Texas consumers may be getting a bit of a shock on their utility bills. In Houston, CenterPoint’s transmission and distribution charge went up, effective September 1. Other areas of Texas are also seeing rising rates due to increasing population, more demand on the grid, and extreme weather taking its toll on the system.
How much is it costing? In Houston, for example, if you use 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, the Centerpoint hike has added an estimated average of $14.80 to your monthly bill. For 3,000 kilowatt-hours, the average monthly increase is estimated to be $44.50, or nearly $540 per year. (The average home in Houston uses 1,300 kilowatt-hours of electricity every month according to ERCOT, but that can vary widely depending on energy habits.)
In Austin, the municipally owned utility Austin Energy raised its base rates 2% on November 1, with other rate changes equating to an average $2.70 increase on a homeowner’s bill each month. Commercial rates vary depending on demand and time and use rates.
Rooftop solar can ‘lock in’ power prices
If you’re seeking to cut costs for electricity in the wake of these increases, what can you do? Your best bet may be to install rooftop solar.
Over the long run, rooftop solar can lower the expense of powering your home. In fact, this is one of the key reasons that people switch to solar. Solar can “lock in” a consistent cost for energy. That’s because an appropriately sized system that offsets your electricity usage will avoid increases in utility bills altogether.
On average, Houston residents spend about $259 per month on electricity. That adds up to $3,108 per year, according to EnergySage.
And those bills are bound to go up. From 2023 to 2024 alone, the average price of electricity for residential customers in Texas climbed nearly 4.7%, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA).
“Higher prices are driven by increasing population, regulatory changes, weather conditions and aging infrastructure,” the EIA says.
How much could rooftop solar save you in Texas?
How could your energy bills be affected by rooftop solar? If you install solar on your home, you could save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your solar panel system. The average Texas homeowner could save more than $41,000 on electricity over the average 25-year life of a solar panel system, according to EnergySage.
To figure out how much money you could save with solar, subtract the amount you’d pay for solar (excluding the 30% solar tax credit) from what you’d pay for electricity. You can do this math with our interactive solar power calculator.
Battery backup can save even more green
You can gain even more savings if you install a battery backup system to store any solar-generated power you don’t use. This excess power can be sold back to your utility. In exchange, you receive credits on your monthly electric bill.
With rising electricity rates showing no sign of slowing down, it’s worth exploring how rooftop solar panels and battery storage would let you hang onto more of your hard-earned income.
Bottom line: The upfront investment in solar plus energy storage can pay ongoing dividends for years to come.
Other benefits of rooftop solar plus storage
Another benefit of a solar plus storage system: With battery backup, you can avoid power outages.
During a hurricane, for example, a battery backup (also called energy storage) system allows you to keep the lights on while your non-solar neighbors are left in the dark. In the Houston area, this scenario played out amid the massive power outage caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Yet another advantage that you may not have considered is the increased value of homes equipped with solar panels.
Data compiled by SolarReviews shows that homes with solar panels sell for 6.8% more than homes without solar panels. For a median-value home, that works out to an extra $25,381.
Any way you slice it, an investment in home solar is an investment in your future.
For more information and a free, custom proposal for your home, contact the team at Longhorn.
