What's the Average Electric Bill in Texas and Why Yours Keeps Climbing
The electric bill just landed, and it’s ugly. Before you blame the thermostat or the kids leaving doors open, it helps to know what the average electric bill in Texas actually looks like right now, and which factors genuinely move that number. After 17+ years reviewing energy bills at Texas kitchen tables, our team can tell you the answer is rarely the one the comparison sites lead with.
The Average Electric Bill in Texas Right Now
The average electric bill in Texas is about $186 per month. That comes straight from EIA math. Texans pay an average of 16.99 cents per kilowatt-hour (as of April 2026 EIA data) and use about 1,096 kilowatt-hours per month, which works out to roughly $186.
A quick definition before we go further. A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, is the unit your utility bills you in. One kWh runs a central air conditioner for about 15 to 20 minutes on a hot afternoon, which explains a lot about Texas bills.
Here’s the national context. The U.S. average rate sits around 18.83 cents per kWh, and the average American home uses about 863 kWh per month, for a bill near $162.50. So Texans pay a below-average rate but land among the highest bills in the country. That’s the Texas paradox, and the rest of this guide explains it. The short version is that the cost of electricity in Texas per unit is reasonable. The amount of it we use is not.
One more thing worth knowing. Residential electric bills rose in 46 states last year, and Texas rates have climbed steadily, from about 15.4 cents per kWh in 2025 to nearly 17 cents in early 2026. “Average” is a moving target, and the trend has been up.
Average Electric Bill in Texas by Home Size
Home size is the single best predictor of your bill. More square footage means more air to cool, more appliances running, and more kWh flowing through the meter. Here’s how the average energy bill in Texas breaks down by home type, based on marketplace and EIA usage data.
Home Size | Typical Monthly Usage | Average Monthly Bill |
1-bedroom apartment | 500 to 750 kWh | ~$134 |
2-bedroom apartment | ~950 kWh | ~$161 |
Small home (1,500 to 2,500 sq ft) | 1,000 to 1,300 kWh | ~$181 |
Large home (2,500 to 4,000 sq ft) | 1,400 kWh and up | $231+ |
The rule of thumb our consultants use during site assessments is about 0.6 kWh per square foot per month for a typical Texas home. A 2,000 square foot house lands around 1,200 kWh, or roughly $154 to $198 per month at current rates, and you should expect summer bills to spike about 35% above that baseline.
If you’re in a 3-bedroom home, most fall in that 1,500 to 2,500 square foot range, which puts the average electric bill in Texas for your house at about $150 to $230 per month depending on insulation, AC age, and how your family actually lives.
Average Bill by City and Utility Territory
Location shifts the average electric bill in Texas too. At average usage levels, Dallas homes run about $157 per month, Fort Worth about $146, and Houston about $150, based on marketplace estimates at current rates. Houston’s per-kWh rates are often lower than Dallas rates, but Houston humidity keeps air conditioners working harder and longer, so real bills often even out.
Part of the difference comes from your TDU. A TDU, or Transmission and Distribution Utility, is the company that owns the poles and wires in your area, like Oncor in Dallas-Fort Worth or CenterPoint in Houston. Here’s the part the comparison sites tend to bury. TDU delivery charges apply no matter which electricity provider you choose. You can switch retail providers all day long, but the delivery portion of your bill, often 4 to 6 cents per kWh, stays put.
Why Texas Electric Bills Are So High (It's Not the Rate)
If the rate is below the national average, why does the average electric bill in Texas rank among the ten highest in the country? Four reasons, and they’ll sound familiar if you’ve lived here through a summer.
Bigger homes, bigger loads
Texas homes are simply larger than the national norm. A 3,000 square foot home is a 3,000 square foot electric bill. Every extra room is more volume to cool, more lighting, and usually more devices plugged in.
Air conditioning is half your summer bill
Cooling accounts for 50 to 70% of summer electricity usage in a typical Texas home, and our cooling season runs longer and hotter than almost anywhere else. When we review a customer’s usage history during a free assessment, the summer AC signature is unmistakable. June through September bills often run double the spring baseline.
The deregulation trap
Most of Texas runs on a deregulated retail market, which means you choose your electricity provider. That choice is a genuine advantage if you actively manage it. The trap is what happens when you don’t. Fixed-rate contracts quietly roll off onto month-to-month variable rates that can run far above market, and industry surveys suggest most Texans on expired contracts overpay without realizing it. If you haven’t looked at your plan since you signed it, that’s the first place to check.
