Get customized results?

We’ll ask a few questions to find more savings.

Let's go No thanks

The year in Texas electricity rates and more

Avatar for amurrayredventures-com
By Arthur Murray December 23rd, 2019
3 min read

Are you moving to a new address?

For business
Texas electricity rates came in lower in 2019 than the previous year.

Texas residential electricity rates, on average, have come in about 10 percent lower than U.S. average in 2019. That’s despite a heat wave this summer that pushed the state’s electricity capacity to its limits, causing wholesale electricity rates to skyrocket.

Texas prices for residential electricity actually reached their peak at 12.09 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in April, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (The EIA statistics run through September.)

Rates in the Lone Star State were lowest in January – 11.51 cents/kWh. That was also the month that the national average was the lowest. Texas rates were only 7.7 percent lower than the national average – the smallest gap between prices for the year.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average residential electricity rates for 2019:

Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 YTD
U.S. 12.47 12.72 12.85 13.27 13.33 13.34 13.27 13.3 13.17 13.08
Texas 11.51 11.68 11.67 12.09 12.06 11.87 11.76 11.8 11.85 11.81
% above/ below U.S. average -7.7 -8.2 -9.2 -8.9 -9.5 -11.0 -11.4 -11.3 -10.0 -9.7

On average, Texas paid a 5.4 percent higher rate for electricity in 2019 than in the previous year. Over the past 10 years, residential rates increased only 1.8 percent.

How did Texas commercial electricity rates stack up?

The picture is more dramatic when it comes to Texas commercial electricity rates. Texans have paid an average of 8.02 cents/kWh – 24.9 percent less than their counterparts across the country. The difference in prices was greatest in July, when Texans paid nearly 29 percent less.

Texas commercial electricity rates were lowest in May – 7.82 cents/kWh. They were highest in September – 8.46 cents/kWh.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average commercial electricity rates for 2019:

Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 YTD
U.S. 10.29 10.52 10.44 10.5 10.53 10.89 11.02 11 10.97 10.68
Texas 7.87 7.95 8 8.04 7.82 7.83 7.84 8.37 8.46 8.02
% above/ below U.S. average -23.5 -24.4 -23.4 -23.4 -25.7 -28.1 -28.9 -23.9 -22.9 -24.9

Year over year, prices fell 1.7 percent in 2019. Texas commercial business paid 12.7 percent lower rates in 2019 than in 2010.

What about Texas industrial electricity rates?

The difference in Texas industrial electricity rates wasn’t as dramatic as for the commercial rates. In 2019, Texas industrial users paid an average of 5.58 cents/kWh – 18.7 percent below the U.S. average. Again, the difference in rates was greatest in July, when Texas paid 24.7 percent lower rates than industrial users nationwide – 5.41 cents/kWh.

Rates were lowest – 5.1 cents/kWh – for Texas industrial users in April; they were highest 7.51 cents/kWh in August. That was when summer heat wave temperatures reached their highest levels.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average industrial electricity rates for 2019:

Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 YTD
U.S. 6.58 6.69 6.73 6.51 6.71 6.92 7.18 7.44 7.09 6.87
Texas 5.25 5.2 5.38 5.1 5.19 5.25 5.41 7.51 5.97 5.58
% above/ below U.S. average -20.2 -22.3 -20.1 -21.7 -22.7 -24.1 -24.7 0.9 -15.8 -18.7

Year over year, Texas industrial electricity rates fell 0.7 percent. Since 2010, they have fallen 13.4 percent.

Texas residential natural gas rates

Residential natural gas rates in Texas continued their climb, increasing to $22.40 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in January. That was 25.8 percent higher than the U.S. average for the month. That September rate was the state’s highest in 2019 and was 173 percent higher than the January rate of $8.20/Mcf.

That January rate was the state’s lowest and was 13.2 percent less than the national average for the month. 2019 residential national prices averaged $14.80/Mcf, 8.8 percent more than the national average.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average residential natural gas rates for 2019:

Jan-2019 Feb-2019 Mar-2019 Apr-2019 May-2019 Jun-2019 Jul-2019 Aug-2019 Sep-2019 2019 YTD
U.S. 9.45 9.47 9.49 10.94 12.88 15.72 17.94 18.58 17.81 13.6
Texas 8.2 8.28 8.26 10.52 15.31 17.64 20.17 22.22 22.4 14.8
% above/ below U.S. average -13.2 -12.6 -13.0 -3.8 18.9 12.2 12.4 19.6 25.8 8.8

The average 2019 residential natural gas rate is nearly 30 percent higher than the 2018 average. It is nearly 37 percent higher than the rate 10 years ago.

Commercial natural gas rates in Texas

Commercial natural gas rates in Texas averaged about $6/Mcf in 2019, about 25 percent lower than remained below the U.S. average for the period.

Prices were lowest in March, $5.32/Mcf. The highest rate was in September – $6.92/Mcf.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average commercial natural gas rates for 2019:

Jan-2019 Feb-2019 Mar-2019 Apr-2019 May-2019 Jun-2019 Jul-2019 Aug-2019 Sep-2019 YTD
U.S. 7.7 7.58 7.44 7.76 8.08 8.22 8.45 8.41 8.33 8.00
Texas 5.55 5.5 5.32 5.38 5.97 6.09 6.49 6.78 6.92 6.00
% above/ below U.S. rate -27.9 -27.4 -28.5 -30.7 -26.1 -25.9 -23.2 -19.4 -16.9 -25.0

The average 2019 commercial natural gas rate in Texas was 8.4 percent less than the 2018 average. It was 24.1 percent lower than 10 years ago.

Texas industrial natural gas rates also fell

Industrial natural gas prices in Texas have averaged $2.92/Mcf this year, more than 25 percent below the U.S. average.

Prices were lowest in August – $2.39/Mcf. They were highest in January, $3.90/Mcf.

Following is a chart showing monthly Texas and U.S. average industrial natural gas rates for 2019:

Jan-2019 Feb-2019 Mar-2019 Apr-2019 May-2019 Jun-2019 Jul-2019 Aug-2019 Sep-2019 YTD
U.S. 5.03 4.64 4.32 4 3.64 3.55 3.34 3.2 3.35 3.90
Texas 3.9 3.25 3.03 2.93 2.83 2.82 2.59 2.39 2.53 2.92
% above/ below U.S. average -22.5 -30.0 -29.9 -26.8 -22.3 -20.6 -22.5 -25.3 -24.5 -25.1

The average Texas industrial natural gas price is 14.6 percent lower than in 2018. It is nearly 37 percent cheaper than 10 years ago.

Arthur Murray directs ChooseEnergy.com’s newsroom, taking advantage of years of newspaper and magazine experience. His articles have appeared on Zillow.com, Business.com, Nasdaq.com, and USNews.com, among others. Reach out to us with any questions or concerns.