Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DETEC) Rate Selection Guide
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative (DETEC) is a member-owned rural cooperative founded in 1938, serving roughly 40,000-45,000 meters across eight East Texas counties — about 90% residential and 10% commercial/industrial. Data access is limited to a basic billing portal and the DETECmobile app; there is no Green Button, EDI, API, or third-party authorization program, though a Tantalus AMI rollout could enable interval data in the future.
Market Overview
Member-owned cooperative governance; not subject to PUCT rate regulation like investor-owned utilities and not participating in ERCOT retail choice. Members receive bundled distribution and supply service from the cooperative.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DETEC) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative (DETEC) is a non-profit, member-owned distribution cooperative serving rural East Texas. As a cooperative, DETEC is not rate-regulated by the PUCT; rates are set by its member-elected board on a cost-of-service basis, with margins returned to members as capital credits. DETEC does not publish full rate schedules online — current tariff sheets are available on request from Member Services at (800) 392-5986. Commercial bills typically combine a fixed access/service charge, a per-kWh energy charge, and a wholesale power cost adjustment passing through generation and transmission costs; larger commercial accounts are billed demand based on peak kW. See tariff for current rates.
Effective: January 1, 2026
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Commercial / General Service | commercial | Businesses, churches, schools, and other non-residential accounts with smaller loads below the cooperative's demand-metering threshold. | Fixed monthly service charge (single- or three-phase) plus per-kWh energy charge and power cost adjustment. No demand charge at small-commercial scale; see tariff for current rates. | — |
| Large Power / Commercial Demand Service | commercial | Larger commercial and industrial accounts whose monthly peak demand exceeds the small-commercial threshold. | Monthly service charge, per-kWh energy charge, and a per-kW demand charge based on the account's peak 15-minute demand during the billing month, plus power cost adjustment. Request the Large Power schedule from Member Services; see tariff for current rates. | —+ Billed per kW of monthly peak 15-minute demand; see tariff for current rates. |
| Outdoor / Security Lighting Service | commercial | Flat-rate dusk-to-dawn lighting for residential and commercial members. | Flat monthly charge per fixture, varying by lamp type and pole requirements; see tariff for current rates. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Commercial billing data collection
Collect bills monthly from the portal as PDFs — there is no utility export or API alternative.
The portal at billing.deepeast.com is the only structured access point; bills are PDF view/print only with no CSV/XML option.
- Enable e-billing so statements arrive by email on cycle
- Set up portal alerts and reminders to avoid missed statements
- Archive PDFs immediately — the retention window is undocumented
Third-party / consultant access
Plan a fully manual, customer-mediated workflow for any third-party data need.
DETEC has no authorization portal or delegation forms; written member authorization plus manual bill sharing is the utility-side path.
- Get written authorization (letter or email) from the member up front
- Have the member pull statements from the portal rather than waiting on the co-op
- For special requests, call Member Services at 1-866-392-2547 and ask for commercial accounts
Interval data planning for large facilities
Track the Tantalus AMI rollout — it is the prerequisite for any future interval data access.
The TRUConnect AMI deployment across ~40,000 meters builds the technical foundation for interval data and Green Button, but no program or timeline has been announced as of May 2026.
- Periodically ask Member Services whether interval or Green Button access has launched
- Use submetering if interval visibility is needed before the utility offers it
- Watch for advanced rate structures the AMI rollout is designed to support
Automated data integration for energy software
Use Nectar's API or manual collection for DETEC in any portfolio data pipeline.
There is no utility API — Nectar provides API access to DETEC billing data (docs.nectarclimate.com); otherwise credentialed portal access and PDF parsing are the practical options.
- Store member portal credentials securely with member consent
- Parse PDF bills into structured data downstream
- Re-check integration coverage after the Tantalus AMI deployment completes
Cost Optimization Strategies
As a cost-of-service cooperative outside ERCOT retail choice, DETEC offers fewer rate options than investor-owned Texas utilities, and members cannot shop for competitive supply. Savings come primarily from managing peak demand on demand-billed accounts, controlling the usage that drives the wholesale power cost adjustment, and capturing capital credit refunds. C&I members should request their full rate schedule and billing determinants from Member Services to identify which levers apply.
Peak demand management
For: Commercial and industrial accounts on demand-billed schedules
Large Power accounts are billed on peak 15-minute kW demand. Stagger equipment startups, interlock large motor loads, and avoid coincident HVAC and process peaks to lower the monthly billed demand. DETEC's AMI meters record interval data that can be requested to pinpoint when peaks occur.
Verify rate classification
For: All commercial accounts, especially those with changing load profiles
Cooperative rate classes hinge on demand thresholds and phase of service. Accounts near the small-commercial/large-power boundary should confirm with Member Services that they are on the lowest-cost applicable schedule, and re-verify after load changes such as adding or removing equipment.
Power cost adjustment awareness
For: All member accounts
DETEC passes through wholesale generation and transmission costs via a power cost adjustment on every kWh. Reducing total consumption through lighting retrofits, HVAC tune-ups, and motor efficiency upgrades cuts both the base energy charge and the pass-through component.
Capital credits and account hygiene
For: All members; multi-meter commercial and agricultural operations benefit most
As margins are retired, members receive capital credit refunds based on patronage. Keep account ownership records current so credits are received, and consolidate meters where practical to avoid duplicate fixed monthly service charges across lightly used services (shops, barns, wells).
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DETEC) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do commercial members get billing data from Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative?▾
Log into the portal at https://billing.deepeast.com/onlineportal/ with your account number (enter without hyphens) and password, then open Bills & Payments. Bills are viewable and printable as PDF, with payment history typically covering 12+ months. There is no bulk CSV/XML export, so plan on saving PDFs monthly.
Does DETEC offer interval or smart meter data?▾
Not yet. DETEC is deploying Tantalus TRUConnect AMI across roughly 40,000 meters, replacing one-way AMR, but no 15/30-minute or hourly data is accessible to customers or third parties as of May 2026. Ask Member Services (1-866-392-2547) about post-deployment plans, or use submetering if you need interval visibility now.
Can a consultant or energy management platform pull DETEC data automatically?▾
Not from the utility directly. DETEC has no API, developer portal, or Green Button program, and no third-party authorization or delegation forms exist. Nectar provides API access to this utility's billing data — see docs.nectarclimate.com. Otherwise access is fully manual: get written member authorization, then collect bills via the member's portal or negotiate a case-by-case arrangement with the cooperative.
Does DETEC support EDI billing for commercial accounts?▾
No. No EDI trading partner program, ANSI X12 transaction sets (810, 814, 820, 867), or EDIFACT support is documented. Commercial customers needing electronic billing should use portal PDFs and ask Member Services whether EDI is on the roadmap.
Can DETEC members shop for a competitive electricity supplier in Texas?▾
No. Although Texas runs the deregulated ERCOT retail market, member-owned cooperatives like DETEC are exempt from PUCT rate regulation and have not opted into retail choice. Members buy bundled service from the cooperative, with rates set by the member-elected board; rate schedules are available by request from Member Services.
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