Insulation and construction quality
A lot of Texas housing stock was built fast and cheap. Thin attic insulation, leaky ductwork, and single-pane windows force the AC to run longer to hold the same temperature. Two identical floor plans on the same street can have bills $80 apart for this reason alone.
How to Lower Your Bill
There are two tracks to lowering your Texas electric bill. Here are the honest quick wins first, because they’re real and they cost little or nothing.
Shop your plan before it rolls off. Set a calendar reminder for your contract end date and compare fixed-rate offers a few weeks early. Watch out for gimmick plans built around bill credits at exactly 1,000 kWh. They look cheap on paper and punish any usage above or below that mark.
Install a smart thermostat. Properly programmed, one typically trims cooling costs 10 to 15% by easing off while you’re at work and pre-cooling before peak hours.
Seal and insulate. Attic insulation and duct sealing are the highest-return efficiency upgrades in this climate. If your home is more than 15 years old and hasn’t been touched, start there.
Shift heavy usage off-peak. If your plan rewards it, run the dishwasher, laundry, and pool pump at night instead of 3 to 7 pm.
Now the honest ceiling. Every one of these moves trims your bill, and we recommend them all. None of them changes the structural fact that you’re still buying 100% of your power from a market whose rates have climbed year after year. You’re negotiating the price of every future kWh, not reducing your dependence on it.
Get A Free Solar Consultation
Save Money On Your Electric Bill By Going Solar
This is where the kitchen-table conversation usually turns. Once a homeowner sees that rates keep rising and usage isn’t going anywhere, the next question is whether they have to keep buying every kilowatt-hour from the grid at all. With home solar panel installation, they don’t. Your roof generates the kWh you’d otherwise purchase, and a solar battery stores the excess for evening peak windows and keeps essentials running through grid outages, something Texans don’t need reminding about.
The numbers we’re allowed to share are the ones we’ve actually published. Suntria customers save an average of $1,500 annually on electricity, and a typical system pays for itself in 5 to 7 years. Both figures are averages that vary by home, usage, and utility territory, which is exactly why every project starts with a free quote built from your real bills, not a generic estimate. In a deregulated market, pairing your system with the right solar buyback plan matters too, since Texas providers credit exported solar power at very different rates. That’s a plan-selection exercise our team walks through with every Texas customer.
One honest caveat, because we’d rather you hear it from us. Solar reduces the energy you buy, but it doesn’t zero out TDU delivery charges or fixed fees. Anyone promising a $0 bill is telling you a story.
On the credibility side, Suntria has spent 17+ years in residential solar with 15,000+ home systems installed, holds Texas license TDLR 513425, and installs Made-in-America Silfab panels monitored through the Enphase app. Every system is backed by a 30-year warranty covering parts, labor, and panel removal and reinstallation with a $0 deductible, and it transfers seamlessly if you sell the home (terms and conditions apply). You can see how the process works for Texas homeowners, explore our solar installation services, or review financing options that let most families go solar with little or nothing upfront.
LOWER YOUR ELECTRIC BILL WITH SOLAR
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the average kWh usage per month in Texas?
About 1,096 kWh per month, compared with roughly 863 kWh nationally. The gap comes down to heat and home size. Long cooling seasons and larger-than-average houses push Texas usage about 25% above the national norm.
Is 20 cents per kWh a lot in Texas?
Yes. The all-in Texas average is about 17 cents per kWh, so 20 cents means you’re likely on an expired contract or a plan that doesn’t fit your usage. Pull your Electricity Facts Label (EFL) and check your true all-in rate at your actual usage level, not the advertised teaser rate.
Why is electricity so expensive in Texas right now?
Demand keeps growing from population gains and data center construction, summer peaks strain the grid, and rates have followed. Texas rates rose from about 15.4 cents per kWh in 2025 to nearly 17 cents by spring 2026, and forecasts point to continued upward pressure rather than relief.
Is 600 kWh a month a lot?
No. That’s apartment-level usage, roughly half the Texas residential average of 1,096 kWh. If you’re using 600 kWh in a full-size house, your home is unusually efficient or sitting empty most of the day.
Does leaving lights on raise the bill?
Barely, especially with LED bulbs. The appliances that actually move a Texas bill are air conditioning, electric water heating, and pool pumps. Focus your effort where the kilowatt-hours actually are.