Rebates by state / Texas

Texas energy rebates 2026: HOMES and HEAR have not launched — here is what pays now

By Ionel Glogoveanu, editor. Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown.

Texas has not launched its federal home energy rebates. The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) says the $690 million HOMES and HEAR programs are still being designed, no approved contractors exist, and Texans should not sign agreements for these rebates until launch. What pays now depends on who delivers your electricity: in the deregulated market, Oncor and CenterPoint fund upgrades through incentives paid to participating contractors, usually February through November; Austin Energy and CPS Energy pay customers directly — Austin Energy’s heat pump rebate averages $800, and CPS Energy requires completion by January 31, 2027. The 25C tax credit ended in 2025.

Every Texas program at a glance

HOMES and HEAR in Texas: $690 million, not launched

The U.S. Department of Energy allocated $690 million to Texas for its two federal home energy rebate programs, and the State Energy Conservation Office, part of the Texas Comptroller, runs them. SECO’s status section, dated May 19, 2026 when we read it on September 26, is unambiguous: rebates are not currently available, the programs are in planning and design, and a launch date will be set once the state has DOE approval. In April 2026 SECO hired APTIM Federal Services to help design and run both programs. As planned, HOMES will pay up to $8,000 based on household income and expected energy savings, for all income levels, and HEAR will pay income-qualified households up to $14,000 for specific electric appliances and supporting upgrades. SECO also warns that no approved contractors exist and advises against entering any agreement for these rebates before launch. Anyone selling you a Texas HEAR rebate today is selling something that does not exist.

Why the federal rule change lands differently in Texas

Since May 29, 2026, DOE Program Notice 26-2 has limited HEAR — renamed HEEHR — heating, cooling and appliance rebates to upgrades from existing electric equipment, and it put insulation and air sealing first. In a state heated by gas, that shuts most homes out of a heat pump rebate. Texas is different: the U.S. Energy Information Administration, citing Census Bureau data, reported that 61% of Texas homes use electricity as their primary heating source, against 39% nationally. A Texas house with electric resistance or strip heat and an aging central air conditioner is exactly the kind of home the new rule still serves, so when HEAR opens it should reach a larger share of households here than in mostly gas-heated states. The 35% of Texas homes heated directly by natural gas are the ones likely to find no HEAR heat pump rebate. SECO has not yet published how it will apply Notice 26-2, and its program description still reflects the original federal framework.

Oncor, CenterPoint and the deregulated market: the contractor gets the incentive

Most Texans choose a retail electricity provider, but the energy efficiency money comes from the utility that owns the wires — Oncor around Dallas–Fort Worth, CenterPoint in Houston, and others elsewhere. These programs do not work like a rebate check. CenterPoint states it plainly: Texas law prevents it from offering programs directly to residential customers, so all of its programs run through third-party contractors, and it pays them a fixed price for each kilowatt and kilowatt-hour of savings their installations produce. Oncor likewise pays its incentives to approved participating service providers. Neither publishes a per-unit amount for homeowners, so the figures in online guides — such as $500 or $600 per heat pump — are estimates, not published rates. What you can do is ask each contractor how much utility incentive is in the quote and to show it on its own line. Programs are funded for the year and usually run from February to November, so late-year projects can find the money gone.

Oncor today: what is open and what has run out

Oncor’s Take A Load Off, Texas programs are open to homes that have Oncor as their electric delivery provider, and its Home Energy Efficiency Program accepts both homeowners and renters with the owner’s permission. You enter your projects and ZIP code on Oncor’s site, choose from the approved service providers it matches you with, and the incentive may cover some or all of the project cost. The low-income side is a different story this year: Oncor’s heating and cooling page says funding for the Low-Income Weatherization Program has been fully exhausted for 2026 and to check back in January 2027. When it reopens, it serves households at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines — $64,300 a year for a family of four on Oncor’s 2025 chart. Separately, Oncor’s retail products program offers discounts of up to $500 on smart thermostats and appliances while supplies last. Oncor’s program line is 888-313-6862.

Austin Energy: rebates paid to you

Austin Energy is a city-owned utility, and unlike the deregulated market it pays customers directly. Its air conditioner and heat pump rebate averages $800 when a participating contractor installs a qualifying system, and the rules are strict in a useful way: the installer must size the equipment with an approved ACCA Manual J method or Austin Energy’s own sizing guidance, you must agree to a post-installation inspection, and systems with electric resistance heating elements do not qualify. The property owner or account holder who bought the equipment receives the rebate. For a whole-home project, Home Energy Savings rebates average about $3,000, and Austin Energy’s page advertises a zero-percent loan through Velocity Credit Union through September 30, 2027. A heat pump water heater earns $1,000, and smart thermostats $50. Austin Energy’s customer line is 512-494-9400.

CPS Energy in San Antonio: the January 31, 2027 cutoff

CPS Energy, also city-owned, pays heat pump rebates to its residential account holders, and its current terms carry two dates that decide whether you get paid. The project must be completed between February 1, 2026 and January 31, 2027, and the application with its supporting documents must be filed within 30 days of completing the work — shorter than several guides say. The equipment must be installed by an HVAC contractor licensed in Texas, the rebate cannot exceed the cost of the project, new homes do not qualify, and a tenant who applies confirms the owner’s permission. CPS pays different amounts for early replacement and for replacing a unit that has failed; for early replacement of a heat pump, the old system must be less than 20 years old, with photos, model and serial numbers, or the claim is treated as a burnout replacement. CPS also pays up to $0.35 per square foot for attic insulation and offers a no-cost home energy assessment.

