ERCOT Securitization Charge Drops to $389,569 a Day on October 26 as Texas Commercial Bills Carry Winter Storm Uri Costs for Decades

On October 26, 2026, the daily ERCOT securitization uplift charge that repays Winter Storm Uri debt falls to $389,569, down from $394,452, and on November 1 the monthly default charge rises to $2,266,200 from $2,255,839. At the new amounts the two charges total about $169.4 million a year, roughly 1 percent less than before, or an estimated 0.035 cents per kWh across ERCOT. For Texas commercial electricity buyers, the dollar change is small. The decision that matters is whether your contract bundles this multi-decade cost into the rate or passes it through as a line item that can move mid-term.

What Happened

ERCOT issued two settlement market notices on October 9, 2026 that reset both Winter Storm Uri securitization charges, and a third on October 12 that removes one site from the opt-out list. All three changes take effect between October 19 and November 1, 2026.

• Uplift charge (Subchapter N). Market Notice M-A100926-01 lowers the Securitization Uplift Charge Daily Amount (SUCDA) from $394,452 to $389,569, starting with Operating Day October 26, 2026. The first invoice using the new amount is issued November 2, and escrow deposits switch on November 5. ERCOT filed the quarterly true-up with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on September 15 in Docket 52710, and a PUCT administrative law judge approved it on September 25. In that notice, ERCOT described the result as a change that "slightly decreases" the daily amount.
• Default charge (Subchapter M). Market Notice M-B100926-01 raises the Total Securitization Default Charge Monthly Amount (TSDCMA) from $2,255,839 to $2,266,200, effective November 1, 2026. The first invoice using it is issued November 10, and credit exposure calculations switch on November 6. ERCOT reviews the default charge twice a year, at a semi-annual true-up each February and an annual true-up each September. This change came from the annual true-up, filed September 15 in Docket 52709 and approved September 25.
• Opt-out list. Market Notice M-B101226-01 says the PUCT's October 1 final order in Docket 59763 removes one transmission-voltage site from the uplift opt-out list, effective October 19, 2026. That site now pays the uplift charge.

Charge	Previous amount	New amount	Change	Effective date	First invoice
Subchapter N uplift (SUCDA)	$394,452 per day	$389,569 per day	down 1.24%	Oct 26, 2026 (operating day)	Nov 2, 2026
Subchapter M default (TSDCMA)	$2,255,839 per month	$2,266,200 per month	up 0.46%	Nov 1, 2026	Nov 10, 2026
Both charges, annualized	about $171.0 million	about $169.4 million	down about 1%	Nov 1, 2026	not applicable

Source: ERCOT Market Notices M-A100926-01 and M-B100926-01, October 9, 2026. Annualized figures are our arithmetic: the daily amount times 365 plus the monthly amount times 12.

Read the primary sources: ERCOT's uplift charge notice, its default charge notice, and ERCOT's HB 4492 securitization page.

What Is the ERCOT Securitization Charge?

The ERCOT securitization charge is the common name for two nonbypassable ERCOT settlement charges that repay bonds Texas approved after Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. They are not TDU delivery charges, and they do not appear in the Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas or TNMP delivery tariffs.

The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 4492 in 2021, adding Subchapters M and N to Chapter 39 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA). Each subchapter created a separate financing:

• Subchapter M, the default balance. The PUCT authorized ERCOT in October 2021 to finance up to $800 million, covering amounts market participants failed to pay ERCOT after the storm and Congestion Revenue Right auction funds ERCOT used to reduce short payments. The financing closed in November 2021, and ERCOT began collecting the default charge in January 2022. ERCOT bills it monthly to Qualified Scheduling Entities (QSEs) and CRR Account Holders by each counter-party's ratio share, not by load alone.
• Subchapter N, the uplift balance. The PUCT's October 13, 2021 debt obligation order in Docket 52322 authorized ERCOT to finance up to $2.1 billion of extraordinary costs that load-serving entities incurred during Uri. That financing closed on June 15, 2022. ERCOT bills the uplift charge daily to QSEs that represent load-serving entities, spread across load that has not opted out.

Both financings are multi-decade bonds, which is why the charges will sit in Texas commercial electricity costs for decades rather than ending with any one contract. Retail electric providers recover them from customers, either inside the quoted energy rate or as a separately labeled pass-through, and practice varies by provider and contract.

Impact on Commercial Electricity Buyers in Texas

For a Texas commercial account, the October 26 and November 1 changes move a cost of roughly 0.035 cents per kWh by about 1 percent, so the bill impact is close to zero. The real exposure is contractual, and we see three channels where it reaches a business.

The line item on your bill. Some providers show the Uri securitization cost as its own line, under labels that mention securitization, market securitization or ERCOT charges. Others fold it into the energy rate and never show it. Neither approach is wrong, but quotes that handle it differently are not directly comparable, which is why we tell buyers to compare offers on an all-in basis. Our guide to comparing commercial electricity rates in Texas walks through the line items that most often hide in an Electricity Facts Label (EFL).

Mid-contract adjustments. If your contract passes this charge through, its amount changes whenever ERCOT re-sets it: at least quarterly for the uplift charge and at least twice a year for the default charge. October 26 and November 1 are the next two such dates. A pass-through or change-in-law clause can let the provider adjust your price when these settlement amounts move. On a fixed rate that bundles the charge, the provider carries that drift for the term.

