No-Deposit Electricity in Texas: 5 Ways to Avoid a Deposit

There are five ways to get electricity without a deposit in Texas. Under state rules, no provider can require a deposit if you’re 65 or older and not behind on any electric account, or if you’re a certified victim of family violence. A provider can also waive it based on your payment history or credit, and prepaid plans never require one. That’s all in Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) rule §25.478.

1. Be 65 or older (no-deposit electricity for seniors)

If you are 65 or older and not currently delinquent on any electric account, PUCT rule §25.478 treats you as having established satisfactory credit. This applies to every retail electric provider, and when a provider asks for a deposit it must tell you about this option.

What to do: when you sign up, say you’re 65 or older and ask for the deposit to be waived. Have proof of your date of birth handy.

2. Be a certified victim of family violence

Providers also can’t require a deposit if you have been determined to be a victim of family violence by a family violence center, treating medical personnel, law enforcement, a district or county attorney’s office, the Attorney General’s office or a Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation grantee. Proof is a certification letter developed by the Texas Council on Family Violence, which can be sent to the provider by toll-free fax. This applies to every provider.

3. Have a good electric payment history

The rule treats you as creditworthy if you:

• had electric service with any provider in the past two years;
• don’t owe on that account; and
• were late no more than once in the last 12 months.

Affiliated providers and providers of last resort must accept this; other providers may. Your previous provider has to keep your payment history for two years and give it to you on request — ask for that letter of credit history before you switch.

4. Have good credit

Many providers check your credit. A good credit history can lower or waive the deposit, Power to Choose says. Providers need your permission to get your payment history from your previous provider.

5. Choose a prepaid plan

Prepaid plans don’t require a deposit. Instead you pay a starting balance of up to $75 and top up as you go. The trade-off: prepaid plans cost about 4 cents more per kWh, and your power can be cut with little notice if the balance runs low. Prices, providers and disconnection rules: prepaid electricity in Texas.

If you are asked for a deposit: your rights

• Maximum amount: the greater of one-fifth of your estimated annual bill or your next two estimated monthly bills. At about $120 a month, that’s about $288 (one-fifth of $1,440).
• You earn interest if the provider holds it more than 30 days.
• It’s refunded after 12 consecutive on-time payments, sometimes as a bill credit.
• If you switch providers, it’s refunded with interest or transferred to your new provider, minus anything you owe.
• Some providers let you pay it over several months; others require it in full on the first bill (Power to Choose).
• Providers can’t demand a deposit based on your income level or because you live in an economically distressed area.
• An existing customer can only be asked for a deposit after paying late more than once in 12 months or being disconnected for nonpayment.

Will Venezuelan oil lower electricity bills in Texas?

With the new U.S.-Venezuela oil contracts, many expect energy in Texas to get cheaper. For electricity, the direct effect is small: the Texas grid (ERCOT) makes almost all its power from natural gas (43%), wind and solar (36%), coal and nuclear, per the EIA for January to September 2025; oil is barely used to generate electricity. Venezuelan crude does reach Texas Gulf Coast refineries, and through them gasoline, which hasn’t fallen yet either: will Venezuelan oil lower U.S. gas prices?. What lowers your bill today is picking the right plan.

What this page can’t tell you

• Whether a specific provider will ask you for a deposit. That depends on its criteria and your credit — ask before you sign.
• Every extra obligation of providers of last resort or affiliated providers. The rule gives them more; ask which apply.

If a provider isn’t following these rules, file a complaint with the PUCT at 1-888-782-8477 (1-888-PUC-TIPS).