TCRI: Commercial Electricity Index Slips to 6.98 Cents as the PUCT Opens a DRRS Fixed-Rate Project, Week of Nov 2, 2026
The TxCP Commercial Rate Index slipped to 6.98 cents per kWh across 15,357 commercial electricity plans on November 2, 2026, with all five TDU medians lower again. The PUCT has opened Project 59997 to decide whether a reserve service ERCOT expects to launch in 2028 can change existing fixed rates.
Bottom line: The TxCP Commercial Rate Index (TCRI) from the texascommercialplans.com database slipped to 6.98 cents per kWh across 15,357 tracked Texas commercial electricity plans in the ERCOT deregulated market as of November 2, 2026, from 7.04 cents on October 26. All five TDU medians moved lower for a second straight week, and repriced plans fell 730 to 445. The regulatory news: the PUCT opened a project to decide whether a new ERCOT reserve service can ever change an existing fixed rate. Updated weekly.
Market Pulse
Across the 15,357 commercial electricity plans we track as of November 2, 2026, the TxCP Commercial Rate Index sits at 6.98 cents per kWh, 0.06 cents below October 26 and the largest weekly drop since October 5. The TCRI has now eased in five straight reports, from 7.17 cents on September 28.
Medians moved less than the average. Every TDU median slipped by only 0.01 to 0.02 cents, so plan mix in a catalog that grew from 14,223 to 15,357 explains part of the larger TCRI move. Repricing still points down: of the 6,165 plans we matched to our prior snapshot, 1,175 changed price, 730 lower and 445 higher.
What Moved This Week and Why It Matters
The most consequential development for Texas commercial buyers this week is a new PUCT project that will decide whether a reserve service ERCOT expects to launch in 2028 can change the price on a fixed-rate contract you sign today. With the average term in our catalog at 24.0 months, a typical contract signed this month runs into that window.
What Happened
On October 29 the Public Utility Commission of Texas assigned Project No. 59997, captioned "Treatment of DRRS and Other Future Ancillary Services Costs in Existing Fixed-Rate Retail Contracts" (EnergyChoiceMatters report). DRRS, the Dispatchable Reliability Reserve Service, is a new ERCOT ancillary service the PUCT approved on July 9, 2026 under NPRR1309 (ERCOT NPRR1309 record). ERCOT expects to implement it in 2028.
When it approved DRRS in July, the Commission did not adopt language sought by a coalition of retail electric providers that would have designated DRRS as a new service with costs beyond their control. That designation is the hinge in the PUCT's fixed-rate rule: a fixed-rate product's price cannot change to reflect ancillary service charges unless the Commission expressly designates that service as incurring charges beyond the provider's control for existing contracts (16 TAC 25.475). PUCT Chair Thomas Gleeson said in July that the Commission should first work out the details and guardrails in a separate project, and Project 59997 is it. The Commission has opened it, not ruled in it.
Impact on Texas Commercial Buyers
Contract. The fixed-rate protection in 16 TAC 25.475 covers residential and small commercial customers, and the PUCT's customer protection rules define a small commercial customer as a non-residential account with peak demand under 50 kW. Under that line, DRRS cannot move your fixed price unless the PUCT designates it. At 50 kW or more, your contract's own pass-through and change-in-law language decides what can be added mid-term.
Budget. Nobody can price DRRS yet. For scale, ERCOT ancillary services cost about 1 percent of wholesale cost in 2025, as our September 30 briefing showed. The risk worth managing is an open-ended clause in a multi-year contract, not the size of today's ancillary bill.
Timing. The average contract term across the plans we track is 24.0 months, and 2,003 of the 11,785 plans with a stated term run 25 months or longer. A 24-month contract signed this month ends in November 2028, and a 36-month contract runs to November 2029. Both reach into ERCOT's 2028 implementation estimate, so the wording you sign now is the wording that applies if the PUCT later designates DRRS.
The 2028 Clause Check: Four Questions Before You Sign a Fixed Rate
- Does your term reach 2028? A term of 24 months or longer signed this month ends in November 2028 or later, the year ERCOT expects to implement DRRS.
- Which rule protects you? Check your peak demand on recent bills. Under 50 kW, the PUCT's fixed-rate rule applies. At 50 kW or above, your contract terms do.
