New-Location Commercial Electricity Checklist

Opening, leasing, or relocating a Texas business? Work through power and your supply contract in the order it happens — from lease due diligence to the first bill — even when the site has no usage history.

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Who This Checklist Is For

This is for commercial locations: warehouses and 3PLs, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores, retail stores, clinics, spas, and offices. It is written for established businesses adding a site — including companies expanding into Texas from another state — as well as brand-new ones. Setting up power at a home or apartment is a different process; see residential electricity in Texas.

The checklist tells you what to do and collect. For the reasons behind each step — territories, meters, utility construction, permits, and deposits — read how to set up commercial electricity at a new Texas business location.

The Checklist, Stage by Stage

Five stages, in the order the work happens. Office locations can use the shared list as is — HVAC and operating hours cover most of an office's load.

Before You Sign the Lease

Confirm the space can be served the way your business needs.

  • Retail choice at the exact address. Most of ERCOT can choose a supplier; municipal-utility and co-op areas such as Austin and San Antonio cannot. Check the address, not the city or ZIP — see which Texas cities have retail choice.
  • The suite has its own meter. A master-metered or landlord-submetered suite may have no separate account to set up, and the lease then governs your electricity.
  • A usable meter and ESI ID already exist — or the site is new construction that needs a utility project first. See getting a new commercial electric meter.
  • Enough electrical capacity. Have your electrician compare the existing voltage, phase, and amperage against your equipment. A service upgrade is a utility project, not a simple move-in.
  • Who holds the account. Plan to open your own account rather than relying on the landlord's or prior tenant's service staying on.

Before You Ask for Quotes

A brand-new location has no bill, so suppliers estimate its usage from the size of the space and the kind of business. This is what Elite will ask you for.

  • Service address, including the suite number.
  • Legal business name — a quote is issued to a named business.
  • Square footage of the space.
  • Type of business and what runs there — operating hours and major equipment such as HVAC, refrigeration, kitchen equipment, or chargers. The sections for your business type below list what to include.
  • Requested start date for service.
  • ESI ID, if a meter already exists. Find it on an existing bill or see how to look up an ESI ID.
  • A recent bill from another location, if your business has one — even outside Texas. It is the best evidence of how your operation uses power.
  • The previous owner's usage, only if you are taking over the same kind of business at this address.

Taking over a space from a different kind of business? Skip its old usage. A boutique's history says little about a restaurant, and a dry warehouse's says little about cold storage.

Before You Sign a Contract

Supplier prices move daily, so have the signer and credit information ready when offers arrive.

  • Federal tax ID (EIN) and the authorized signer for the business.
  • Credit review. A supplier may ask for a deposit or guaranty if satisfactory credit is not shown — more likely for a newly formed business.
  • Contract start date lined up with the date you need power, not the date you sign.
  • Term and structure — fixed or indexed, and how the contract handles usage that turns out higher or lower than the estimate. See fixed vs. variable rate electricity.
  • Supply versus delivery. You shop the supply price. The utility's delivery charges are regulated and the same whichever supplier you choose, and larger accounts also pay demand charges based on peak kW. Compare offers on supply, not against an old all-in bill.
  • Read before authorizing the move-in. A commercial move-in has no default three-day cancellation right under PUCT §25.474.

Timing: the supply side usually takes under a month, but it can run from two weeks to two or three months — larger and newly formed businesses face more requirements. Start about a month out, earlier if that is you. Utility construction runs on its own, longer clock.

Before Opening Day

Signed is not the same as energized. Confirm each milestone happened.

  • Move-in accepted by the supplier — not merely submitted.
  • Service address, suite, and meter match across the lease, utility, permit, and supplier account.
  • Utility construction complete, if the site needed any.
  • Inspection release received by the utility — a passed inspection does not prove the utility has it.
  • Meter set and service energized are both confirmed.
  • A backup plan if field work slips past your opening date.

For a meter-ready site with no construction, CenterPoint describes a typical three-to-five-business-day utility period once the permit or release, move-in, and meter-readiness conditions are in place — see its construction process. That is not a statewide promise.

On Your First Bill

Check it line by line while the start is still fresh.

  • Legal business name, service address, and ESI ID are correct.
  • Service start and billing dates match the accepted move-in.
  • Price and term match the signed contract.
  • Usage, demand, and rate class look plausible for your operation.
  • Delivery charges, taxes, and any deposit are identified correctly.
  • No leftover temporary or landlord meter is billing to your account.
  • Contract end date and notice deadline are on the calendar.

Not sure what a line means? See how to read a commercial electricity bill.

Add These for Your Business Type

What to describe in stage 2 so a supplier can estimate your usage. Pick your section.

