Bundled retail service
18.38¢
per kWh, 2025 average revenue
$190.67 / month at 1,038 kWh
Price +5.7% from 2024
Retail Power Marketer · 1,545,510 residential customers · Texas
Why is my Reliant Energy Retail Services electric bill so high?
EIA respondent: Reliant Energy Retail Services. Reviewed October 14, 2026.
In 2025, Reliant Energy Retail Services reported 1,545,510 residential bundled retail service customers under the EIA name Reliant Energy Retail Services. Average revenue was 18.38¢ per kWh. The average monthly bill in that filing was $190.67 for 1,038 kWh.
18.38¢ is above Texas's 2025 statewide residential average of 15.40¢. In July 2026 the state residential price was 15.88¢, versus 15.36¢ a year earlier (+3.4%). The utility number is a 2025 annual average. The state number is one later month. They answer different questions.
From 2024 to 2025, the average monthly bill for bundled retail service changed +6.5%. Average use changed +0.7% and average price changed +5.7%. Holding the 2024 price fixed, the usage change accounts for $1.32 a month. The price change, applied to 2025 usage, accounts for $10.34.
EIA Form 861, 2025 final · Reviewed October 14, 2026
EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A · Reviewed October 14, 2026
The rate on the record
EIA classifies this respondent as a retail power marketer. Average revenue per kilowatt-hour is total residential revenue divided by residential sales. It is not a tariff schedule.
| Service | Customers | Price | Monthly use | Monthly bill | Vs 2024 price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bundled retail service | 1,545,510 | 18.38¢ | 1,038 kWh | $190.67 | +5.7% |
EIA-861 sales to ultimate customers, 2025 final, compared with 2024 · Reviewed October 14, 2026
Audit the bundled retail service average
Revenue 3,536,249 thousand dollars. Sales 19,243,783 MWh. Customers 1,545,510. Cents per kWh = revenue ÷ megawatt-hours × 100. Monthly bill = revenue × 1,000 ÷ customers ÷ 12.
Why a Reliant Energy Retail Services bill moved
The price change was the larger piece
Reliant Energy Retail Services reported a bundled retail service average of $190.67 a month in 2025, +6.5% from $179.01 in 2024. Holding the 2024 price fixed, the usage change of +0.7% is worth $1.32 a month. The price change of +5.7%, from 17.38¢ to 18.38¢, is worth $10.34 on 2025 usage.
Above the Texas average
18.38¢ per kWh is above Texas's 2025 residential average of 15.40¢. July 2026 in the state was 15.88¢, versus 15.36¢ a year earlier (+3.4%). The utility figure is a full year of average revenue. The state figure is one later month. A household that uses more than 1,038 kWh will not land on $190.67.
This row is the retail plan, not the wires
Reliant Energy Retail Services is an EIA retail power marketer. The 2025 bundled average, 18.38¢ per kWh across 1,545,510 customers, is plan revenue. In Texas and other choice markets the transmission and distribution utility still bills a delivery charge, either inside the plan or beside it. Whether a quoted cents-per-kWh already includes delivery needs verification on that plan's electricity facts label.
Needs verification
Season
Reliant Energy Retail Services customers in Texas average 1,038 kWh a month across the whole year, against a statewide residential average of 1,110 kWh. Summer afternoons do not look like that average. An air conditioner, a pool pump, or a hotter month can move the bill before any rider does.
Data-center load is not a line on this bill
National electricity demand is rising, and EIA points to large computing facilities. No retrieved order isolates a data-center dollar on a Reliant Energy Retail Services residential account. That pass-through needs verification.
Needs verification
EIA-861 2025 and 2024 residential sales · Reviewed October 14, 2026
Rate cases and hikes
Needs verification No rate case for Reliant Energy Retail Services has been reviewed for this page. Orders and pending dockets are public at Public Utility Commission of Texas. In the competitive ERCOT areas, a retail provider sells the plan and a transmission and distribution utility charges for delivery. Municipally owned utilities and cooperatives outside that setup bill differently. Confirm which market you are in. Needs verification for a specific address.