- What does the pass-through clause name? Search the contract and the Electricity Facts Label for "ancillary," "change in law" and "new charges." A clause that covers any new ERCOT charge reaches further than one limited to charges the PUCT designates.
- Is the price all-in or open-ended? Ask whether the quoted rate already covers future ancillary services or passes them through, and get the answer in writing.
What You Should Do This Week
- Find your peak demand in kW on your last 12 bills and note whether any month reached 50 kW.
- Pull your current contract and mark every pass-through, ancillary service and change-in-law provision before your renewal call.
- If your term ends before mid-2027, request 12-, 24- and 36-month quotes on the same day and compare them with this week's medians: 5.93 cents for 1 to 12 months, 6.16 cents for 13 to 24 months and 6.55 cents for 25 months and up.
- Watch Project 59997 on the PUCT's filings site. A proposal there is the first sign of whether existing fixed rates could change.
Questions to ask your REP or broker:
- If the PUCT designates DRRS as beyond your control, can this fixed price change, and how would you calculate the change?
- Does this contract let you pass through any new ERCOT ancillary service, or only one the PUCT designates?
- Will you cap any ancillary pass-through in writing, or quote this term with no pass-through at all?
Also moving
- PUCT staff want to keep ancillary costs on load. In Project 58555, staff recommended keeping ERCOT's current method, which allocates ancillary and reliability service costs mainly to load by load ratio share, after an ERCOT study found none of three alternatives would yield net consumer savings (EnergyChoiceMatters, October 30). If the Commission agrees, those costs keep reaching business rates through retail providers.
- Interest on REP-held deposits may fall in 2027. PUCT staff proposed 3.68 percent for customer deposits held by retail electric providers in calendar year 2027, down from 4.12 percent, in Project 45319 (EnergyChoiceMatters, October 30). If your business posted a deposit with its provider, it would earn less next year.
- Retail switching pauses on Sunday, November 8. ERCOT's planned maintenance from 8:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. stops all retail transactions and takes MarkeTrak offline (ERCOT notice R-A100826-02). If you are timing a switch or move-in around that weekend, build in a day of slack.
Pricing Trend Analysis
Texas commercial electricity pricing edged lower again across our tracked plans as of November 2, 2026: all five TDU medians fell between 0.01 and 0.02 cents from October 26, and the five medians now span 6.30 to 6.53 cents per kWh, the same 0.23-cent band as a week ago.
Oncor keeps the lowest median, 6.30 cents, and the lowest average, 6.86 cents. AEP Central keeps the highest median, 6.53 cents, and CenterPoint the highest average, 7.07 cents. The short-term median fell 0.03 cents, while mid-term and long-term medians held flat.
| Date | Segment | Plans | Low | Median | Median on 2026-10-26 | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 | Oncor | 3,462 | $0.0351 | $0.0630 | $0.0631 | $0.2526 |
| 2026-11-02 | AEP North | 2,797 | $0.0430 | $0.0641 | $0.0643 | $0.2533 |
| 2026-11-02 | AEP Central | 3,157 | $0.0430 | $0.0653 | $0.0654 | $0.2574 |
| 2026-11-02 | CenterPoint | 3,018 | $0.0375 | $0.0647 | $0.06485 | $0.2390 |
| 2026-11-02 | TNMP | 2,923 | $0.0430 | $0.0639 | $0.0641 | $0.2612 |
| 2026-11-02 | Short-term (1 to 12 months) | 5,878 | $0.0351 | $0.0593 | $0.0596 | $0.2612 |
| 2026-11-02 | Mid-term (13 to 24 months) | 3,904 | $0.0430 | $0.0616 | $0.0616 | $0.1609 |
| 2026-11-02 | Long-term (25 months and up) | 2,003 | $0.0430 | $0.0655 | $0.0655 | $0.1390 |
The term rows cover the 11,785 plans with a stated contract length. Short-term plans keep the lowest median, 5.93 cents, and the highest average, 7.41 cents, because a tail of high-priced offers pulls the average up. Mid-term costs 0.23 cents more on medians, and locking beyond 24 months another 0.39 cents. Term moves the median about 2.7 times as much as territory (0.62 cents against the 0.23-cent TDU band), as our TDU versus contract term guide explains. See the full pricing breakdown in our data download.
