What the Average Texas Electric Bill Looks Like
The average Texas household pays roughly $165 to $180 per month for electricity, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. That figure covers all home sizes and all seasons statewide. A 2-bedroom apartment in Austin pays far less than a 2,500-square-foot house in Houston in August. Understanding where a bill falls, and why it falls there, is the first step toward deciding whether a plan change is worth the effort.
The Two Numbers That Drive Every Bill
Every electric bill is a multiplication problem: kilowatt-hours (kWh) consumed, multiplied by the price per kWh charged under the current plan.
Usage is shaped by square footage, insulation quality, HVAC efficiency, home age, and the number of occupants. In Texas, the dominant variable is summer cooling. ERCOT's published peak demand records show system load topping out in July and August (the grid's all-time peak was set on August 10, 2023 and broken again during the July 2026 heat wave), with cooling the largest single electricity load in a typical home.
Price is the rate negotiated in the electricity contract. In Texas's deregulated market (the ERCOT region, minus the municipal utilities and electric cooperatives that stayed out), residential customers choose their own retail electric provider (REP). Competitive 12-month fixed-rate offers for the Dallas and Houston service areas are listed on the PUCT's Power to Choose database, where advertised prices move week to week and change with the usage level priced, so the live offers for a specific ZIP code are the only reliable snapshot. Customers served by El Paso Electric or border co-ops fall outside the deregulated market and have no plan choice.
Average Monthly Bill by Home Size
The estimates below are based on EIA residential consumption data for the West South Central census division and assume an all-in rate of 13.5 cents per kWh, including TDU delivery charges. That sits below the EIA statewide residential average of about 16.4 cents per kWh, which includes customers who have never shopped a plan, and inside the roughly 12.4-to-14.9-cent band that competitive 12-month fixed offers priced at 1,000 kWh occupied in the Oncor service area as of August 2026, once TDU delivery charges are counted. Advertised prices move often enough that the 13.5-cent figure should be read as a modeling assumption, not a quoted rate.
| Home Size | Est. Monthly Usage | Est. Monthly Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1-BR apartment (~600 sq ft) | 650-800 kWh | $88-108 |
| 2-BR apartment (~900 sq ft) | 900-1,100 kWh | $122-149 |
| Small house (~1,200 sq ft) | 1,050-1,300 kWh | $142-176 |
| Mid-size house (~1,500 sq ft) | 1,200-1,500 kWh | $162-203 |
| Standard house (~2,000 sq ft) | 1,500-1,900 kWh | $203-257 |
| Large house (~2,500 sq ft) | 1,900-2,400 kWh | $257-324 |
These are estimates, not guarantees. A 2-bedroom apartment in a newer building with modern insulation and a high-efficiency split system will land at the low end of its range. The same square footage in a 1970s complex with window units and no attic insulation will land at or above the high end. Building age and envelope quality matter as much as square footage.
Why Summer Bills Run So Much Higher
Summer electricity bills in Texas are expected to be higher, but the size of the swing surprises many households. Texas usage profiles built from retail marketplace data typically show January consumption in the 700 to 900 kWh range against June-through-September peaks of 1,200 to 1,800 kWh, a summer-over-winter swing on the order of 60 to 100 percent. A household paying $110 in December can reasonably expect to pay $180 to $210 in August on the exact same plan, with no rate change at all.
The primary driver is cooling load. Central air conditioning systems in Texas cycle substantially more hours per day than in most of the continental United States. ERCOT's own peak demand records show the size of the seasonal gap: summer peaks above 85,000 MW run more than a third higher than the grid's March 25, 2025 peak of 62,924 MW.
This seasonal swing has a direct implication for plan shopping. The Electricity Facts Label (EFL) that PUCT requires every plan to publish shows effective rates at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh usage levels. The spread between those numbers reveals how per-kWh cost changes as consumption rises. Some plans include flat monthly base charges that inflate the effective rate during low-use months. Others include free-nights or free-weekends credits that reduce effective costs for households willing to shift discretionary loads to off-peak hours.
How a Texas Bill Compares to State and National Averages
The EIA's Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price report (Table 5.A) puts Texas average monthly residential consumption at approximately 1,096 kWh and average monthly expenditure at roughly $164. That places Texas among the highest-consumption states nationally, a result of the climate and the prevalence of all-electric homes. Many Texas households use neither natural gas for heat nor for cooking, so electricity carries the full load.
If a bill is running well above the range for the home's square footage, the most common explanations are:
- An HVAC system with a SEER rating below 14, consuming more electricity per degree of cooling than a current-generation unit
- Air duct leaks, which the U.S. Department of Energy and ENERGY STAR estimate waste 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through a typical home's duct system
- An electric resistance water heater running continuously without a timer or schedule
- A fixed or variable rate above the current market, found by comparing the bill's effective rate against today's 12-month fixed offers priced at the same usage level
If a bill is consistently below the range for the home's size, the financial case for switching plans becomes weaker. Moving from 12 cents to 11 cents per kWh on 1,100 kWh saves $11 per month, or about $132 over a full year. That is a real number, but not a compelling reason to reprioritize over other household tasks.
When Switching Providers Makes Sense
Switching electricity providers in Texas costs nothing and typically takes about seven business days. There is no technician visit and no service interruption. The case for switching is strongest in three situations.
First, when the current rate is above market. A plan whose effective rate sits well above the 12-month fixed offers currently listed at the household's own usage level is, by definition, above market.
Second, when a fixed-rate contract is expiring. Rolling to a month-to-month variable rate after a contract term ends creates exposure to price events, particularly in summer. PUCT publishes complaint counts by provider and by category (billing, slamming, quality of service, and so on) but not by rate type, so there is no official tally of variable-rate complaints to point to. The exposure is structural rather than statistical: a variable rate can reset upward in the same month usage is already at its annual peak.
Third, when a specialized plan structure fits the household's actual schedule. Free-nights plans can reduce effective rates substantially for households that can shift laundry, dishwasher cycles, and EV charging to off-peak hours (typically 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.).
When Switching Does Not Make Sense
Not every household benefits from switching, and it is worth being direct about that.
If the current contract carries an early termination fee (typically $100 to $200), and the potential monthly savings are $10 to $15, the payback period extends past the contract end date. Waiting for expiration is almost always the correct call.
If a household is on a plan with usage-tier bill credits (some plans credit bills for consumption above 1,000 or 2,000 kWh monthly), switching to a flat per-kWh plan without modeling the full annual cost can result in a higher effective rate, even when the advertised price per kWh is lower.
Finally, if a move is planned within 12 months, locking into a long-term fixed contract with an early termination fee will likely cost more overall than a shorter 6-month term or a no-contract plan, even at a slightly higher per-kWh rate.
Reading the Bill to Find the Real Rate
The rate shown on Power to Choose reflects a specific usage scenario, usually 1,000 kWh. The actual effective rate on any month's bill is total charges divided by total kWh. A plan with a $9.95 monthly base charge and a 12-cent per-kWh energy charge carries an effective rate of about 13 cents per kWh at 900 kWh usage, not 12 cents.
PUCT requires every REP to post an EFL for each plan. The EFL displays the all-in effective price at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh. Comparing EFLs at the usage level closest to the household's actual average monthly consumption gives the most accurate apples-to-apples comparison across providers.
For most Texas households, a 15-minute review of current fixed-rate offers on Power to Choose, compared against the effective rate on the current bill, is enough information to determine whether switching is worth pursuing.