Tex. Utilities Code § 41.054

This is the official text of Tex. Utilities Code § 41.054, part of Texas’s Utilities Code — regulates utility companies.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 41.054. SERVICE OUTSIDE CERTIFICATED AREA.

Official statutory text

(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of Chapter 161:

(1) an electric cooperative participating in customer choice shall have the right to offer electric energy and related services at unregulated prices directly to retail customers who have customer choice without regard to geographic location; and

(2) any person, without restriction, except as may be provided in the electric cooperative's articles of incorporation and bylaws, may be a member of an electric cooperative.

(b) In providing service under Subsection (a) to retail customers outside its certificated service area as that area exists on the date of adoption of customer choice, an electric cooperative becomes subject to commission jurisdiction as to the commission's rules establishing a code of conduct regulating anticompetitive practices under Section 39.157(e), except to the extent those rules conflict with this chapter.

(c) For electric cooperatives participating in customer choice, the commission shall have jurisdiction to establish terms and conditions, but not rates, for access by other electric providers to the electric cooperative's distribution facilities.

(d) Notwithstanding Subsections (b) and (c), the commission shall make accommodation in the code of conduct for specific legal requirements imposed by state or federal law applicable to electric cooperatives. The commission shall accommodate the organizational structures of electric cooperatives and may not prohibit an electric cooperative and any related entity from sharing officers, directors, or employees.

(e) The commission does not have jurisdiction to require the unbundling of services or functions of, or to regulate the recovery of stranded investment of, an electric cooperative or, except as provided by this section, jurisdiction with respect to the rates, terms, and conditions of service for retail customers of an electric cooperative within the electric cooperative's certificated service area.

(f) An electric cooperative shall maintain separate books and records of its operations and the operations of any subsidiary and shall ensure that the rates charged for provision of electric service do not include any costs of its subsidiary or any other costs not related to the provision of electric service.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Texas?

Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.