Public Utility Commission of Texas · Reviewed October 14, 2026
Assistance
LIHEAP is the federal bill program, and the state contact list is the place to start. A Reliant Energy Retail Services income discount, medical baseline, or budget-billing rule was not retrieved from Public Utility Commission of Texas. That offer needs verification.
LIHEAP · Reviewed October 14, 2026
How to lower the bill
- Read the kilowatt-hours against this filing's average of 1,038 kWh a month. If your use is the thing that moved, the dollar total can rise on an unchanged rate.
- Ask the retailer whether the quoted price includes the utility delivery charge. The EIA average on this page does not answer that plan-design question.
- The wires charge depends on the address. Oncor's April 2026 delivery increase is PUCT Docket 58306. CenterPoint Houston's residential distribution recovery factor of 0.4944 cents per kWh, for meters read on and after June 1, 2026, is Docket 59424. Neither docket sets this retailer's energy price.
- In Texas, the expensive hours are late afternoon and early evening in summer. Raise the cooling setpoint when you are out, and run the dryer, the dishwasher, and any pool pump outside those hours if your tariff charges more then.
- Start with LIHEAP for Texas (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/map/liheap-map-state-and-territory-contact-listing). A Reliant Energy Retail Services discount beyond that program needs verification.
- If the read is marked estimated, the next actual read can true the account up or down. The tariff rule for that true-up needs verification.
Bundled retail service at the 2025 average price
| Monthly use | Estimated bill |
|---|---|
| 500 kWh | $91.90 |
| 750 kWh | $137.85 |
| 1,000 kWh | $183.80 |
| 1,500 kWh | $275.70 |
| 2,000 kWh | $367.60 |
Usage times the average price. At very low use, a real bill is often higher because a fixed customer charge does not shrink. The tariff needs verification.
Questions people ask
Why is my Reliant Energy Retail Services electric bill so high?
In 2025, Reliant Energy Retail Services reported 1,545,510 residential bundled retail service customers under the EIA name Reliant Energy Retail Services. Average revenue was 18.38¢ per kWh. The average monthly bill in that filing was $190.67 for 1,038 kWh. 18.38¢ is above Texas's 2025 statewide residential average of 15.40¢. In July 2026 the state residential price was 15.88¢, versus 15.36¢ a year earlier (+3.4%). The utility number is a 2025 annual average. The state number is one later month. They answer different questions. From 2024 to 2025, the average monthly bill for bundled retail service changed +6.5%. Average use changed +0.7% and average price changed +5.7%. Holding the 2024 price fixed, the usage change accounts for $1.32 a month. The price change, applied to 2025 usage, accounts for $10.34.
What was Reliant Energy Retail Services's average residential rate?
Using 2025 EIA-861 revenue and sales, the bundled retail service average was 18.38¢ per kWh. Average use was 1,038 kWh a month and the average bill was $190.67. This folds in whatever customer charges and riders the utility reported. It is not the marginal rate on your tariff.
Did Reliant Energy Retail Services raise rates?
The bundled retail service average price changed +5.7% from 2024 to 2025, from 17.38¢ to 18.38¢. That is average revenue per kilowatt-hour, not a commission order. No 2025–2026 order for this utility was retrieved for this page. A separate rider can still move a single month.
What bill assistance can Reliant Energy Retail Services customers ask about?
LIHEAP is the federal program for home energy bills (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/liheap). Reliant Energy Retail Services may also offer an income-qualified discount, budget billing, or a medical baseline. The current offer, income cutoff, and how to apply need verification with the state LIHEAP office and Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Are data centers why this bill went up?
Large computing load is raising U.S. electricity demand, and regulators can later recover new generation and wires costs from customers. EIA has not published a dollar line that isolates data centers on this utility's residential bill. That pass-through needs verification.