Federal rebates for gas-to-electric heating conversions have ended — but electric-to-heat-pump upgrades still qualify. What changed
In Texas the incentive is usually paid to your contractor, not to you — which changes how you shop for one.
Prices pulled August 16, 2026
15.47¢
per kWh, residential electricity
11% below the national average of 17.3¢. 24th most expensive of 51.
Up 28% since 2021 (6.3% a year), against 27% nationally.
$1.87
per therm, residential natural gas
$19.42 per thousand cubic feet, 2025 annual. National average $1.48/therm.
Up 41% since 2021 (9% a year).
Heat pump vs. gas furnace — Heat pump favored
Texas's electricity-to-gas price ratio works out at 2.4-to-1. At these prices a heat pump should cost less to run than a gas furnace across the heating season, before counting the air conditioning it also replaces.
Below roughly 3.5-to-1 a heat pump usually wins on running cost; above roughly 5-to-1 a furnace may be cheaper through winter. How that comparison works · run it with these rates
State averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (electricity, gas), pulled 2026-08-16. Real bills vary substantially by utility within a state, and by rate plan within a utility — check a recent bill for your own numbers before relying on any of this. The heat pump verdict above follows from these averages, so it moves if your rates differ.
This is the single most useful thing to understand about Texas efficiency incentives, and almost nobody explains it. Your transmission and distribution utility runs the program, and it pays the incentive to approved participating service providers — not to you. Oncor states it plainly: incentives are paid to the providers. So there is no rebate form to mail and no check in the post. The money is supposed to show up as a lower price in the bid.
Which gives you a specific question to ask every bidder: are you an approved participating provider for my utility's program, and how much of the incentive is reflected in this price? A contractor who is enrolled but quietly keeps the incentive is not doing anything illegal — they are just not passing it on. Comparing bids without asking this can hide a real difference between two otherwise similar quotes.
Programs here also run on a season. Oncor's residential programs typically operate February through November, and utility program budgets are finite within a year. Booking work in the dead of winter or at the tail of a program year can mean the incentive simply is not available even though the program exists.
The state's own rebate programs are not open. The State Energy Conservation Office says the whole-home efficiency and electrification programs are not yet available and has pushed the expected launch back. Sign up for updates if you want, but do not build a project budget on them.
Texas has no state income tax, so there is no state credit — but there is a property tax angle worth claiming. Tax Code Section 11.27 exempts solar and wind-powered energy devices from property tax. It is not automatic: you file Form 50-123 with your local appraisal district. Install solar and forget this and you will simply pay the tax.
Check with the administrator before you sign anything. Program budgets run out, terms change without notice, and most require approval before work starts — a rebate you apply for afterwards is usually a rebate you don't get. Treat this page as a starting point for your own call, not as confirmation that you qualify. We last checked these programs on August 16, 2026.
Incentives are paid to approved participating service providers, so they reach you through the bid rather than as a rebate. Ask every bidder whether they are enrolled and how much of the incentive is in the price.
Program detailsTax Code Section 11.27. Exempts the device's value from property tax, but you have to file Form 50-123 with your local appraisal district — it is not applied for you.
Program detailsTexas's whole-home efficiency and electrification rebate programs. SECO's own page says they are not yet available and the launch has slipped.
Program detailsEnded. No credit for expenditures made after 31 December 2025.
Ended. No credit for property placed in service after 31 December 2025.
Full detail, sources and changelog on the national incentive tracker.
Your own utility is worth checking separately — utility rebates are often the largest remaining incentive and rarely appear in any central listing.
Everything here is general information gathered from public sources. It is not tax, financial or engineering advice, and it cannot account for your utility, your income, your equipment or your return. Energy prices are state averages that move; program terms and budgets change without notice. Confirm anything you plan to budget around directly with the program administrator, your utility and a licensed professional before you commit money.
If you find something on this page that is out of date, tell us at minchangyi@me.com and we will correct it.
These open with Texas's average rates already filled in. Correct them from a recent bill before you rely on the result — state averages hide a lot of variation between utilities.
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