TEPRI'S SEPTEMBER 2025
NEWSLETTER
Executive Director Update
My professional and personal life collided this summer. Our inverter died at our off-grid cabin in the mountains, where my family spends our summers. The one solar guy in town told us it would take a week to get a new one. Unfortunately, our water pump is also powered by our solar/battery system. So, we glamped for a week. While we were lucky, with nice weather and a small back-up solar/battery system on hand for communication hook-ups, it gave me a tangible sense of how much we depend on energy and water to live in the modern world.
While most of us take our consistent access to energy for granted, a great number of our neighbors struggle every month to keep their bodies and food cool, and their basic communication systems connected. We are preparing an Energy Affordability paper, scheduled for release this fall, that will outline projected residential energy bill increases over the next five years. Please join us for our upcoming webinar to learn more. This companion piece to our Community Voices Survey provides a comprehensive picture of the challenges that our neighbors face in meeting their basic energy needs.
TEPRI is exploring and evaluating strategies that can build more affordability and reliability into our energy system. In this newsletter, learn about our work in S. Texas to create a solar option on new affordable homes. We are installing solar and evaluating the bill savings to assess how to best deliver savings for an affordable price. We are also working with Google and our partner, Foundation Communities, to install solar and battery systems on affordable multi-family sites in Arlington that can provide resilience in an emergency.
Our goal is to leave no stone unturned. We are exploring ways to expand energy efficiency and access to innovations like solar and storage, virtual power plants, and demand response to lower bills and reduce the energy vulnerability that so many of our neighbors face.
Thank you for joining us to build a strong, stable, and clean energy future!
Warmly,
Margo
NEWS FROM TEPRI
TEPRI's 10 Year Celebration
In the coming year, TEPRI is planning in-person and virtual events designed to showcase our decade-long impact in Texas and raise awareness of our work in the communities we serve. Be on the lookout for invites to these unique engagements as we seek to build opportunities to bring together TEPRI members, stakeholders in the Texas energy market, community organizations, and policy makers. We hope you will join us in celebrating this milestone and honoring the efforts that have brought TEPRI to this moment.
Connecting Households to Energy Efficiency Resources
TEPRI delivered timely energy efficiency tips to low-income households throughout the Texas/Mexico border through social media ads. This education, funded by PNC Bank, also promoted local energy efficiency rebates and weatherization programs, connecting households to resources that empower and assist them in lowering their energy bills. TEPRI is excited to begin a similar educational campaign outside of Harris County funded by The CenterPoint Foundation. You can check out some of the themes explored at the link below!
DreamBuild Solar Homes
TEPRI has been working closely with the nonprofit affordable housing developer, come dream.come build (cdcb) to reduce barriers and improve access to solar energy for low-income homeowners in South Texas. Through the DreamBuild pilot program, we are developing a solar “add-on” option for energy efficient modular homes offered by come dream. come build and bcWorkshop. The pilot program includes solar powered and “solar-ready” home production, customer and staff educational resources, and the installation, monitoring, and evaluation of solar systems and savings on eight DreamBuild homes. The partners are working closely with the DreamBuild team to scale this model in South Texas and other regions.
In February, TEPRI began monitoring performance on the first four homes, and recently released our customer educational materials, in English and Spanish, along with a coordinated cdcb staff training video.
Powering Communities Forward
TEPRI works with communities across Texas to improve access to affordable solar and energy storage, a key initiative to reduce energy burdens while expanding reliable energy and good-paying jobs. We can now confirm that Harris County has received the letter of termination from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.), in an effort to end the ‘Solar for All‘ grant program, a key initiative to expand affordable, reliable energy in Texas communities. We are currently assessing the real impacts this will have on everyday Texans and the various organizations that came together to make this program happen.
EVENTS X TEPRI
Afforable Paper Preview
In the coming weeks, TEPRI will release our latest analysis on affordability pressures in ERCOT. Major grid investments are set to directly impact customer bills, with projections indicating residential rates could rise 25–30% by 2030, adding hundreds of dollars annually for many households. At the same time, federal cuts to bill assistance programs and clean energy tax credits threaten to compound the burden, removing critical supports. Together, these trends highlight growing affordability risks across ERCOT and the need for sustained attention to ensure Texans can keep the lights on.
Along with the report’s release, we will host a webinar to provide a deeper dive into its findings. Stay tuned for more information!
2025 Texas Energy Summit
Please join us at the 22nd Annual Texas Energy Summit, taking place from November 4-6, 2025, at the Texas Capitol in Austin!
This dynamic event spotlights the intersection of air quality and energy systems, uniting individuals and groups from government, industry, academia, and non-profit organizations to explore and address pressing energy and air quality issues. Sessions include discussions of a variety of energy policies and innovations.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network, learn, and contribute to the energy landscape.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Community Voices Webinar
In June, TEPRI released the newest iteration of our Community Voices in Energy Report, highlighting a new Energy Vulnerability Index that explores the behavioral adaptations households take to afford energy. We also have a new dashboard that allows users to interface with the report’s data and find information specific to their region.
IN THE NEWS
Houston Chronicle - Less Food, No AC
Houston Chronicle reporter Claire Hao shared this story using TEPRI’s Community Voices in Energy survey 2.0.
Margo on the Texas Standard
Listen or read Margo’s full interview from the July 23rd edition of Texas Standard.
Houston Chronicle and District B United to Host Energy Affordability Community Event
Data from TEPRI’s Community Voices in Energy survey 2.0 was featured in this Houston Chronicle staff newsroom article.
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