What a refrigerator costs to run in Texas
Texas homes use 901 kWh a year on a refrigerator. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $61.26 to $162.12 a year across 17 published Texas plans — a $100.86 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
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Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC SPACE HEATING SERVICEtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $58.56 | −$2.70 | 7.2¢ |
| RS - TOD✓ cheapesttime-of-use | $61.26 | — | 7.4¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Program - Outside Austintime-of-use · pilot programme | $63.22 | +$1.96 | 7.9¢ |
| Residential servicetime-of-use | $64.08 | +$2.82 | 7.8¢ |
| RA - Residential All-Electrictime-of-use · tiered · needs an all-electric home | $71.80 | +$10.54 | 9.3¢ |
| RE - Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $86.76 | +$25.50 | 10.1¢ |
| Residential Service - TOUtime-of-use · demand charge | $91.00 | +$29.74 | 10.9¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use Pilot Programtime-of-use · pilot programme | $102.84 | +$41.58 | 12.8¢ |
| Residential Service - TOU (Alternative)time-of-use | $110.08 | +$48.82 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential - Outside Austintiered | $110.88 | +$49.62 | 12.4¢ |
| Residential Net Metering Servicetime-of-use · tiered · needs on-site generation | $111.24 | +$49.98 | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered | $114.30 | +$53.04 | 13.4¢ |
| Residential LSP POLR(McAllen Service Area)flat rate | $120.60 | +$59.34 | 14.1¢ |
| Residential Service Low Incometime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $121.98 | +$60.72 | 13.4¢ |
| Residentialtiered | $125.88 | +$64.62 | 13.1¢ |
| Residential Low Incometiered · low-income rate | $128.28 | +$67.02 | 19.0¢ |
| Residential LSP POLRflat rate | $162.12 | +$100.86 | 18.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $36.78 (RS - TOD), dearest $97.32, a $60.54 spread
- Average — cheapest $61.26 (RS - TOD), dearest $162.12, a $100.86 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $77.25 (RS - TOD), dearest $204.60, a $127.35 spread
What a refrigerator costs here
Across 17 plans priced in Texas, a refrigerator adds $61.26 to $162.12 a year — $5.10 to $13.51 a month. The median plan puts a refrigerator at $110.48 a year.
Cheapest for a refrigerator: RS - TOD, El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico). Dearest: Residential LSP POLR, Sharyland Utilities LP.
Those 901 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 901 kWh a year across 1013 sampled homes that run one, near the national 839 kWh. The middle half spans 541 kWh to 1,137 kWh, so a refrigerator varies by 596 kWh between one household and another.
Every refrigerator in the home, including a second one in a garage or basement. That average covers homes with a refrigerator — 100% of homes here.
That makes a refrigerator about 7% of the electricity a Texas home uses. The remaining 12,539 kWh is what a refrigerator 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), $61.26; City of Lubbock, Texas (Utility Company), $64.08; City of San Antonio, Texas (Utility Company), $86.76; El Paso Electric Co, $91.00; Austin Energy, $110.88; Sharyland Utilities LP, $120.60.
Sharyland Utilities LP charges $59.34 a year more than El Paso Electric Co (New Mexico) on RS - TOD for the same 901 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a refrigerator
A household in the lighter quarter runs a refrigerator for 541 kWh a year and pays $36.78 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 1,137 kWh and pays $77.25 — $40.47 more for a refrigerator 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.