Texas is one of the only states in the country with a fully deregulated residential electricity market.
That means Texans do not have a single utility company setting their rate. They choose from dozens of electricity providers, each offering different plans, different contract terms, and different pricing structures.
In theory, this creates competition and lower prices.
In practice, it creates volatility.
Texans who experienced the February 2021 winter storm know this directly. Electricity prices during that event reached levels few residents had ever seen. The grid's exposure was not just a weather event. It was a structural vulnerability.
But even outside extreme weather events, the reality of deregulated energy in Texas is rate unpredictability. Contracts expire. Rates reset. Fixed rate plans become variable. Monthly electricity costs in Texas can move significantly from year to year.
For a homebuyer, this is a relevant consideration.
When evaluating whether a home actually works to own, the electricity cost is not a static number in Texas. It is a range. A moving target. A variable that can affect monthly cashflow for the life of the mortgage.
FHA Clear-Title Solar resolves this in a specific way.
When solar is integrated into the mortgage at purchase, the home generates its own electricity. The dependence on the deregulated grid is reduced or eliminated. The monthly cost of electricity becomes a fixed mortgage payment increment rather than a variable utility bill.
That increment does not change when a rate plan expires. It does not spike during an ERCOT demand event. It does not reset at the end of a contract term.
It is fixed. Owned. Built into the mortgage.
For FHA buyers in Texas, this is not an abstract benefit. It is a monthly cashflow argument with real numbers.
Nestability models those numbers before the tour.
The better buyer in Texas will be the one who understands energy structure before writing an offer. Not after.
Know before you tour.
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