CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — This summer is bringing the heat, not only with the rising temperatures but energy bills as well.
Island resident Tiffany Alexander says it's "sticker shock."
Alexander moved to Texas a few years ago and said she was surprised like many of her neighbors at just how high her projected energy bill was about to be.
"You know I was at .08 kilowatt when I first moved here and now its .13 per kilowatt," she said.
Alexander told 3NEWS that her last billing statement came out to $287 and this upcoming bill is projected to be $407. Her neighbor down the street shared her June and July bills went from $260 to $379.
A line on their bill titled "delivery charge" stuck out to them.
"Now $153 on top of that, I mean come on," Alexander said. "That's a lot and it's concerning."
Many customers don't know what that charge means, so 3NEWS asked Texas Rep. Todd Hunter who has been vocal about energy prices in the Coastal Bend.
"I'm hearing from lots of folks, especially on the coastline -- number one 'why are my bills higher than everyone else,'" Hunter said.
He said that's a good question and advises people to take a closer look at their bill and the "delivery charge."
"It's about as high as your electric bill," Hunter said. "What is that for? What does it mean? What are you paying for?"
According to the Public Utility Commissions website, the delivery charge is the amount to cover the cost of moving electricity from the generation plant to your home.
Alexander said she wants more transparency when it comes to what she's paying for.
"The inflation is real," she said. "Stop tacking on the extra charges, you know we are already struggling and I know I'm not the only one."
The PUC, explained in a response to 3NEWS that a customer's TDU charge is the TDU delivery rate multiplied by the number of kilowatt hours consumed in a given month.