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File An Informal Complaint

Before You File

Before filing an informal complaint with the Public Utility Commission (PUC), contact your electric, telephone, water or sewer provider first and allow them to investigate your complaint. If you are unable to come to a satisfactory resolution with your provider, you should then file a complaint with the PUC's Customer Protection Division. Before you begin the process, it is important that you understand your rights as a utility customer.

Know Your Rights

Online Complaint Forms:

File An Informal Complaint
Electricity Complaint	Telephone Complaint
Water Complaint	No Call Complaint

Call Us

Speak with a Representative:

Call: 1-888-782-8477
Austin: 512-936-7120
Fax: 1-512-936-7003
TTY: 1-800-735-2988

Write to us

PUCT-Customer Protection

P.O. Box 13326
Austin, TX 78711-3326
Email:

consumer@puc.texas.gov

What Happens After You File a Complaint With the PUC?

The complaint is reviewed and the process begins.
The complaint is sent to your electric, telephone or water company.
The electric or telephone company has 15 days to investigate and respond to the PUC.
The water company has 15 days to investigate and respond to the PUC.
After receiving the company's response, an investigator makes an evaluation to determine if the company has failed to follow the law.
The PUC will send both you and your company a letter with the investigator's resolution.

File a Formal Complaint

If you are a customer of an electric, telecommunications, or water service provider who filed an informal complaint with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and you are not satisfied with the resolution, you may file a formal complaint.

If your complaint is against your electric utility, or local wires company, and you reside within the city limits, you may be required to first submit your complaint to the city in which you live. The utility or local wires company is the company that delivers electricity to a customer's home or business along the poles and wires.

View this list to see which cities have given up their authority to resolve complaints in their city limits. If the city does not act on your complaint within 30 days, you may request that Commission staff send an inquiry to the city about your case. If the city does not respond within 30 days to staff's inquiry, then you may file a formal complaint with the PUC.

For more detailed information on filing a formal complaint, please review the PUC brochure How to File a Formal Complaint.

A formal complaint at the PUC is similar to a court case and may result in a hearing, which is much like a trial. You will be called a complainant and you will be a party to the case with certain legal rights and obligations. As a complainant, you must respond to requests for information, you must send copies of any documents you submit to the PUC to every party in the case, you must provide the necessary number of copies to the PUC's Central Records Office, and, if the case is referred for a hearing, you must appear at the hearing so you can be questioned.

If you decide to file a formal complaint, you may want to contact an attorney to help you understand the procedures and the applicable laws and rules that are relevant to the complaint.

You will be required to follow certain procedural rules if you decide to file a formal complaint. These procedures can be found in Procedural Rule 22.242.

The formal complaint process starts when either you or your electric, water, or telephone company files a formal complaint with the PUC.