Solar in Texas: how the rules work

How Texas credits the power solar panels send back to the grid, what homes there pay for electricity, and what to check when a home with solar is bought or sold.

How exported power is credited

There is no single statewide rule; each utility sets its own terms for exported power.

There is no statewide net metering. In competitive ERCOT areas, the retail provider sets the buyback, from ~3 cents up to retail-match plans (e.g., some TXU plans). Municipal utilities set their own terms (Austin Energy Value-of-Solar ~9.9 cents; CPS Energy lower). There is no grandfathering because it is plan-by-plan.

What changes for a home with solar

What a system saves depends on which utility serves the address, so two similar homes in the same state can see very different results.

Electricity here costs about 16.1¢ per kWh (2026) and has risen about 2.3% a year over the last decade. A lease or PPA escalator above that pace makes the solar payment rise faster than utility rates have.

When a home with solar is sold in Texas

• Owned outright: proof it is paid off, the warranties, and the utility’s interconnection or net-metering agreement, which has to move into the buyer’s name.
• Loan: a payoff letter, and whether the buyer can assume the loan. Many solar loans are secured by a UCC-1 fixture filing that title will find.
• Lease or PPA: the transfer process and how long approval takes, the buyer’s credit check, the current payment or rate and its yearly increase, and a buyout quote.
• Every case: whether the export-credit terms above stay with the home after the sale, and the last 12 months of production from the monitoring app.

Sources

• nuwattenergy.com/en/texas/net-metering-texas-2026 (2026)
• Electricity prices: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B (2026) and EIA state annual averages 2014–2024
• Installed price: EnergySage marketplace, September 2026

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