Warehouse / 3PL

Warehouse load depends far more on what the building does than on its size. A dry distribution center and a cold-storage facility of the same footprint are different electricity customers.

  • Dry or temperature-controlled — say which, and roughly what share of the space is refrigerated or frozen.
  • Material handling — electric forklifts and their charging schedule, conveyors, sortation, and dock equipment.
  • Shifts — one shift, two, or around the clock, and weekend operation.
  • Lighting and HVAC — high-bay lighting and whether the floor is conditioned or only ventilated.
  • Expansion — more racking, added cold rooms, or EV fleet charging planned after opening, which can require a utility service review.
Get a quote for your warehouse Warehouse and storage electricity

Restaurant

Kitchens concentrate heavy equipment in a small footprint, so a restaurant usually uses far more electricity per square foot than the shop it replaces.

  • Refrigeration — walk-in coolers and freezers, reach-ins, and ice machines.
  • Cooking — which equipment is electric and which is gas.
  • Hood exhaust and make-up air — they run whenever the kitchen does and add to cooling load.
  • Hours — prep start, service hours, and days open.
  • Buildout — whether the kitchen equipment needs more electrical capacity than the space has today.
Get a quote for your restaurant Restaurant and food service electricity

Gas station / convenience store

A convenience store never really powers down: the coolers, canopy, and signage run whether or not anyone is at the register.

  • Operating hours — 24/7 or set hours.
  • Refrigeration — cooler doors, freezers, and ice merchandisers.
  • Canopy and sign lighting — and whether it runs all night.
  • Food service — hot food, roller grills, or a full kitchen.
  • Other loads — car wash, air and vacuum stations, or EV chargers, which may be separately metered.
Get a quote for your store Convenience store electricity

Retail store

Retail load follows store hours: display lighting and cooling for the sales floor make up most of it.

  • Store hours — including stocking hours before and after opening.
  • Lighting — display and sign lighting.
  • HVAC — the size of the conditioned sales floor and any stockroom.
  • Standalone or in a center — in a shopping center, confirm the suite has its own meter rather than a landlord allocation.
  • Specialty loads — refrigerated cases, kilns, salon equipment, or anything else beyond lights and cooling.
Get a quote for your store Retail store electricity

Clinic / spa

Clinics and spas look like offices from the street, but their equipment and comfort requirements put them well above a typical office.

  • HVAC — treatment rooms, and any temperature or ventilation standards the practice must hold.
  • Equipment — imaging, sterilization, dental, or treatment equipment.
  • Water heating — hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas, or laundry.
  • Hours — early, late, and weekend appointments.
  • Critical loads — refrigeration for medication or supplies, and backup needs.
Get a quote for your clinic or spa Healthcare electricity Wellness and spa electricity

Help businesses open new locations? Commercial real estate and tenant-rep brokers, landlords, property managers, and contractors who bring Elite to their clients earn on every account placed. Partner with us.

New-Location Electricity FAQs

Common questions from Texas businesses setting up electricity at a new site.

Yes. When a site has no usage of its own, suppliers estimate it from the square footage and the type of business, drawing on their experience with similar operations. A recent bill from another location of the same business sharpens that estimate, because it shows how your operation actually uses power.

For the supply contract, it usually takes under a month, but it can run from two weeks to two or three months — larger and newly formed businesses face more supplier requirements. Start about a month out, earlier if you are large or new. Any utility construction, a new meter, or a service upgrade runs on its own, longer timeline, so start that during site due diligence.

Only when the same kind of business continues at the address — for example, you are buying an existing restaurant and keeping it a restaurant. When a different business moves in, the old usage describes someone else's operation and helps little. Usage history is not public either; it is shared through an authorized process.

No. A quote can start from the service address, and new construction may not have an ESI ID until the utility creates one. When a meter already exists, the ESI ID removes any doubt about which delivery point you are pricing — especially in a multi-tenant building. It is not the meter number or a provider account number.

ESI ID lookup guide

Possibly. Retail electric providers review commercial credit before enrollment and may require a deposit if satisfactory credit is not shown. There is no residential-style cap on commercial deposits under PUCT §25.478. Expect the credit review before you sign, not at the quote stage.

No. This checklist is for commercial locations only. If you are setting up service at a home or apartment, see residential electricity in Texas.

Residential electricity in Texas

Recommended Reading

The detail behind each stage of the checklist.

Setting Up Commercial Electricity at a New Location Territories, meters, utility construction, permits, and deposits explained. Read → ESI ID Lookup in Texas What the ESI ID is, where to find it, and why the right one matters. Read → Getting a New Commercial Electric Meter When a site needs a utility project before it can open. Read → Texas TDU Delivery Charges The regulated part of the bill that is the same whichever supplier you choose. Read →

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