What electric space heating costs to run in Texas
Texas homes use 2,237 kWh a year on electric space heating. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $152.03 to $402.60 a year across 17 published Texas plans — a $250.57 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC SPACE HEATING SERVICEtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $145.40 | −$6.63 | 7.2¢ |
| RS - TOD✓ cheapesttime-of-use | $152.03 | — | 7.4¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Program - Outside Austintime-of-use · pilot programme | $156.98 | +$4.95 | 7.9¢ |
| Residential servicetime-of-use | $159.12 | +$7.09 | 7.8¢ |
| RA - Residential All-Electrictime-of-use · tiered · needs an all-electric home | $178.36 | +$26.33 | 9.3¢ |
| RE - Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $215.48 | +$63.45 | 10.1¢ |
| Residential Service - TOUtime-of-use · demand charge | $225.89 | +$73.86 | 10.9¢ |
| Residential Net Metering Servicetime-of-use · tiered · needs on-site generation | $243.92 | +$91.89 | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Programtime-of-use · pilot programme | $255.40 | +$103.37 | 12.8¢ |
| Residential Service - TOU (Alternative)time-of-use | $273.19 | +$121.16 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential - Outside Austintiered | $275.40 | +$123.37 | 12.4¢ |
| Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $283.86 | +$131.83 | 13.4¢ |
| Residential LSP POLR(McAllen Service Area)flat rate | $299.28 | +$147.25 | 14.1¢ |
| Residential Service Low Incometime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $302.94 | +$150.91 | 13.4¢ |
| Residentialtiered | $312.60 | +$160.57 | 13.1¢ |
| Residential Low Incometiered · low-income rate | $318.36 | +$166.33 | 19.0¢ |
| Residential LSP POLRflat rate | $402.60 | +$250.57 | 18.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $31.68 (RS - TOD), dearest $83.88, a $52.20 spread
- Average — cheapest $152.03 (RS - TOD), dearest $402.60, a $250.57 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $208.60 (RS - TOD), dearest $552.36, a $343.76 spread
What electric space heating costs here
Across 17 plans priced in Texas, electric space heating adds $152.03 to $402.60 a year — $12.67 to $33.55 a month. The median plan puts electric space heating at $274.29 a year.
Cheapest for electric space heating: RS - TOD, El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico). Dearest: Residential LSP POLR, Sharyland Utilities LP.
Those 2,237 kWh are billed at 6.8¢–18.0¢, against a 12.7¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 5.3¢ per kWh.
What Texas homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 2,237 kWh a year across 618 sampled homes that run one, near the national 2,484 kWh. The middle half spans 466 kWh to 3,069 kWh, so electric space heating varies by 2,603 kWh between one household and another.
All electricity used for space heating, including the furnace or heat-pump compressor and the air handler that moves the heat around the house. That average covers homes heated with electricity — 63% of homes here, against 52% nationally.
That makes electric space heating about 17% of the electricity a Texas home uses. The remaining 11,203 kWh is what electric space heating is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each Texas provider's cheapest plan: El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico), $152.03; City of Lubbock, Texas (Utility Company), $159.12; City of San Antonio, Texas (Utility Company), $215.48; El Paso Electric Co, $225.89; Austin Energy, $275.40; Sharyland Utilities LP, $299.28.
Sharyland Utilities LP charges $147.25 a year more than El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico) on RS - TOD for the same 2,237 kWh.
Light and heavy use of electric space heating
A household in the lighter quarter runs electric space heating for 466 kWh a year and pays $31.68 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 3,069 kWh and pays $208.60 — $176.92 more for electric space heating on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Texas, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 17 Texas tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 26.2034, -98.2300.