Públicos, que no puede superar 65 centavos por megavatio-hora, para financia el descuento por bajos ingresos, la asistencia de pago de facturas por única vez, información para los clientes, gastos administrativos de la comisión y programas de eficiencia energética para personas de bajos ingresos.
Cargos por transporte de la TDU — los montos totales evaluados por una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por el transporte de electricidad a un cliente por cables, postes y otras instalaciones de la TDU que no incluyen cargos discrecionales.
Recargos por transmisión y distribución — uno o más recargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) a la factura de un cliente en cualquier combinación. Los recargos incluyen cargos facturados como adicionales de tarifa por la TDU. Abreviatura aceptable: Recargos de la TDU.
Cargo por transición — un cargo evaluado para recuperar los cargos de una compañía de transmisión y distribución (TDU, por sus siglas en inglés) por costos titularizados asociados con la transición a la competencia.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For CenterPoint power outages at your home or business, please contact:
(713) 207-2222 or (800) 332-7143
CenterPoint Energy is responsible for maintaining the power lines, poles and other electricity equipment in your area. You can also click here to sign up for CenterPoint text alerts.
For Oncor power outages at your home or business, please contact:
(888) 313-4747
Oncor is responsible for maintaining the power lines, poles and other electricity equipment in your area. You can also click here to sign up for Oncor text alerts.
For AEP Texas power outages at your home or business, please contact:
(866) 223-8508
AEP Texas is responsible for maintaining the power lines, poles and other electricity equipment in your area. You can also click here to sign up for AEP Texas text alerts.
For Texas New Mexico Power electricity outages, please contact:
(888) 866-7456
TNMP is responsible for maintaining the power lines, poles and other electricity equipment in your area.
No, we’ll take care of that for you. After you complete your enrollment, we’ll submit the switch automatically so your transition is seamless.
Your first bill will be delivered by email no later than 35 days after your service starts. Occasionally, first bills are delivered almost immediately after service begins, but it is always triggered when your TDU reads your meter.
If you think you missed it, check your spam folder or log in to your account to check your bill. You may also want to add noreply@VeteranEnergyUSA.com to your Safe Senders list.
People love options. Here are yours:
- Sit back, relax, and let Auto Pay draft automatically.
- Log in to your account online and click Pay My Bill before your Auto Pay draft date. People like this option because it allows them to make manual payments around payday.
- Call us at (888) 367-7470 and follow the prompts to use our automated telephone payment system.
Depending on your plan, your monthly bill may include five kinds of charges:
- Energy charge, which covers the cost of the electricity itself.
- Depending on the plan you’ve chosen, this may be split between a flat base charge and one or more per unit (per kWh) charges.
- Service fee, which helps cover Veteran Energy’s costs to maintain your account.
- Depending on your plan, your service charge may apply to every bill or only to months where your usage is above or below a certain threshold.
- Delivery and transmission charges from your Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), which cover the cost of delivering your electricity and maintaining the poles and wires.
- If you’ve selected a bundled plan, your energy charge includes these charges; otherwise, these charges are passed through to you separately.
- TDU metering and customer charges, which help cover your utility’s cost of metering your service and maintaining your account
- If you’ve selected a bundled plan, your energy charge includes these charges.
- Taxes, including the PUC Assessment.
While Veteran Energy supplies the electricity you use, your TDU owns your meter and the electricity lines. They physically turn meters on and off and perform all maintenance on the meters and electricity lines in your area.
If your plan includes pass-through TDU charges, they will appear as two line items on your bill, and you may notice them changing from time to time.
TDU charges include your local utility’s customer charges, metering charges and delivery charges. They represent the cost of maintaining the poles and wires, transporting the electricity to your home or business, storm restoration and related charges.
The PUC sets these charges, which pass through to you without markup. Because each line reflects regulated charges that can change based on the utility’s approved tariff and other factors such as the cost of providing service, the flat TDU Metering and Customer Charges and the per-kWh Delivery and Transmission Charges may vary from month to month.
In most cases, yes! You will get your deposit back. Your deposit is fully refundable—with interest—after 12 months of timely consecutive payments.
● Energy assistance programs for low-income households. Learn more about the options in your area, and find information on eligibility and how to apply.
● Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs—for help with rent and utility payments
If you’re past due and need a little extra time, call us at (888) 367-7470. In most cases, we can schedule a payment arrangement with you.
Under the arrangement, you’ll need to pay the past due balance by an agreed-upon date—failure to do so could keep us from being able to make similar arrangements in the future.
