New Report: Texas Transmission Costs Expected to More Than Double, Adding $100+ Annually to Average Electric Bills

Life:Powered analysis finds ratepayers have paid nearly $15 billion since 2010 to support wind and solar transmission investments—and new projects will repeat the same mistakes.

AUSTIN, Texas – January 12, 2026 – Transmission costs in ERCOT have exploded from $1.5 billion in 2010 to over $5 billion in 2024 and could surpass $12 billion per year by 2033, according to a new report released today by Life:Powered, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

The report, “The Explosion of Transmission Costs in ERCOT: Causes, Forecasts, and Policy Solutions,” authored by Dr. Brent Bennett and Jamila Piracci, reveals that after adjusting for inflation and rising electricity demand, the average ERCOT ratepayer paid approximately 57% more in transmission charges in 2024 than in 2010.

The primary driver of this increase over the past decade was the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) project, a $6.9 billion investment to connect wind and solar resources in West Texas to cities in Central and East Texas. Texas ratepayers are currently paying about $1 billion per year to support transmission investments for wind and solar and have paid a total of nearly $15 billion since 2010 for these investments.

“The average Texas household has seen transmission and distribution grow from 30% of their electric bill to 40% over the past decade plus, in part due to poor policy decisions that prioritize distantly located wind and solar instead of affordability and reliability,” said Carson Clayton, Campaign Director for Life:Powered. “Policymakers are now poised to repeat this error by using transmission to connect more wind and solar to meet growing demand instead of fixing the ERCOT market to prioritize reliable generation cited close to demand centers.”

Despite the lessons of CREZ, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT have recently authorized $33 billion in new long-distance transmission lines. If these plans are fully executed, the annual cost of transmission will more than double, adding at least $100 per year to the average residential ratepayer’s electric bill, with some estimates placing the increase at over $200 per year.

“Having ratepayers subsidize transmission to bring distant wind and solar to demand centers—as the Texas Legislature chose to do with CREZ in 2005—was a policy error that should not be repeated,” said Dr. Brent Bennett, Policy Director for Life:Powered and lead author of the report. “Policymakers must ask critical questions before authorizing these new investments: Are there lower-cost alternatives? Can market reforms ensure the right generation is built in the right places to minimize transmission needs? Should the data centers and wind and solar generators that are benefitting the most from this new transmission pay for a larger share of it?”

The report recommends that the PUC and ERCOT delay moving forward on these major transmission projects until completing its load forecasting rule, its review of transmission cost allocation, and an assessment of whether market reforms to promote more dispatchable generation could reduce transmission needs.

Read the Full Report Here.