Austin Energy rates: a mid-range price, a small bill
Austin Energy's 522,446 residential customers in Texas paid an average of 13.14¢ per kWh in 2025, for an average bill of $109.73 a month on 835 kWh.1
EIA-861 2025 final, released October 7, 2026; the next annual release is due in August 2027. Averages are revenue divided by kWh, all charges included: not the rate printed in a tariff.
2 of 254 Texas counties served (EIA-861 2025)
Austin Energy's price per kWh is ordinary for Texas; its bills are not. Residential customers paid an average of 13.14¢ per kWh in 2025, the 28th lowest among 61 Texas utilities with 10,000 or more homes, but a home used only 835 kWh a month, so the average bill came to $109.731 against $170.952 for Texas as a whole.
The 2025 average price, and the figures that do not exist
Austin Energy describes itself as a not-for-profit enterprise of the City of Austin; EIA lists it under the City of Austin (Austin Energy). It sold and delivered electricity to 522,446 homes in 2025, 4.0% of the residential customers in Texas, and those customers paid an average of 13.14¢ per kWh1.
That figure is average revenue per kWh: everything Austin Energy billed its residential customers, divided by the kWh they used. It is not a line on the rate schedule. Austin Energy prices residential use in steps, a tiered rate structure in its own words, so a small user and a heavy user each pay a different amount per kWh, and both differ from the average.
One limit matters for anyone searching "rates per kWh" today. EIA's monthly survey of large utilities does not sample Austin Energy, so EIA publishes no 12-month or single-month price for it. The 2025 annual figure, from the EIA-861 census released October 7, 2026, is the most recent official number; the August 2027 release will add 2026. A current-month or 12-month Austin Energy price attributed to EIA does not exist.
Where it stands, on the 2025 figures:
- 28th lowest of the 61 Texas utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers;
- 14.7% below the Texas average, which counts every residential customer in the state, retail-provider customers included;
- 38th lowest of 177 large US utilities, and 9.3% below the national average for public power1.
Why the bill is so much lower than the price suggests
Austin Energy's 2025 price was 14.7% below the Texas average. Its average bill, $109.731 against $170.952, was lower by a much wider margin. The difference is use per home.
| 2025, residential | Average price | Use per home, monthly | Average monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Energy | 13.14¢ per kWh | 835 kWh | $109.73 |
| CPS Energy (San Antonio) | 12.40¢ per kWh | 1,075 kWh | $133.341 |
| Texas, all providers | 15.40¢ per kWh | 1,110 kWh | $170.95 |
| United States, all providers | 17.23¢ per kWh3 | 874 kWh | $150.682 |
An Austin Energy home used less electricity in 2025 than the average US home, in a state where homes use the 5th highest2 amount in the country. CPS Energy, the city-owned utility in San Antonio, shows the effect from the other side: its homes paid less per kWh than Austin Energy's but used more, and their average bill was higher.
Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average monthly residential use |
|---|---|
| El Paso Electric (TX) | 685 |
| Austin Energy (TX) | 835 |
| Xcel Energy (TX) | 937 |
| CPS Energy (TX) | 1,075 |
| Pedernales Electric Cooperative (TX) | 1,202 |
| Entergy Texas (TX) | 1,237 |
| Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative (TX) | 1,244 |
EIA's annual data do not say why Austin Energy homes use less. Home size, the share of apartments, efficiency programs and electric versus gas heating all move the average, and EIA's survey does not separate them by utility. What the data do show is that for a household moving to Austin from elsewhere in Texas, the bill difference is larger than the price difference.
The 2025 increase
From 2024 to 2025 Austin Energy's residential average rose from 12.58¢ per kWh to 13.14¢ per kWh, an increase of 4.5%. Use per home barely moved (834 kWh, then 835 kWh a month), so the average bill rose almost exactly as much as the price: from $104.854 to $109.73 (+4.7%1).
For comparison over the same years, the Texas residential average for all providers rose 3.1%3, and the average US residential bill 5.9%2. Pedernales Electric Cooperative, which shares Travis and Williamson counties with Austin Energy, went from 12.22¢ per kWh4 to 12.75¢ per kWh (+4.3%1).
EIA's numbers record what was billed, so they cannot separate a base-rate change from movements in pass-through charges, and they say nothing yet about 2026. For the statewide picture in 2026, the Texas residential average over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) was 15.98¢ per kWh, +4.8%5 on the 12 months before, from EIA's monthly survey with 2026 months preliminary; that figure covers all Texas providers, not Austin Energy. The guide to rate increases explains how rate changes reach a bill.
Who else serves Travis and Williamson counties
Austin Energy reports customers in 2 counties, Travis County and Williamson County6, and in both of them other utilities report customers too. EIA's 2025 service-territory records list Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and Oncor in Travis County, and in Williamson County also the City of Georgetown, Bartlett Electric Cooperative and the City of Bartlett. A mailing address that says "Austin" therefore does not settle which utility serves a home: the utilities' own service-area maps decide.
Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 2 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.
