Where are you based?

StarTex is based in Houston, with an office in Dallas Texas.

What can you tell me about the management team of StarTex Power?

About us

What does deregulation mean?

A. Deregulation is the opening of a market to competition in a previously regulated industry. Or as some might put it, it's yanking the rug out from under the monopolies. Thanks to Texas Senate Bill 7, as of January 1, 2002, the electricity industry was deregulated in Texas, giving you the opportunity to purchase energy from any provider you choose. Which gives you the opportunity to save some serious money, as well. Deregulation in our industry is occurring nationwide on a state-by-state basis.

What changed when deregulation began?

The large monopolies that previously existed were forced to split into smaller, specific entities. These new entities are completely independent of each other, and share no common employees, offices or computer systems. Typically they divided three ways, each new company did one of the following tasks: Generation (making the electricity in bulk), Transmission and Distribution (transporting the electricity from the generator to your home or business and Retail (buying the bulk electricity and selling to you as an individual- billing each customer for the power they use). Other companies formed at this time to compete for the retail portion of this process; allowing you the consumer to choose your power provider, without needing to worry about how the power gets to your home or the reliability of the service.

Who is involved in providing my power now that Texas is deregulated?

There are so many acronyms! What do they mean?

How can I read my own meter?

How can I make my home more energy efficient?

Should I choose a move-in or a switch?

If you are just moving into a new property and the power is due to be newly in your name at this address, you should select MOVE-IN. If, however, the power is currently in your name at this address, regardless of the provider, then you should select a SWITCH.

Will you check my credit?

As a part of the enrollment process we do check your payment history with other utility providers. Although this check is done through a national credit agency, we do not see or base our decision on your credit score. Our Utility History Check does not affect your credit or appear as a credit review on your history. This does mean that if you have never had utilities in your name before we may ask for a deposit, or recommend a different product for you.

Help! I have always paid my bills on time but your website says I need to pay a deposit!

Very occasionally this may happen. The most common reason is because some of the information you gave us on a previous page was typed incorrectly. We recommend you start by clicking the back button on your browser to check the details, especially the spelling of your name, use of a middle name and your social security number. If everything is correct and we are still asking for a deposit, it is possible that your previous energy provider did not submit your payment history. The easiest way to correct this is to call them and ask for a Letter Of Credit. They will send you a letter (often you can request this be sent by fax for the sake of speed) which shows your payment history; we would be happy to accept this letter in place of an agency history.

Where can I get a copy of your contract terms and conditions?

At the beginning of the sign-up process your are asked to select a product. There is a link here that allows you to see all terms and conditions for that product. If you already have an account, and are trying to get a copy of the Terms and Conditions for your account please contact our Customer Service team (you can e-mail or call), who would be happy to provide a copy by e-mail, fax or mail.

If I select a contract, is there a fee for cancellation?

It depends upon the product you choose. If you decide to go month-to-month there is no fee. If you select a fixed term contract and cancel your agreement before the term, there may be a fee involved. We always recommend that you read the Terms of Service and ask our friendly Customer Service team any questions you may have prior to signing up.

I am moving in to my new home in less than 3 business days, why can’t I get power sooner?

When you request a new move in, we typically process that order and send it out for completion the same day (possibly the following business morning if your order was submitted late in the afternoon or out of hours). However, in order to physically come out an read/connect your meter, we have to make an appointment with your local metering company (your TDSP) and they require at least 3 business days notice to perform this task. Since the TDSP that services you is decided by where in Texas your meter is located, this timescale does not shorten regardless of which provider you choose (some other providers add their processing time to this 3 day window so they may quote a longer turn-around time).

Why do you need my Social Security Number (SSN)?

As mentioned at the beginning of this section, although we do not check your credit, we do review your payment history with other providers. We use your SSN# as a unique reference to identify you in these records. Please be assured that once this is provided on our secure website, it is not visible to any Customer Service operator or visibly stored in your account information.

What is this Pass-Through Charge on my first invoice?

The Pass-Through charges you may see, typically on a first invoice are normally the connection fees from the local metering company. If you select a new move in when you enroll (where you are allowed to select your own service start date), you are requesting that the local metering company send out a representative on that day to read the meter and switch it on if needed. The PassThrough Charge is the fee that the metering company charges you for sending out that representative outside of the of the normal monthly schedule.

How do I sign up for an online account?

Simply click the “Pay Bill” link on the menu to left of this FAQ, then click the “Manage your Account” button. You will be asked to create a logon and identify yourself, and then you are all set!

How do I pay my bill online?

Simply create a logon in our online account system by clicking on the “Customer Service” link to the left of this FAQ page. Once you have created and logged into your online account , you can simply click the “Pay Bill” link you find there.

What can I do with an online account?

You can do several things, including: Check your balance; pay your bill; pull up PDF images of your past invoices and setup and edit recurring payments.

What forms of payment do you accept?

You can pay by Visa, Mastercard or electronic check. Naturally you can also mail us a check or money order too.

Can I go somewhere to make a payment in cash?

Yes. You can make a cash payment in any Ace Cash Express storefront. You will pay a convenience fee directly to Ace for this form of payment. To locate the Ace Cash Express Store nearest to you, click HERE

What is a CVV?

The CVV can be found on the back of your debit or credit card, on the white signature strip.

You will see 7 digits printed in black. The first four digits will match the last four digits of your main card number on the front of the card, and we need the last 3 of these digits. For example, if I look at the back of my card and the number on the white strip reads 0202934, then I would need to enter 934.

How do I change or renew my contract?

Unfortunately we are not able to accept online account modifications from existing customers. Please call one of our knowledgeable Customer Service Representatives directly at 1-866-917-8271 to discuss your options.

 If you know you are eligible to change plan and know which plan you would like to select, you may also e-mail your change request to us at service@startexpower.com. You will get an e-mail reply the next business day, confirming your account has been updated. 

 If you have received a renewal letter in the mail please feel free to fax or mail it to us and we will make the changes for you. 

Thank you for your business!!

My power has gone out, who should I call?

You may contact StarTex Power 24 hours a day or you may contact your local metering company. Either way, the outage will be registered and if the outage is already known they will normally be able to give you an estimated time for completion.

The contact phone numbers are listed on your invoice. They are also here for your reference:

CenterPoint Energy (Houston Area)      -      (713) 207-2222

ONCOR (Dallas Area)      -      1 (888) 313-4747

Texas New Mexico Power      -      1 (888) 866-7456

AEP- CP+L & WTU (South + West Texas)      -      1 (866)  223-8508

Should I call my metering company, or StarTex Power?

While you are welcome to call us, and we can report the outage for you, we recommend you call your local metering provider directly, they will often be able to give you an idea of the reason for the outage, and an estimated time for correction.

How to Contact StarTex Power

How to Contact StarTex Power