Every tracked plan, REP and TDU territory comes as a $10 CSV. Browse current rates or download today's snapshot.
REP Spotlight: Rhythm
Rhythm stays in our spotlight for a third week, and this week's DRRS news makes its contract lengths the useful lens. The Houston provider operates as Rhythm Ops, LLC under PUCT certificate 10279, according to the PUCT REP directory, and lists 70 active commercial plans in our catalog.
Its plans in our data cover all five ERCOT deregulated TDU territories with terms from 12 to 36 months, and directionally they now sit at the market average across the plans we track, after sitting below it last week. For business customers the provider offers a simple fixed-rate plan and PowerShift Business, a time-of-use plan that fixes separate daytime and evening rates for the full contract term.
A 24-month contract signed this month would end in November 2028, so the 2028 Clause Check above applies here as it would to any provider. Get this provider's full plan data in our data download.
Buyer Intelligence
The Houston to Dallas median gap held near 2.7 percent this week (CenterPoint 6.47 cents against Oncor 6.30 cents), small next to the 0.62-cent spread between short and long contract terms for Texas small business shoppers.
What is the TxCP Commercial Rate Index this week?
The TxCP Commercial Rate Index is 6.98 cents per kWh as of November 2, 2026, the average energy-only rate across 15,357 active commercial plans from 29 retail electric providers in our database. It has eased in five straight reports, from 7.17 cents on September 28, while the catalog grew from 11,375 plans, so part of that drift reflects the mix of plans rather than repricing alone. EIA's all-in Texas commercial average, which includes delivery, was 8.96 cents per kWh in August 2026 (EIA Table 5.6.A).
Should a Texas business sign a fixed electricity contract that runs past 2028?
A 24-month fixed contract signed this week ends in November 2028, and the average term across the plans we track is 24.0 months, so a typical renewal signed now will still be in force when ERCOT expects DRRS to arrive. That is no reason to shorten the term, since long-term medians sit only 0.39 cents above mid-term. It is a reason to read the pass-through clause first, because Project 59997 will decide whether small commercial fixed rates can absorb a new ancillary service.
Data Snapshot
Our November 2, 2026 snapshot spans 29 retail electric providers and 15,357 active commercial plans across all five ERCOT deregulated TDU territories, with every TDU median below its October 26 level for a second straight week.
- Tracked REPs: 29 retail electric providers with active commercial plans.
- Active commercial plans: 15,357, up from 14,223 on October 26.
- Market average rate (TCRI): 6.98 cents per kWh, versus 7.04 cents on October 26.
- Plans repriced this week: 1,175 of the 6,165 plans we matched to our prior snapshot, 445 higher and 730 lower.
- Average contract term: 24.0 months across tracked plans.
- Lowest TDU median: Oncor at 6.30 cents per kWh. Highest: AEP Central at 6.53 cents per kWh.
- Term medians: 5.93 cents short-term, 6.16 cents mid-term, 6.55 cents long-term.
This report shows aggregate commercial rate bands. Full provider-level plan data is available to Texas Commercial Plans data download customers.
Full rate data and plan comparisons are in our data download. For last week's baseline, see our October 26 weekly report, and for context, our guide to Texas commercial electricity rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Texas commercial electricity rates as of November 2, 2026?
The TxCP Commercial Rate Index sits at 6.98 cents per kWh across 15,357 tracked commercial plans as of November 2, 2026, down from 7.04 cents on October 26. Medians by TDU territory range from 6.30 cents in Oncor to 6.53 cents in AEP Central.
What is DRRS in ERCOT?
DRRS, the Dispatchable Reliability Reserve Service, is a new ERCOT ancillary service the PUCT approved on July 9, 2026 under NPRR1309. ERCOT expects to implement it in 2028, and on October 29, 2026 the PUCT opened Project 59997 to decide how its costs are treated in existing fixed-rate contracts.
Can a Texas electricity provider raise a fixed rate for a new ancillary service?
For residential and small commercial customers, meaning business accounts under 50 kW of peak demand, only if the PUCT expressly designates that ancillary service as incurring charges beyond the provider's control for existing contracts, under 16 TAC 25.475. The PUCT declined to make that designation for DRRS in July. Larger commercial accounts should check their contract's pass-through and change-in-law terms.