Show the numbers
| County | Other utilities reporting service |
|---|---|
| Travis County | Oncor, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative |
| Williamson County | Oncor, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, City of Georgetown, Bartlett Electric Cooperative, City of Bartlett |
The averages for the neighboring utilities that sell their own power, for 2025:
Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.
Show the numbers
| Utility | average residential price (bundled customers) |
|---|---|
| Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative (TX) | 11.59¢ |
| CPS Energy (TX) | 12.40¢ |
| Pedernales Electric Cooperative (TX) | 12.75¢ |
| Austin Energy (TX) | 13.14¢ |
Pedernales homes paid 12.75¢ per kWh on average but used 1,202 kWh a month, for a bill of $153.24; Bluebonnet homes used 1,244 kWh and paid $144.151. Oncor only delivers electricity. Homes on its wires buy power from a retail electric provider, and their costs are reported in two separate parts, delivery and supply, which are not comparable with Austin Energy's full-service average.
No retail choice on Austin Energy's lines
In 2025, 55.5% of Texas residential customers bought electricity from a retail electric provider. None of Austin Energy's did: EIA counts all 522,4461 homes on its wires as full-service customers of the utility. Austin Energy's averages therefore cover every home it serves, which is not true of most Texas utility figures. Where shopping applies is mapped out in the Texas retail choice guide.
Smart meters everywhere, time-of-use almost nowhere
Austin Energy reported advanced meters at 100.0% of residential connections in 2025, the hardware needed to bill by time of day. Few customers use it that way. EIA counts 59 residential customers enrolled in a time-varying rate, a share of all homes that rounds to 0.0%8. Nearly every Austin Energy home is billed without time-of-day pricing. The time-of-use guide shows how the two designs change a bill.
Fewer and shorter outages than the Texas average
Measured under IEEE 1366, Austin Energy customers were without power for 182 minutes on average in 2025 including major events, fewer than the Texas average of 225 minutes. Excluding major event days the figure was 77 minutes, against 130 minutes statewide. Each customer had 1.29 interruptions on average, against 1.719 across Texas.
Source: EIA-861 2025, reliability. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.
Show the numbers
| Utility | outage minutes per customer (all events) |
|---|---|
| Pedernales Electric Cooperative (TX) | 90 |
| CPS Energy (TX) | 111 |
| Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative (TX) | 114 |
| Austin Energy (TX) | 182 |
Business accounts pay less per kWh than homes
Austin Energy's 55,306 commercial customers paid an average of 10.96¢ per kWh in 2025, below the residential 13.14¢ per kWh, with an average monthly bill of $995.73 (Texas: $814.402). Its 137 industrial accounts paid 7.13¢ per kWh, and the average across all 577,889 customers was 10.88¢ per kWh1.
Help with the bill
Texas received $202.3 million in federal LIHEAP energy assistance for fiscal 2026, $17.43 per occupied home, the 6th lowest10 amount among the states. The guide to help paying an electric bill lists the programs and how to apply. For statewide prices and every Texas utility, see electricity in Texas.
Austin Energy rates and bills: common questions
What are Austin Energy's residential rates per kWh?
As an average, 13.14¢ per kWh1 in 2025: Austin Energy's residential revenue divided by the kWh its residential customers used, so the customer charge, the tiers and every pass-through charge are folded in. Austin Energy is not in EIA's monthly sample, so there is no 12-month or latest-month figure for it; the individual charges are in its own published rate schedules.
What is the average Austin Energy bill?
$109.73 a month in 2025, for 835 kWh1 of use. The Texas average was $170.95 for 1,110 kWh, and the US average $150.68 for 874 kWh2.
Did Austin Energy raise rates?
The average price its homes paid rose 4.5% from 2024 to 2025, from 12.58¢ per kWh4 to 13.14¢ per kWh, and the average bill +4.7%1. EIA records what customers were billed, not individual rate decisions, and its 2025 figures are the latest it has published for Austin Energy.
Can I choose a different electricity provider in Austin?
Not on Austin Energy's lines. EIA counts all 522,4461 of its residential customers in 2025 as buying electricity from Austin Energy itself. Some addresses in Travis and Williamson counties are on Oncor's wires instead, and those homes are in the competitive market; the utilities' maps decide by address.
Related pages
Sources
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state; table Average_Bill_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Historical state data, annual sales, revenue and customers; table HS861 2010-.xlsx; 2010-2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024 final; table Sales_Ult_Cust_2024; 2024, final (file updated December 3, 2025); released December 3, 2025. www.eia.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; table sales_revenue.xlsx (EPM Table 5.6.A); January 2001 to 2026-08; months since January 2026 preliminary; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, service territory; table Service_Territory_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties; table cb_2025_us_county_5m; cb_2021_us_county_5m; 2025 (2021 for Connecticut). www.census.gov
- EIA-861 2025, advanced meters, dynamic pricing and net metering; table Advanced_Meters, Dynamic_Pricing, Net_Metering 2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- EIA-861 2025, reliability; table Reliability_2025; 2025, final; released October 7, 2026. www.eia.gov
- HHS, LIHEAP funding releases to states; table FY2027 first release; FY2026 final; FY2027 first release (October 9, 2026); FY2026 total; released October 9, 2026. acf.gov
How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.