Texas Electricity Deposit Report 2026

The Facts Worth Quoting

All rule citations on this page refer to PUCT §25.478, Credit Requirements and Deposits, the Texas rule that governs residential deposits. Verified against the official rule text on August 17, 2026.

What Really Happens When a Light Company Asks for a Deposit

The deposit screen is not the end of the road. Over five months on our marketplace (March 12 – August 19, 2026), light companies asked for a deposit on 9,616 of 63,950 sign-ups — about 15%.

Here's the part nobody publishes: of the 8,096 people who hit that deposit screen, we could track what happened next for 1,757 of them (about 1 in 5) within a week, on the same device. Of that group, 1,192 got their lights on within a week with $0 down — they checked other light companies instead of paying — while 565 reached the deposit-payment screen. That means 2 out of 3 tracked outcomes (68%) ended up paying nothing down. Deposit rules are not the same everywhere: one company's "no" is another company's "come on in."

How we counted: figures come from ComparePower's own order analytics. "Got their lights on" means the order finished processing — we tracked what people did in the 7 days after seeing a deposit request, on the same device. People who resolved things by phone, on a different device, took longer than 7 days, or never came back at all aren't in that tracked group, so the true split may differ. And reaching the deposit-payment screen isn't the same as finishing it — some people stop there. Every figure above is a real count, not an estimate.

How Texas Says Deposits Must Be Calculated

A light company can't pull a deposit number out of thin air. Under PUCT §25.478(e), the total of all deposits they hold from you cannot exceed the greater of:

• One-fifth (1/5) of your estimated annual billing, or
• The sum of your estimated bills for the next two months.

The same rule sets more protections most people never hear about:

• The deposit comes back. After 12 consecutive months of paying on time, the company must refund your deposit — the rule lets them apply it as a credit on your bill. Switch companies and they must refund it (plus interest, minus anything you owe) or transfer it to your new company.
• It earns interest. If they keep your deposit more than 30 days, they owe you interest from the day you paid it, at a rate the state sets annually.
• Some people can't be charged one at all. If you're 65 or older and not behind on a light bill, or you're a victim of family violence with a certification letter, the rule says that counts as satisfactory credit — no deposit. Twelve months of good payment history with a previous light company can also count.
• A co-signer can replace cash. Some companies accept a letter of guarantee from another customer in good standing instead of a deposit.

Full detail on waiver paths: Deposit Waivers guide.

What It Costs to Start, Company by Company

Deposit amounts on traditional plans aren't published — each light company runs its own credit check and sets its own number, and that number moves with their business needs. Our deposits guide covers the typical quotes we see: usually $200–$400 when credit is the issue, sometimes more. What is verifiable is pay-as-you-go startup money, because it's fixed and published. Where a figure isn't published, this table says so.

Startup figures reflect the company data we publish and maintain on our light company pages, current as of August 2026. "Varies by credit" means the company decides per applicant and publishes no fixed amount — we won't guess one.

The Honest Version of "No Deposit"

Here's the part most sites won't say plainly. Every traditional light company in Texas runs a credit check, and nobody — including us — can promise a specific company will take you with $0 down. Each one sets its own credit bar, and the bars don't match: the company that wants $350 from you might sit next to one that wants nothing, for the same credit file.

That mismatch is the opportunity. When the company you pick asks for a deposit, checking several other companies at once often turns up one with $0 down. Many people find one. Some don't — and that's why the guarantee in this market isn't a specific company saying yes. It's this:

So the playbook, in order: try for a traditional plan with $0 down by checking multiple companies, because that's the cheaper year. If none says yes today, take pay-as-you-go, keep the lights on, and try again later — here's the path back to a traditional plan.

Where These Numbers Come From

• Deposit caps, refund rights, interest, and waiver categories: PUCT §25.478 (official rule PDF), verified August 17, 2026.
• Pay-as-you-go startup amounts: company figures we track and publish on our light company pages.
• Typical traditional deposit quotes ($200–$400): documented in our deposits guide.

Where a number couldn't be verified, this report says "varies" instead of guessing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.