The short answer

Texas homes use a lot of power in summer, and cooling is about a third of it. On top of that, prices per kWh have climbed: the January to July average was 16.1 cents in 2026, up from 15.2 cents in 2025. If you buy from a retail provider, two more things can push a bill up without any change in how you live: a fixed-price contract that ended and rolled you onto a month-to-month price, and a plan whose pricing works against your level of use. Delivery charges, set by state regulators, are the fifth piece.

Eight years of Texas bills, month by month

Each square is the average Texas residential bill that month. Summer stands out every year, and recent summers stand out most:

$100$250

Residential revenue divided by residential customers, all Texas utilities and retail providers. Source: EIA Form 861M (2025 and 2026 preliminary). Our average Texas bill guide has the yearly averages and the numbers by utility.

1. Summer cooling

In the federal government's survey of Texas homes, cooling (the air conditioner plus its fan) used about 32.5% of household electricity over a year, three times what heating used. Nearly all of that lands from June to September. In July 2026 the average Texas home used 1,581 kWh, about 90 more than in July 2025, and paid $251.

A bill that doubles between April and August is normal for Texas. One that's much higher than the same month last year, in similar weather, usually means something changed: a new pool, an EV, an AC that's running longer than it should, or a different price per kWh.

2. Your plan expired

If you chose a provider and a fixed-price plan, it has an end date. Texas rules require your provider to send at least three written expiration notices in the last third of the contract, the final one at least 30 days before the end for contracts longer than four months. Look for an envelope or e-mail marked "Contract Expiration Notice. See Enclosed."

If you do nothing, your provider must keep serving you on a default month-to-month product. You can leave it at any time without a fee, but its price can change from one billing cycle to the next. If your bill jumped and you don't remember picking a new plan, check whether this happened. You also can't be charged a cancellation fee in the 14 days before your contract's end date, which is the time to pick a new plan.

An opened envelope with a folded electric bill and a pair of reading glasses on a kitchen counter in a Texas home, warm morning light
Since 2021 and 2022

Texas providers can no longer sell homes plans priced straight off the wholesale market, or indexed plans. A residential plan with a changing price can only be month-to-month.

3. Prices are rising

The average price Texas homes paid rose from 11.0 cents per kWh in 2016 to 15.5 cents in 2025, about 41%, in federal data. It kept rising in 2026: 16.1 cents from January to July, against 15.2 cents in the same months of 2025. On a 1,500 kWh summer month, every extra cent per kWh is $15 on the bill.

4. Delivery charges for your area

Where you can choose a provider, every bill also carries the wires company's delivery charges, set by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. They're the same whichever provider you pick, and they differ by area. For a 1,000 kWh month, as of October 1, 2026:

Wires companyDelivery charges, 1,000 kWh
TNMP$85.27
CenterPoint$70.23
Oncor$64.36
AEP Texas Central$60.42
AEP Texas North$59.27

Source: PUCT monthly rate reports for each wires company, residential service. Your provider may show these as a separate line or fold them into one price.

Delivery charges change when the commission approves new ones, and Texas rules let even a fixed-price plan's price move to reflect actual changes in them. If you're served by a city utility or a co-op, such as Austin Energy, CPS Energy or Pedernales, there's no separate wires company; the utility sets all of its charges itself.

Distribution power lines and a pole-mounted transformer above a quiet Texas residential street at sunset

5. How your plan prices your level of use

Every Texas retail plan has an Electricity Facts Label, and state rules require it to show the plan's average price per kWh at three levels of monthly use: 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh. Those three numbers can be very different on the same plan, depending on base charges and any credits tied to how much you use.

So a plan advertised at its 1,000 kWh price can cost you much more per kWh in a 600 kWh spring month or a 2,200 kWh summer month. Compare all three prices on the label with your own use across the year, not just the headline number.

What to check on your own bill

  1. Your contract end date. It's on your bill and in the expiration notices. Past it, you may be on a month-to-month price.
  2. Your plan's Electricity Facts Label. Compare its 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh prices with what you actually use.
  3. This month's kWh against last year's. Same month, same home: a big jump in kWh points to use, not price.
  4. Your 15-minute meter data. Smart Meter Texas shows when you use power, which makes a stuck AC or pool pump easy to spot.
  5. The price per kWh you actually paid. Divide the total by the kWh. If it's well above your plan's average price, find out why.

Your wires company's meter records use in 15-minute intervals, and you can see it at Smart Meter Texas. If your provider is billing more kWh than your meter shows, or a charge you can't explain, ask the provider first. The Public Utility Commission of Texas says it helps customers resolve complaints with their providers.

Where solar fits

Solar can't fix an expired plan, but it does cut the kWh you buy, and Texas solar output peaks in the same months bills do. Every kWh your panels make and your home uses as it's made saves your full price per kWh, delivery included. What happens to the rest depends on your utility or plan; our buyback guide explains the options, and our cost guide shows what a system for your home size runs.

How it works

Your estimate in three steps

  1. Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
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  3. Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.

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Common questions

Why is my electric bill so high in Texas this month?

Usually summer cooling, which is about a third of a Texas home's yearly electricity use, or a higher price per kWh. If you buy from a retail provider, also check whether your fixed-price contract ended and moved you to a month-to-month price, and how your plan prices your level of use.

What happens when my Texas electricity contract expires?

If you don't choose a new plan, your provider must keep serving you on a month-to-month product you can cancel any time without a fee, but its price can change every billing cycle. Your provider must send at least three expiration notices first, the last at least 30 days before the end for contracts over four months.

How much have Texas electricity prices gone up?

The average price Texas homes paid rose from 11.0 cents per kWh in 2016 to 15.5 cents in 2025 in federal EIA data. From January to July 2026 it averaged 16.1 cents, up from 15.2 cents in the same months of 2025.

What was the average Texas electric bill in summer 2026?

In July 2026 the average Texas residential bill was $251 at about 1,581 kWh, up from $229 in July 2025, based on preliminary federal EIA data.

Are variable-rate electricity plans still allowed in Texas?

For homes, a plan with a changing price can only be month-to-month. Since September 1, 2021, providers may not sell homes plans priced directly off the wholesale market, and since February 1, 2022 they may not sell homes indexed plans.

Where can I see my hourly electricity use in Texas?

Smart Meter Texas shows the use your meter records in 15-minute intervals, if your home is in an area served by a wires company such as Oncor or CenterPoint.

Federal 2025 and 2026 figures are preliminary and can be revised. Delivery charges and plan terms change; check your own plan's Electricity Facts Label. Sources: EIA Form 861M monthly sales and revenue · EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020 microdata · PUCT Substantive Rule 25.475 · PUCT: TDU rate reports · Smart Meter Texas · Public Utility Commission of Texas. Reviewed October 2026.

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