Utility and insurance rates will likely make another upward jump again in 2024 thanks to the historical winter storm that pulverized Texas nearly three years ago and the state’s volatile climate patterns.
Texas has seen a year-to-date increase in 2023 of 16.4% and a cumulative increase since 2022 of 50.9% in home insurance rates. This makes Texas one of the states with the greatest increase in that period, according to S&P Global.
The consumer price index for household energy in DFW and Arlington jumped from 236.460 to 302.955 between 2021 and 2022, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Experts say Texas is still due for more increases next year.
It’s the same story for utility increases. Oncor’s rate increase was approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and went into effect on May 1. After a year of utility rate increases, it’s not expected to be any better in 2024.
“We do see that electricity prices are higher and they’ve been climbing,” said Jacob McNeil, vice president of business development with a focus on energy transition for Dallas-based financial consulting firm Embark. “Last year was pretty nasty overall. Prices still haven’t come down even though some of the inputs to those prices have come down. It speaks to a variety of variables and factors that are playing out.”