What Are the Average Electricity Rates in Texas?

Texas electricity rate and average bill

Sources: EIA monthly prices and annual residential bills. The modeled bill holds usage constant and combines two periods. The official average bill is a separate historical statistic. Neither predicts the bill for every Texas household.

Texas residential electricity rates over 12 months

Year-over-year changes compare the same calendar month, using the historical series as retrieved for this release. Observations can be revised.

Source for every row: EIA-861M Monthly-States, residential price. Latest point reconciles to EIA Table 5.6.A.

What does a garage heater cost to run in Texas?

This scenario uses a 4,000 W electric-resistance heater, four actual full-power hours daily, 30 days per month, and five such months. It holds weather and runtime constant; five months is an illustration, not a Texas climate assumption.

For the same delivered heat at 80% combustion efficiency, propane at the Texas observation of $2.989/gal as of March 30, 2026 would cost $0.56 per runtime hour, or $66.91 for 30 days. This comparison mixes a March propane observation with July electricity. It excludes installation and propane taxes and is not a current fuel quote. Texas weekly propane source.

Calculate with the Texas electricity rate →

The linked calculator starts at 4,000 W, four hours/day, seven days/week, five months and 100% runtime. It uses the same 30-day month, so the linked monthly total matches this table. Adjust duty cycle for thermostat operation and replace the state average with your bill rate.

Texas retail choice, utilities, and ERCOT

Many Texas households in competitive service areas can choose a retail electric provider (REP). The transmission and distribution utility still operates local wires. Eligibility depends on the service address: municipal systems and cooperatives are not automatically part of competitive retail choice. Check your utility and EIA's supplier-choice guidance before shopping.

Austin Energy and San Antonio's CPS Energy are municipal utilities. Customers in their service areas use those utilities rather than the competitive REP model. Their boundaries matter more than a city name alone. See Austin Energy's company profile and CPS Energy's utility history.

Check providers against the official directory

The PUCT Retail Electric Provider directory, checked October 1, 2026, lists TXU Energy Retail Company LLC (certificate 10004), Reliant Energy Retail Services LLC (10007), and Constellation NewEnergy Inc. (10014). These are examples, not recommendations or a guarantee that a particular plan is available at your address. Check the current certification, Electricity Facts Label, usage tiers, fees, and contract term.

What ERCOT operates

FERC describes ERCOT as an energy-only wholesale market covering about 90% of Texas electrical load, with day-ahead, real-time, and ancillary-service markets. That load share is not the percentage of households eligible to choose a REP. Parts of Texas operate outside ERCOT, and the Texas Interconnection has limited asynchronous ties to neighboring systems.

Energy-only means ERCOT does not run a separate centralized capacity market like some other grid regions. It does not mean all generator revenue consists only of retail electricity sales: ancillary services and other arrangements also matter. A statewide retail average cannot prove that market design alone caused a price difference. Gas supply, generation mix, delivery costs, weather, and retail contracts all contribute; EIA describes the growing role of solar, wind, and batteries in ERCOT.

The February 2021 storm is historical context

During the February 2021 winter storm, ERCOT wholesale prices reached the then-cap of $9,000/MWh, according to EIA's comparison of the 2021 and 2022 cold snaps. Wholesale-indexed retail customers faced different exposure from fixed-rate customers. That event is not a description of every Texas bill, nor a forecast of current retail prices. For a heater budget, use the terms of your actual plan.

Compare rates and plan the heater

Compare all 50 state rates, size the heater with the garage heater calculator, or check the garage heater installation cost. State-rate rows link directly to the running-cost calculator. More standalone state guides will be linked as they become available.