Electricity in Fort Worth

By JP Reilly, Growth · Published · Updated

Fort Worth electricity tracks the broader DFW pattern, but with a western-metro twist: the dryline that crosses Tarrant County produces some of the country's most active hail and severe-storm seasons in spring⁸. From May to September an average household pulls about 6,200 kWh — roughly 45% of the annual total in a third of the year¹⁴. That window — not the EFL's tidy 1,000 kWh tier¹³ — judges the plan you pick. Around 80 REPs sell into Oncor's wires here⁴.

Quick facts — Fort Worth

Utility (TDU)
Oncor Electric Delivery
Market
Deregulated (Texas competitive market)
Avg residential usage
1,155 kWh/month
Avg residential bill
$175/month
Retail providers serving
~80 REPs (PUCT-registered)
Avg outage duration
110 minutes/year (SAIDI)
Base Power available
Yes
TDU base charge
$4/mo
TDU energy delivery
5.62¢/kWh

About electricity in Fort Worth

Cooling load drives the math. July and August daily highs average near 96°F¹; modeled household usage swings from 690 kWh in April to 1,740 kWh in August¹⁴ — almost entirely air conditioning. Most of Fort Worth is on Oncor's wires¹⁵, which is the territory Base Power sells into — the address block below confirms whether any specific home qualifies. Fort Worth is also the metro's aerospace, logistics, and energy-services anchor, with a steady western-flank growth pattern that's pushed Tarrant County population well past two million.

Reliability tracks the median for Texas urban utilities — Oncor's 2024 PUCT filing reports about 110 minutes of outage per residential customer annually, excluding major-event days⁶. The local failure mode is wind, hail, and equipment, not bulk-grid capacity. Winter Storm Uri Feb 2021 remains the standout event⁷; the February 2023 ice storm hit Tarrant County hard⁹; the June 2023 derecho and the May 2024 thunderstorm complex¹⁰ each pushed Oncor restoration crews across the western DFW metro for days.

How usage shifts across the year

MonthAvg kWhAvg high °FAvg low °F
Jan1,23056.536.1
Feb1,03060.940.1
Mar79068.647.8
Apr69076.155.2
May1,09083.664.5
Jun1,49091.572.2
Jul1,69095.675.8
Aug1,74095.875.7
Sep1,29088.668.5
Oct79078.457.1
Nov84066.646.2
Dec1,18057.938.3

Source: NOAA Climate Data Online (1991–2020 normals) + EIA RECS 2020 cooling-degree-day model

Local climate

North Texas humid subtropical — long hot summers with July and August highs in the mid-90s°F, mild winters with occasional hard freezes, and a busy spring severe-weather season shaped by the dryline that crosses the western metro and produces some of the country's most active hail seasons.

Switch to Base Power in Fort Worth

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Neighborhoods we serve

Frequently asked questions

  1. Who is my utility (TDU) in Fort Worth?

    Oncor for nearly all of Fort Worth¹⁵ — Oncor owns the wires, poles, and meter, and dispatches the line crews when the lights go out. Whichever REP you sign up with handles your billing, but the restoration call goes to Oncor every time.

  2. How do I switch electricity providers in Fort Worth?

    Pick a plan, give the REP your service address, and ERCOT switches your meter on the next business day or your next meter-read date. Typical changeover: 1–3 days with no service interruption. The new REP coordinates with Oncor automatically.

  3. What's the average electricity bill in Fort Worth?

    Modeled annual residential usage in Fort Worth is ~13,850 kWh, peaking near 1,740 kWh in August and bottoming near 690 kWh in April¹⁴. At Texas's February 2026 average residential rate of 15.41¢/kWh², that runs roughly $2,135 a year. The seasonal swing pulls August closer to $268 and April closer to $106.

  4. Why does my bill go up so much in summer?

    Cooling, mostly. Fort Worth's July and August averages near 96°F mean A/C runs hard for months¹. Cooling load roughly doubles monthly kWh between April's shoulder and August's peak¹⁴ — that's the half of the year when plan structure actually shows up on the bill.

  5. What's an EFL?

    An Electricity Facts Label is the one-pager every Texas REP must publish per plan, under PUCT Substantive Rule §25.475¹³. It shows the all-in rate at three usage tiers: 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. Fort Worth's August reality is closer to 1,740 kWh — only the 2,000 kWh column reflects what you'll actually pay; the 1,000 kWh column is the one bill-credit plans optimize around. Read both — the gap between them is the plan's honesty test.

  6. Can I get a 100% renewable plan in Fort Worth?

    Yes. Multiple REPs offer 100% renewable-content plans, accounted for via Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) — one REC per MWh of qualifying generation¹², retired by the REP against your monthly usage. Plan structure (rate, term, EFL) doesn't change. Oncor delivers the same electrons over the same wires regardless of which plan you pick.

  7. What happens during a power outage in Fort Worth?

    Report to Oncor (1-888-313-4747 or oncor.com) — your REP can't dispatch line crews. Most non-event Fort Worth outages trace to thunderstorm wind, hail, or equipment faults⁶. Major events are the outliers: Winter Storm Uri Feb 2021⁷, the February 2023 ice storm⁹, and the May 2024 thunderstorm complex¹⁰.

  8. Does Base Power Company serve Fort Worth?

    Yes — nearly all of Fort Worth is in Oncor territory, which is where Base Power sells¹⁵. The address widget on this page checks your specific service availability in seconds. Once Base confirms your address, the switch processes through ERCOT in 1–3 business days with no service interruption.

Sources

  1. NOAA NCEI Climate Data Online — 1991–2020 monthly normals, Dallas/Fort Worth International station (USW00003927); verified against the NWS Fort Worth records-and-normals pageRetrieved
  2. EIA Open Data API v2 — Texas residential retail rate (Feb 2026: 15.41¢/kWh)Retrieved
  3. US Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year Estimates (2024 release), Fort Worth city, TX housing dataRetrieved
  4. PUCT — Directory of Retail Electric ProvidersRetrieved
  5. Oncor Tariff for Retail Delivery Service (2025 schedule, currently effective; 2026 rate case approved by PUCT 2026-04-17, new rates pending tariff filing)Retrieved
  6. Oncor 2024 PUCT System Reliability Report (IEEE 1366 SAIDI, excluding major-event days)Retrieved
  7. NWS Fort Worth — Winter Storm Uri (February 2021) post-event summaryRetrieved
  8. NWS Fort Worth — DFW dryline severe-weather climatology and storm reportsRetrieved
  9. NPR — "Ice storm leaves hundreds of thousands of Texans without power" (Feb 2023); Oncor restoration map citations naming DFW among hardest-hit metrosRetrieved
  10. Fort Worth Star-Telegram — May 2024 thunderstorm and June 2023 derecho coverage; Oncor outage and restoration reports across Tarrant CountyRetrieved
  11. Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce — Tarrant County economic anchors and major-employer profileRetrieved
  12. ERCOT — Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) program documentationRetrieved
  13. PUCT Substantive Rule §25.475 — Information Disclosures to Residential and Small Commercial Customers (Electricity Facts Label requirements)Retrieved
  14. EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS 2020) — West-South-Central census division (cooling-degree-day elasticity used for monthly kWh modeling)Retrieved
  15. EIA Form 861 via findenergy.com — Fort Worth city electricity service split (Oncor primary territory)Retrieved