Sunprint
The short answer
Most of the Houston area is CenterPoint territory, where your retail electricity plan decides what solar power you send back is worth. TNMP delivers power around League City, Texas City and Friendswood, and Entergy Texas serves parts of Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers and other counties. For an average $150 bill our calculator puts payback at 17 to 24 years across the three. Houston gets less sun than most Texas cities we track, and long storm outages are the local story.
Outages: the Houston question
Average per customer per year, major storms included
From CenterPoint's reports to the federal EIA. Leaving out major storm days, the average was 2.5 hours a year.
The two spikes are 2021, the year of the February winter storm that federal regulators studied as the February 2021 cold weather outages, and 2024, when Hurricane Beryl came ashore near Matagorda on July 8 and its center passed over the western side of the Houston area, according to the National Hurricane Center. In the other three years, CenterPoint customers averaged 4 to 6 hours without power.
Panels alone don't help in an outage: grid-tied solar shuts down with the grid unless it has a battery set up for backup. Our battery guide compares batteries with generators and what utilities pay battery owners.
| Utility | Hours without power a year, 2020 to 2024 average | Leaving out major storms | Worst year |
|---|---|---|---|
| CenterPoint area | 25.0 h | 2.5 h | 71.9 h in 2024 |
| TNMP area | 8.3 h | 1.7 h | 32.4 h in 2024 |
| Entergy Texas | 20.7 h | 5.1 h | 42.3 h in 2020 |
| Sam Houston Electric | 22.9 h | 5.1 h | 76.4 h in 2024 |
| San Bernard Electric | 6.1 h | 1.9 h | 20.6 h in 2024 |
Average hours without power per customer, from each utility's reports to the federal EIA. "Leaving out major storms" drops the major event days utilities are allowed to exclude.
Who buys your solar power around Houston
| Utility | What it does with solar power you send out | Yearly savings, $150 bill | Payback | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CenterPoint area | Your retail plan sets the buyback: from nothing up to about its energy charge | $735 to $1,278 | 17 to 19 years | Estimate → |
| TNMP area | Your retail plan sets the buyback; TNMP's delivery charge is the highest of the Texas wires companies | $722 to $1,185 | 17 to 20 years | Estimate → |
| Entergy Texas | Credits exports at its avoided cost: 3.866¢ in summer, 3.587¢ the rest of 2026 | $764 to $877 | 21 to 24 years | Estimate → |
CenterPoint uses Houston sun, TNMP the League City area's and Entergy Texas the sun from its own guide (Beaumont). Retail-plan areas show a range from a wholesale-level buyback up to about the plan's energy charge.
Co-ops serve the edges of the region, among them Sam Houston Electric, San Bernard Electric, Mid-South Electric, Fayette Electric and Jackson Electric. We couldn't confirm their solar terms from their own documents, so the estimate shows a range for them.
Sun through the year
NREL PVWatts, south-facing panels on a 6/12 roof, standard losses. Our estimates take off another 5% for roofs that face other ways.
Houston's panels make the most from March to October, peaking in July, and the least in February and December. A year's total is about 6% below Dallas and 23% below El Paso, so covering the same share of your use takes a slightly bigger system here.
Permits and programs
Houston permits. The City of Houston's solar permit guide requires a structural and an electrical permit, with the electrical permit bought by a registered licensed electrician, and CenterPoint's interconnection approval before installation. Houston lists its solar panel permit at $91.06 plus a $33.56 administrative fee, with plan review at 25% of the permit fee. The guide predates the 2025 state laws on home solar and battery permits, which our permits guide explains.
Programs. CenterPoint's energy efficiency plan filed with the PUC budgets $1,000,000 a year in 2025 and 2026 for a residential solar program paid to installers; we couldn't confirm the 2026 terms. TNMP's Solar+ program covers its area around League City until November 30, 2026.
Your estimate in three steps
- Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
- See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and the sun where you live.
- Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.
See what solar could save you
It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.
Common questions
Is solar worth it in Houston?
For an average $150 bill and a system covering 85% of use, our calculator puts payback at 17 to 24 years across CenterPoint-area retail plans, TNMP and Entergy Texas, at $3.00 to $3.50 a watt with no incentives. Your retail plan's buyback rate makes the biggest difference.
How long do power outages last in Houston?
CenterPoint customers averaged 72 hours without power in 2024 and 39 hours in 2021, including major storms, in its reports to the federal EIA. Leaving out major storm days, the average from 2020 to 2024 was 2.5 hours a year.
Do solar panels work during a power outage in Houston?
Not on their own. Grid-tied solar shuts down when the grid goes down, so keeping power on during an outage takes a battery set up for backup.
Do I need a permit for solar panels in Houston?
Yes. Houston's solar permit guide requires a structural and an electrical permit, with the electrical permit bought by a registered licensed electrician, and CenterPoint's interconnection approval before installation.
How much sun does Houston get for solar?
About 1,430 kWh a year from 1 kW of south-facing panels, in NREL's PVWatts model, against 1,523 in Dallas and 1,857 in El Paso.
Related guides
- Solar for CenterPoint customers
- Solar batteries and Texas power outages
- Solar for TNMP customers
- Solar for Entergy Texas customers
- Solar panel permits in Texas
- Texas solar buyback plans
Savings and payback are our calculator's estimates, not a utility's or an installer's. Rates and buyback terms change; check your utility's current terms before you sign. Sources: U.S. Department of Energy: the road to resilience with rooftop solar · National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Beryl report (PDF) · FERC, NERC and Regional Entity staff report: the February 2021 cold weather outages · City of Houston: solar panel permit · City of Houston: solar PV permit and inspection guide (PDF) · CenterPoint 2025 Energy Efficiency Plan and Report (PDF) · TNMP 2026 residential program manual (PDF) · U.S. EIA Form 861: service territories, reliability and sales data, 2020 to 2024 · NOAA NCEI Storm Events database, 2016 to 2025 · NREL PVWatts v8. Reviewed October 2026.
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