Texas Electricity Plan Finder

Use when a user wants to compare residential electricity plans in a deregulated Texas ZIP code, estimate a bill, or filter by contract term, provider, or 100% renewable content. Requires a ZIP code; usage defaults to 1000 kWh/month. Optional monthly solar export kWh (for example avgMonthlyExportKwh from a Smart Meter Texas pull) returns Meter's solar buyback plans, Saver and Earner, each priced with its buyback credit at that import/export mix; market plans are compared for homes without exports. Returns a curated selection sorted by estimated effective rate, with fees, terms, EFL and signup links. Compact results may include a Meter plan and favor selected providers; they are not an exhaustive cheapest-plan list. Unmatched provider filters return clearly labeled alternatives. Records search analytics and diagnostic logs. Does not enroll users, access accounts, or support municipal utilities, co-ops, commercial service, battery-credit calculations, or other states.

Compare residential electricity plans in supported deregulated Texas service areas. **Inputs:** a five-digit Texas ZIP code, optional monthly usage (250–5000 kWh), optional monthly solar exports (kWh), exact or minimum contract length, provider, renewable-only preference, and result limit. Usage defaults to 1000 kWh. Generic searches without a term filter use 12-month plans; provider-specific searches do not impose that default. **Results:** competitor estimates interpolate disclosed EFL average rates, using 500-kWh or 2000-kWh rates outside that range. Meter estimates use Meter's plan calculator with a Light quote, cached for up to six hours. Estimates are approximate. **Solar exports:** when monthly export kWh is supplied, the result lists Meter's solar buyback plans only: Saver and Earner, quoted live and each priced at that import/export mix with Meter's plan calculator, sorted by monthly estimate. Each estimate subtracts the plan's fixed buyback credit, reported as exportCreditEstimate. Market plans are compared for homes without exports, and provider or renewable filters do not apply to solar homes. Without export kWh the results are unchanged. Results are capped at six plans regardless of the requested limit. Generic comparisons may include Meter Standard, the two cheapest indexed plans, and selected higher-priced providers. Requests for one or two plans return the cheapest candidates. Without a Meter quote, results favor Reliant and TXU when available. An unmatched provider filter returns labeled alternatives. Failed or unsupported service-area lookups return an error, not fallback rates. Plan documents and signup open external websites after a user clicks. The tool does not enroll customers. Invocation inputs and outbound clicks are recorded for analytics. Battery-credit calculations are outside this tool's scope.

Endpoint

POST https://meterplan.com/api/v1/find-electricity-plan

MCP tool name: find_electricity_plans

Inputs

zipCodestringrequired
5-digit Texas ZIP code where service will start. Examples: '75201' (Dallas), '77002' (Houston), '76102' (Fort Worth), '78401' (Corpus Christi).
usageKwhnumber
Estimated monthly electricity usage in kWh. Typical Texas residential usage: ~500 kWh (apartment), ~1000 kWh (small home, default), ~2000 kWh (large home with electric heat/AC). Defaults to 1000 if omitted.
exportKwhnumber
Optional. Average monthly solar export to the grid in kWh. Pass avgMonthlyExportKwh from a completed get_smt_data / request_smt_data pull when hasSolarExports is true, or the 'received' / 'surplus' / negative net kWh line on a solar bill. When greater than 0, the result lists Meter's solar buyback plans (Saver and Earner) only, each priced with its buyback credit at this import/export mix and sorted by monthlyEstimate, with exportCreditEstimate per plan; market plans are compared only for homes without exports. Omit (or pass 0) for homes without solar: results are then identical to a call without it.
termMonthsnumber
Exact contract length in months (e.g. 12, 24, 36). Use this when the user specifies an exact term. If they say 'at least N months' or 'N months or longer', use minTermMonths instead.
minTermMonthsnumber
Minimum contract length in months (returns plans with term >= this value). Use this for ranges like 'at least 12 months' or 'a year or longer'. For an exact term, use termMonths instead.
renewableOnlyboolean
When true, only return 100% renewable / green energy plans. Use when the user asks for green, clean, wind, solar, or 100% renewable plans.
retailerstring
Filter by retail electric provider (REP) name; if no provider matches, returns clearly labeled alternatives. Common Texas retailers include: TXU Energy, Reliant, Green Mountain Energy, Direct Energy, Gexa, Constellation, Cirro, Discount Power, Frontier, 4Change, Champion, Pulse Power, Octopus Energy, Rhythm, Chariot. Partial matches accepted.
limitnumber
Maximum result count, 1 to 6 (default 6); larger values are reduced to 6. Results are a curated selection that may include Meter Standard and selected providers rather than every cheapest plan.

Outputs

criteriaobject
The criteria used to compute these results. Echoed back so the agent can confirm assumptions.
utilityobject
The TDU serving the ZIP. Absent if the utility could not be determined.
plansarray<object>
Selected electricity plans sorted by estimated effective rate. Compact results may include Meter Standard and favor selected providers; they are not an exhaustive list of the cheapest plans. When exportKwh > 0, only Meter's solar buyback plans (Saver and Earner), sorted by monthlyEstimate.
summarystring
One-line text summary for hosts that can't render the widget (e.g. voice). Names the cheapest plan, the retailer, and the monthly estimate.

Example prompts

“What's a good electricity plan in Texas (75001)?”
“Cheapest Texas electricity plan in Houston (77002), 1200 kWh/mo.”
“Find a 24-month electricity plan for 76102.”
“100% renewable Texas electricity plan for 76101.”
“TXU plans available at 75201 for 500 kWh/mo.”