Customers Deserve Transparency and Relief on Electric Rate Increases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 2, 2026Contact:Sandie HaverlahPresident, TCA Mobile (512) 423-0913AUSTIN — Since the new year began, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about rising electricity prices. These price increases have been a concern for TCA since the Texas Legislature’s actions to address Texas’ electric grid following Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
These concerns are complicated by the way customer bills are presented and confusion over what’s actually causing the increases. While it’s true that the increase in the price of electricity is driving up bills in some areas of the country, it’s the cost of poles and wires that’s driving bills up in Texas.
Further, Texas’ situation is unique since ERCOT, which includes most of Texas, has the country’s only truly competitive retail electric market. While other parts of the country have seen wholesale power prices increase, Texas has significantly lower wholesale prices and all economic indicators suggest those prices aren’t going to increase any time soon. Even during our most recent winter ice storm, prices remained relatively reasonable compared to the high demand.
So what is the main cause of the most recent bill increases in Texas? Infrastructure. In every legislative session since 2021, lawmakers have mandated Texas’ electric delivery utilities make improvements in infrastructure and system resiliency, which is a necessary expense. Because it takes 3-5 years from the passage of these laws for full implementation, Texans are just now starting to see the increases from laws passed in 2021. Substantial increases, some mandated in the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions, are on the way.
An example of just one big cost increase on the horizon is in the Q4 2024 investor presentation by Oncor’s parent (page 15). Sempra, the parent company of Oncor, says it plans to spend $36-48 billion by 2030 and an additional $100 billion from 2030-2035. Customers pay for every penny of those investments.
What impact will $136-148 billion have on residential customer bills?
Meanwhile, every other electric delivery utility in Texas has similar investment plans. It’s reasonable to assume that all of the utilities will invest a combined quarter of a trillion dollars in the next decade – all of which will be added to customer bills.
TCA believes the principles behind many of these investments to improve the grid are sound. Customers need more resilient electric grids to protect against storms and we need to improve the grid to support the Texas economic engine - provided large industrial users and data centers pay their fair share.
To that end, our organization supports reforming the way infrastructure costs are allocated so that residential customers are not subsidizing other classes of users. We also believe the repeal of some programs and legislation passed in the wake of Winter Storm Uri is necessary with the hindsight we now have regarding the frequent and unchecked rate increases. Finally, the state needs to reexamine the policy of giving monopoly status to a handful of investor-owned TDUs that are not required to respond to competition and market pressure so that Texas develops a transmission and delivery system that is built with an eye for the future with proper cost controls.
It’s time to bring transmission development into the 21st century.