Add the CPS Energy deadline to your calendar · All verified deadlines

What to do now, in this order

1. Find your utility on your electricity bill. In the deregulated market, the delivery utility (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, TNMP) runs the efficiency program, not your retail provider.
2. Check what you heat with. Electric resistance heat makes you a likely HEAR candidate later; gas heat probably does not.
3. Get two or three contractor quotes from your utility’s participating list: Oncor, CenterPoint, Austin Energy or CPS Energy.
4. Ask each quote to show the utility incentive on its own line and to include a Manual J load calculation.
5. In San Antonio, finish by January 31, 2027 and apply within 30 days.
6. Do not sign anything sold as a Texas HEAR or HOMES rebate. Join SECO’s mailing list on its rebate page to hear about the launch.
7. Keep invoices, model numbers and photos of the old equipment.

What Texas guides still get wrong

Four errors keep circulating. The first is federal: a utility rebate guide for San Antonio still tells readers to stack CPS Energy rebates with the 25C tax credit and with HEAR rebates “applied at point of sale,” although 25C ended with 2025 and Texas HEAR has not launched. The second is a deadline: guides give CPS Energy’s application window as 60 or 90 days, while CPS’s current terms say 30 days after the work is completed. The third is a number: the per-unit amounts quoted for Oncor and CenterPoint are not published by either utility, because their incentives go to contractors. The fourth is timing: some pages still point low-income Oncor customers to a weatherization program whose 2026 funding is gone. The two with an official source to set against them are logged on our corrections page; the others we explain here rather than log, because the utilities publish no competing figure.

Before you sign a quote: what we’d verify

• The incentive on paper. Which utility pays it, how much, and whether the contractor or you receives it.
• The date. Whether your utility’s program still has 2026 funding, and in San Antonio, the completion and 30-day application dates.
• Sizing. A Manual J load calculation; Austin Energy requires one.
• No HEAR promises. A contractor cannot reserve a Texas HEAR or HOMES rebate today.
• Backup heat. At Austin Energy, a system with electric resistance heating elements does not qualify.

Sources and method

Every program fact on this page was read on September 26, 2026 on the official source: the Texas Comptroller’s State Energy Conservation Office rebate page and its fraud notice; Oncor’s Take A Load Off, Texas residential and heating and cooling pages; CenterPoint Energy’s electric efficiency and Residential Standard Offer pages; Austin Energy’s cooling and heating, Home Energy Savings and residential offerings pages; and CPS Energy’s heat pump rebate terms and residential savings pages. The share of Texas homes heated by electricity comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, citing Census Bureau data. The federal rules come from DOE Program Notice 26-2 and the IRS. Utilities we did not re-read, including AEP Texas, TNMP, Entergy Texas, El Paso Electric and electric cooperatives, are named without amounts.

Corrections involving Texas. We log every error we find — ours and the market’s — with the official source: A Texas heat pump rebate guide gives CPS Energy customers 60 days to apply. The terms say 30; A San Antonio rebate guide tells CPS Energy customers to stack their rebates with the 25C credit and point-of-sale HEAR rebates. See the full corrections log.

Frequently asked questions

Are the Texas HOMES and HEAR rebates available?

No. The State Energy Conservation Office says the rebates are not currently available and the programs are in planning and design, with a launch date to be set once the U.S. Department of Energy approves. No approved contractors exist yet, and SECO advises against signing any agreement for these rebates until they launch.

What energy rebates can Texans get right now?

It depends on your electric utility. In the deregulated market, Oncor and CenterPoint fund efficiency upgrades through incentives paid to participating contractors, usually from February through November. City-owned utilities pay customers directly: Austin Energy’s heat pump and air conditioner rebate averages $800, and CPS Energy in San Antonio pays heat pump rebates on projects completed by January 31, 2027.

Are there Texas energy rebates for 2025?

Not new ones, but a 2025 installation can still earn the federal 25C or 25D credit on your 2025 return. Extended 2025 returns are due October 15, 2026; if you already filed without it, Form 1040-X can claim it until mid-April 2029 for an on-time return. Nothing federal applies to work done in 2026.

Will Texas HEAR pay for a heat pump that replaces a gas furnace?

Probably not. Under DOE Program Notice 26-2, effective May 29, 2026, the federal HEAR rebates — now called HEEHR — for heating, cooling and appliances cover only upgrades from existing electric equipment. Texas has not published final program rules, but it must launch under that federal rule.

Why doesn’t Oncor or CenterPoint give me a rebate check?

CenterPoint says Texas law prevents it from offering its efficiency programs directly to residential customers; the incentives are paid to participating contractors for the savings they install. Oncor also pays its incentives to approved service providers. Ask your contractor to show the utility incentive as a separate line on the quote.

Is Oncor’s low-income weatherization program open?

Not for 2026. Oncor’s heating and cooling page says funding for its Low-Income Weatherization Program has been fully exhausted for 2026 and to check back in January 2027. Households at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines qualify when it reopens.

What is the CPS Energy heat pump rebate deadline?

CPS Energy’s current heat pump rebate terms require the project to be completed between February 1, 2026 and January 31, 2027, and the application with supporting documents to be filed within 30 days of completing the work.

More state guides

See the full state-by-state registry, or the states we cover in depth: Maryland, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington. Every dated deadline is on our deadline calendar. For what ended federally, read heat pump tax credit 2026, and for the insulate-first rule, our insulation rebates guide.