Opt-out limits. Only eligible transmission-voltage customers that paid all of their Uri invoices could opt out, and the opt-out covers the Subchapter N uplift charge only, never the Subchapter M default charge. Most small and midsize commercial sites take service at distribution voltage and were never eligible. The PUCT also ruled on August 29, 2024, in Docket 56125, that an opt-out does not transfer to another entity, and the October 19 removal shows the list is still being enforced.

How Much Does the ERCOT Securitization Charge Add per kWh?

At the new amounts, the ERCOT securitization charge works out to an estimated 0.035 cents per kWh on average, or about $0.35 per MWh. That is our ERCOT-wide estimate, not a tariff rate: it divides the roughly $169.4 million annual total by the more than 488 million MWh that ERCOT's 2025 Annual Report says customers consumed in 2025.

Monthly usage	Estimated monthly cost	Estimated annual cost	As of
5,000 kWh	about $1.74	about $21	Oct 26, 2026 amounts
20,000 kWh	about $6.94	about $83	Oct 26, 2026 amounts
100,000 kWh	about $34.71	about $417	Oct 26, 2026 amounts

Estimates at an ERCOT-wide average of 0.0347 cents per kWh. Actual amounts vary by provider, contract and site.

Two caveats keep this an estimate. Opted-out transmission-voltage load does not pay the uplift charge, so paying load carries slightly more of it, and the default charge is allocated by counter-party ratio share rather than purely by energy use. For scale, the TxCP Commercial Rate Index (TCRI) stood at 7.08 cents per kWh across 12,925 commercial plans in our October 14 weekly report, so the securitization cost is about half of one percent of a typical commercial rate. The October 26 and November 1 changes together trim it by roughly 7 cents a month for a site using 20,000 kWh. It is a similar story to ERCOT ancillary services, another small ERCOT cost where the contract wording decides who carries the swing.

The Uri Line-Item Check: Three Questions Before You Sign

Before you sign or renew a Texas commercial electricity contract, run the Winter Storm Uri securitization cost through three questions. They take a few minutes with your EFL and contract, and they settle who carries this charge for the life of your term.

What You Should Do

You do not need to rush a decision over a 1 percent change, but these four steps show exactly how the Uri charges sit in your contract before your next renewal.

1. Open your contract and EFL and search for "securitization," "ERCOT fees," "pass-through" and "change in law."
2. If the charge is itemized on your bill, expect the new amounts to show up on bills covering late October and November usage, and check that the line moved by about 1 percent, not more.
3. Compare every new quote on an all-in basis, with the securitization cost either included in the rate or added at roughly 0.035 cents per kWh, so bundled and unbundled offers line up.
4. If you are signing a term that runs into 2028 or later, get the provider's treatment of these charges in writing, because the debt outlasts typical commercial terms.

Questions to Ask Your REP or Broker

These questions pin down how a retail electric provider handles the Winter Storm Uri securitization charges, which rarely show up on a rate comparison but decide who pays when ERCOT re-sets them.

1. Is the ERCOT securitization charge included in the fixed rate for the full term, or billed as a separate pass-through?
2. If it is passed through, which line on the bill shows it, and how is the account's share calculated?
3. Does a routine ERCOT true-up, like the October 26 uplift change, trigger a price adjustment under this contract?
4. Does your change-in-law clause cover a new PUCT order on securitization charges?
5. If the site takes transmission-voltage service, how do you confirm whether its ESI ID is on ERCOT's opt-out list?

We will track the next true-up as ERCOT files it. Subscribe to Weekly Market Insights, free. We publish a data-driven rate report every Monday. To see how current offers stack up, read our guide to commercial electricity prices per kWh in Texas or see every commercial plan we track in our data download.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ERCOT securitization charge on a Texas commercial electricity bill?

The ERCOT securitization charge is the cost of repaying two sets of bonds Texas approved after Winter Storm Uri: a $2.1 billion Subchapter N uplift balance and an $800 million Subchapter M default balance. ERCOT bills both to market participants, and retail providers pass the cost to customers, either inside the energy rate or as a separate line item. It is not a TDU delivery charge.

Is the ERCOT securitization charge going up or down in 2026?

Both parts move, in opposite directions. The Subchapter N uplift charge falls 1.24 percent to $389,569 a day starting with Operating Day October 26, 2026, and the Subchapter M default charge rises 0.46 percent to $2,266,200 a month on November 1, 2026. The net effect is a decrease of about 1 percent, roughly 7 cents a month for a business using 20,000 kWh.

Can a business opt out of Winter Storm Uri securitization charges?

For most businesses, no. Only eligible transmission-voltage customers that paid all of their Uri invoices could opt out, and the opt-out covers the Subchapter N uplift charge only. The Subchapter M default charge has no opt-out, and the PUCT ruled in Docket 56125 on August 29, 2024 that an opt-out cannot be transferred to another entity.

How long will Texas businesses pay Winter Storm Uri charges?

For decades. Both securitizations are multi-decade bonds: the Subchapter M financing closed in November 2021 and the Subchapter N financing closed on June 15, 2022. ERCOT re-sets the amounts through regular true-ups, at least quarterly for the uplift charge and at least twice a year for the default charge, so the charge can change during a contract even though the debt itself is fixed.