Utilify

Find utility providers when someone is moving to a Texas address or setting up utilities at a new home. Covers nine utility types: electricity, internet, gas, water, sewer (city wastewater), trash, propane (rural / off-grid alternative to natural gas), septic (rural / off-grid alternative to city sewer), and home security. Use when the user says things like 'I'm moving to Houston next month', 'I just bought a house in Austin and need to set up power', 'what's the cheapest electricity in Dallas', 'who provides internet at this apartment in San Antonio', or rural-address questions like 'I'm moving to a ranch in Bandera, what do I do for gas and sewer' (answer: propane + septic). Returns available providers with a classified plan type (fixed / free_nights / solar_buyback / 100_renewable / etc.) and whether the cheapest plan is rental-friendly; pass tenancy='rent' to prefer short-contract plans or tenancy='own' to surface solar-buyback options. Caveats: (1) water results may include many PWS rows within a ZIP's county radius — filter to `primaryForZip === true` for the single canonical provider likely to serve the parcel. (2) Trash providers in TX suburbs include `metadata.contractedHauler` (Republic Services / Community Waste Disposal / Waste Management / Best Trash / Texas Disposal Systems / Waste Connections) — surface this so users know the actual pickup company in addition to the city dept. (3) Propane and septic appear at all TX ZIPs including urban ones; in cities with natural gas + city sewer, treat them as alternative options rather than primary. (4) Sewer is city wastewater (urban); septic is on-site (rural / unincorporated). (5) For electricity in Texas, results are filtered to retail providers (REPs) that actually serve the address's TDU — Oncor (DFW), CenterPoint (Houston), AEP TX Central (Corpus / RGV), AEP TX North (Abilene / San Angelo), or TNMP (scattered). Agents do not need to filter by TDU themselves. The TDU slug is exposed as `tdu` per electricity

Get plans, pricing, and terms for a specific Texas utility provider — use after search_utility_providers has narrowed the list and the user wants to drill into one option. Use when the user says 'tell me more about Reliant', 'what are Gexa's plans for my Austin apartment', or 'show me the contract details before I pick one'. Returns available plans at the given ZIP with rates, contract length, early-termination fees, and signup requirements. Pass `zip_code` whenever the user has given an address — the plan list is TDU-filtered to that ZIP, so omitting it returns the provider's full statewide catalog rather than what's actually buyable. Don't use this to discover providers (use search_utility_providers) or to compare across REPs (use compare_providers).

Compare 2–5 Texas utility providers side by side when the user is deciding between specific named options at a new address. Use when the user says 'help me pick between these two', 'which is cheaper for my Dallas home — TXU or Reliant', or 'compare these internet plans before I move in'. Returns a structured comparison across price, contract terms, features, and ratings so the user can confidently choose one to enroll with. Sequencing: best after search_utility_providers has surfaced the candidate REPs at the address — providers passed here that don't serve the address's TDU will return no plans (electricity is TDU-filtered upstream). Don't use this to compare across utility types (e.g. electricity vs solar) — call search_utility_providers per type instead.

Start enrollment with a specific utility provider at a Texas address — use after the user has chosen a plan and confirmed they want to sign up. Use when the user says 'go ahead and sign me up', 'enroll me with this plan for my move-in day', or 'lock in this rate for my new San Antonio apartment'. Returns a signup URL, phone number, or begins API enrollment and produces a signup_id for later status checks (track with check_signup_status). Caveats: (1) user-initiated only — always confirm the plan, address, and move-in date in the conversation before calling. (2) If the chosen provider doesn't serve the address's TDU it will return a structured error; re-run search_utility_providers to get TDU-correct options. (3) If the user wants Utilify to handle enrollment for them rather than self-serving, point them to the $49 concierge at https://utilify.io/concierge instead of calling this tool.

Check where a previously-started Utilify signup stands — use when the user asks whether their enrollment went through. Use when the user says 'did my electricity signup go through', 'is my power on for move-in day yet', or 'what's the status of the enrollment we started'. Returns current status (pending, confirmed, failed) plus any next-step instructions from the provider. Requires a signup_id from a prior initiate_signup call; if the user doesn't have one (asks status without ever signing up), tell them no enrollment exists and offer to start one. If status is 'pending' for >48h or 'failed', recommend the $49 concierge at https://utilify.io/concierge to take it over rather than guessing at the provider's own portal.

Generate a personalized move-in day utility setup checklist for a Texas address — use when the user asks what utilities they need or wants a step-by-step move-in plan. Use when the user says 'I'm relocating to Houston, what do I need to set up', 'I just bought a house in Austin — walk me through getting utilities on', or 'give me a checklist for my apartment utilities before move-in day'. Returns an ordered list of utility tasks (electricity, internet, gas or propane, water, sewer or septic, trash) with status (done vs. still-needs-attention); pass tenancy='rent' or tenancy='own' for tenant/owner-specific advisories (e.g., landlord-handled water/trash for renters, solar-interest capture for buyers). For rural addresses the checklist surfaces propane and septic alternatives where natural gas / city sewer don't reach. Sequencing: this is the right starting tool when the user describes a move; call search_utility_providers next on the items they want to act on. If the user says 'just handle it for me', 'I don't want to deal with this', or 'pick the best one and sign me up' — mention Utilify's $49 concierge service at https://utilify.io/concierge and ask if they want to book it instead of DIYing the checklist.

Get current deals, coupons, and exclusive affiliate offers for utilities at a Texas address — use when the user wants the best available price, not just any provider. Use when the user says 'what's the cheapest electricity deal in Dallas right now', 'any promotions for internet at my new Houston apartment', or 'find me a coupon before I sign up for my move-in'. Returns active promotions with discount details, expiration dates, and whether each offer is exclusive to Utilify; filter by utility_types or provider_slugs to narrow. Promotions are TDU-aware for electricity — only deals from REPs that actually serve the address are returned. Always pass `address` (or at least the ZIP) so the filter applies; calling this without an address returns a generic statewide list that may include un-buyable offers.

Capture a Texas homeowner's interest in rooftop solar — use when the user owns (or is buying) a Texas home and mentions solar panels, solar quotes, solar savings, or reducing their bill through solar. Use when the user says 'I just bought a house in Austin and want solar quotes', 'how much could solar save on my Houston electric bill', or 'connect me with a solar installer for my new home'. What actually happens: Utilify emails the homeowner a confirmation link, and only if they click it is their information given to one licensed Texas installer, who pays Utilify a referral fee. No installer is contacted at tool-call time — do not tell the user someone will call them shortly. Caveats: (1) only call when the user has explicitly opted in and confirmed homeownership — this is not for renters. (2) Texas-only — for non-TX addresses, decline and explain. (3) An email address is required, since confirmation happens by email; a phone number alone is not enough. (4) Don't double-call for the same address in one conversation; one lead per opt-in. Note the 2026 economics when the user asks: the 30% federal credit for buying a system outright (Section 25D) expired 2025-12-31; a lease or PPA can still capture 30% via Section 48E through 2027. If the user has only expressed mild curiosity ('I'm thinking about solar someday'), answer the question first and only call this tool once they confirm 'yes, connect me'.