Two companies may be on your Texas electric bill. Know both before solar.

Who does what

In the parts of Texas where you choose your electricity company, two companies are involved. The retail electric provider is the company you pick and pay. The delivery utility owns the poles and wires and delivers the power to your home; its charges usually appear on your bill as delivery charges.

Many Texas homes are served differently: an electric cooperative or a city-owned utility may handle both roles. Your bill is the place to check which situation you are in.

Check your bill for both names

• The company you pay, and the name of your plan.
• The delivery utility named next to the delivery charges, or on the bill's back page.
• Your meter or ESI ID number, which both companies use to identify your home.

Ask your retail electric provider about export terms

Solar panels sometimes produce more than the home is using. What happens to that extra energy depends on your plan's current terms; no single rule covers every plan. Ask your provider in writing whether your plan credits energy sent back to the grid, how the credit is calculated, and whether the terms can change.

Terms change and differ between plans, so treat any number in a sales proposal as a claim to check against your own plan documents.

Ask your delivery utility about connecting

Before a system is switched on, the delivery utility usually reviews it and gives permission to operate. Ask your delivery utility what it requires, how long it takes, and who submits the paperwork.

If Oncor is your delivery utility

Oncor's solar page says the installer applies, Oncor reviews and may study the system, an interconnection agreement is signed, and Oncor then gives written permission to operate.

Energy sent to the grid is recorded by the advanced meter and passed to your retail electric provider, starting with the first full billing cycle, typically 30 to 60 days after permission to operate.

Your retail electric provider, not Oncor, sets any buyback or credit, so there is no single export value.

Delivery-related charges continue to apply for homes with solar.