What's the Average Electric Bill in Texas in 2026?

The average Texas household pays between $150 and $200 per month for electricity, though bills in deregulated areas vary widely based on your plan, usage, and TDU service territory. Understanding how your rate breaks down - energy charges, TDU delivery fees, and monthly service fees - is the first step toward trimming your bill.

If you just opened your electricity bill and thought "that can't be right," you're not alone. Texans pay some of the most variable electricity bills in the country - and the range between what a savvy shopper pays and what everyone else pays is enormous.

So what's normal? Let's dig into the numbers.

The Average Texas Electric Bill in 2026

The average residential electricity bill in Texas lands between $150 and $180 per month when you look at the full year. But that number hides a huge amount of variation.

Your actual bill depends on:

• Where you live - Houston (CenterPoint territory) tends to run higher TDU charges than Dallas (Oncor)
• Your home's size and age - a 3,000 sq ft home from the 1990s with poor insulation will cost dramatically more than a 1,500 sq ft home built to modern code
• Your electricity plan - this is the single biggest variable most people overlook
• The season - summer bills in Texas can easily hit double or triple your winter bills. When extreme cold does hit, heating costs and winter preparedness become critical

Summer vs. Winter: The Texas Swing

Texas electricity bills follow a predictable seasonal pattern, driven almost entirely by air conditioning. A smart thermostat can help reduce unnecessary cooling.

For larger homes (2,500+ sq ft), July and August bills of $300-$400 are common. Homes with older AC units, poor insulation, or west-facing windows can push well past $400. Blackout curtains can reduce afternoon heat gain through sunny windows.

This seasonal swing is exactly why comparing plans at a single usage level (like PowerToChoose.org does at 1,000 kWh) can be misleading. A plan that's cheap at 1,000 kWh might be expensive at 2,000 kWh thanks to tiered pricing or disappearing bill credits.

What's Actually on Your Bill

Your electricity bill has three main components, and most people only pay attention to one of them:

1. Energy Charges (The Part You Control)

This is the per-kWh rate from your Retail Electricity Provider (REP) - companies like TXU, Reliant, Gexa, Rhythm, and dozens of others. This is the only part you can change by switching plans.

2. TDU Delivery Charges (Fixed by Your Area)

Your Transmission and Distribution Utility (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP, or TNMP) charges for maintaining the power lines and delivering electricity to your home. These charges are the same regardless of which REP you choose. They typically add 4-6 cents/kWh to your effective rate.

3. Taxes, Fees, and Base Charges

Monthly base fees range from $0 to $9.95 depending on your plan. Taxes and regulatory fees add another small percentage. Some plans also include renewable energy certificate costs.

How to Tell If You Are Overpaying

The most reliable way to check is to calculate your current all-in rate: total energy charges, plus TDU delivery charges, plus monthly fees, divided by total kWh used, then compare that number against what is currently available in your TDU service area at the same usage level.

As of mid-2026, competitive all-in rates at 1,000 kWh run roughly 8 to 10 cents per kWh in most Texas service areas, though actual availability varies by contract term length and plan type. If your effective rate comes in more than 2 to 3 cents above that current competitive range, there is likely a better option available for your usage pattern. For current benchmarks by TDU service area, see Texas electricity rates today, and for guidance on timing a switch around your existing agreement, see what happens when your contract expires. WattTrim runs this comparison automatically using your actual Smart Meter data, so you can see your real all-in rate against the current market rather than estimating it by hand.