What an electric water heater costs to run in Texas
Texas homes use 2,655 kWh a year on an electric water heater. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $180.45 to $477.84 a year across 17 published Texas plans — a $297.39 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 | $172.64 | −$7.81 | 7.2¢ |
| RS - TOD✓ cheapesttime-of-use | $180.45 | — | 7.4¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Program - Outside Austintime-of-use · pilot programme | $186.31 | +$5.86 | 7.9¢ |
| Residential servicetime-of-use | $188.88 | +$8.43 | 7.8¢ |
| RA - Residential All-Electrictime-of-use · tiered · needs an all-electric home | $211.72 | +$31.27 | 9.3¢ |
| RE - Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $255.80 | +$75.35 | 10.1¢ |
| Residential Service - TOUtime-of-use · demand charge | $268.14 | +$87.69 | 10.9¢ |
| Residential Net Metering Servicetime-of-use · tiered · needs on-site generation | $278.64 | +$98.19 | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Programtime-of-use · pilot programme | $303.20 | +$122.75 | 12.8¢ |
| Residential Service - TOU (Alternative)time-of-use | $324.35 | +$143.90 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential - Outside Austintiered | $326.76 | +$146.31 | 12.4¢ |
| Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $336.96 | +$156.51 | 13.4¢ |
| Residential LSP POLR(McAllen Service Area)flat rate | $355.32 | +$174.87 | 14.1¢ |
| Residential Service Low Incometime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $359.64 | +$179.19 | 13.4¢ |
| Residentialtiered | $370.80 | +$190.35 | 13.1¢ |
| Residential Low Incometiered · low-income rate | $377.28 | +$196.83 | 19.0¢ |
| Residential LSP POLRflat rate | $477.84 | +$297.39 | 18.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $96.27 (RS - TOD), dearest $254.88, a $158.61 spread
- Average — cheapest $180.45 (RS - TOD), dearest $477.84, a $297.39 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $239.79 (RS - TOD), dearest $635.04, a $395.25 spread
What an electric water heater costs here
Across 17 plans priced in Texas, an electric water heater adds $180.45 to $477.84 a year — $15.04 to $39.82 a month. The median plan puts an electric water heater at $325.55 a year.
Cheapest for an electric water heater: RS - TOD, El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico). Dearest: Residential LSP POLR, Sharyland Utilities LP.
Those 2,655 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 2,655 kWh a year across 542 sampled homes that run one, near the national 2,706 kWh. The middle half spans 1,416 kWh to 3,529 kWh, so an electric water heater varies by 2,112 kWh between one household and another.
Electricity used to heat water for washing, bathing and appliances. That average covers homes with an electric water heater — 55% of homes here, against 47% nationally.
That makes an electric water heater about 20% of the electricity a Texas home uses. The remaining 10,785 kWh is what an electric water heater 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), $180.45; City of Lubbock, Texas (Utility Company), $188.88; City of San Antonio, Texas (Utility Company), $255.80; El Paso Electric Co, $268.14; Austin Energy, $326.76; Sharyland Utilities LP, $355.32.
Sharyland Utilities LP charges $174.87 a year more than El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico) on RS - TOD for the same 2,655 kWh.
Light and heavy use of an electric water heater
A household in the lighter quarter runs an electric water heater for 1,416 kWh a year and pays $96.27 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 3,529 kWh and pays $239.79 — $143.52 more for an electric water heater 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.