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Utility Services
Important Note
The information on this page is provided as a service. The Woodlands Township does not provide utility services.
The Woodlands is served by two electric utilities - Entergy Texas, Inc. (Entergy) a service provider that is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, L.L.C. (CenterPoint), a “deregulated” electricity provider in which the customer chooses the Retail Electric Provider (REP) to supply their electricity. The area of the Township in which a resident lives determines which electric provider they will have.
Contact Information
- Entergy: 800-368-3749 or 800-968-8243
- CenterPoint: 800-332-7143 (Information on the offering of electricity service for CenterPoint Energy customers is also found on the Public Utility Commission of Texas website at – http://www.powertochoose.org/.)
- Track CenterPoint Power Outages Online - https://www.centerpointenergy.com/outagetracker
- CenterPoint Storm Center offers information before, during and after storms that impact residents - http://www.centerpointenergy.com/outagetracker
For details on available utility services and providers, please refer to the Utility Services Information Packet.
Available Utilities in The Woodlands
Utility services provided in The Woodlands include:
- Cable Service (Television and Internet Capability)
- Electricity
- Natural Gas
- Telephone
Historically, utilities in the State of Texas have been regulated at State and/or federal levels depending on the service the utility company offers the public. At the State level, utilities are regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) or the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) . The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates at the federal level.
Regulating Franchise Areas
When they were formed, utility companies were assigned an exclusive franchise area in which only they could provide a defined service to the public. Because there was no competition for customers in their service territory, a governmental regulatory scheme was employed as a surrogate for competition.
Regulatory agencies approved the terms and conditions of service a utility company provided and set the rate of return the company could earn for the service it offered the public. This utility model has evolved with the passage of time.
Regulating Franchise Areas
When they were formed, utility companies were assigned an exclusive franchise area in which only they could provide a defined service to the public. Because there was no competition for customers in their service territory, a governmental regulatory scheme was employed as a surrogate for competition.
Regulatory agencies approved the terms and conditions of service a utility company provided and set the rate of return the company could earn for the service it offered the public. This utility model has evolved with the passage of time.
Current Oversight Authority
The present state of oversight of utility companies in Texas has come about since the telephone industry was subjected to restructuring beginning in the 1970s. The change in telephone regulation was driven by a combination of technological change, court decisions and changes in federal policy that permitted competitive entry into most telecommunications markets.
Aspects of the restructuring of the telephone industry were subsequently adopted and used in deregulating other utility services. Oversight by the regulatory authority over a utility has evolved to support the changing regulatory scheme.
The present state of oversight of utility companies in Texas has come about since the telephone industry was subjected to restructuring beginning in the 1970s. The change in telephone regulation was driven by a combination of technological change, court decisions and changes in federal policy that permitted competitive entry into most telecommunications markets.
Aspects of the restructuring of the telephone industry were subsequently adopted and used in deregulating other utility services. Oversight by the regulatory authority over a utility has evolved to support the changing regulatory scheme.