Categories: Blog

Fixing Homes, Fixing the Grid: How Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Can Power a More Resilient Texas

Texas is facing a convergence of challenges that can no longer be addressed in isolation. Rapid load growth, rising housing costs, and an increasingly strained grid are colliding with a quieter but deeply significant issue: millions of Texans are living in homes that are simply not built to handle the state’s (increasingly volatile) climate. The result is a compounding crisis where energy inefficiency drives up bills, worsens health outcomes, and increases risk for both households and the grid.

At the center of this challenge is affordable housing. Across the SPEER region, lack of efficiency measures and inadequate weatherization are forcing low-income residents to shoulder disproportionately high energy burdens, especially during peak demand periods. Drafty homes, poor insulation, and outdated equipment don’t just waste energy, but they trap heat in the summer, let cold air in during winter events, and degrade indoor air quality year-round. For vulnerable communities, this translates into higher bills, reduced comfort, and greater exposure to extreme weather. This comes at a time when states such as Maryland and Rhode Island already have or are considering cuts to energy efficiency program spending to relieve energy bills in the short term, but this will only exacerbate the energy affordability crisis in the long term.

At the same time, housing affordability trends are making the problem harder to solve. In Travis County alone, the median home value reached $523,000 in 2024, while homeownership hovers just above 50%. That means nearly half of households are renters, often with little control over upgrades and few options to demand improvements. Without intervention, inefficient housing will continue to lock in high energy use and high costs for years to come.

This is not just a housing issue; it is a grid reliability issue. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has warned that rising demand combined with aging infrastructure is increasing the risk of outages, including in Texas. Its 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment points to declining reliability and tightening generation margins over the next decade. In that context, every inefficient home becomes part of the problem, driving peak demand higher and putting additional strain on the system when it matters most.

Texas has roughly 4 million people living below the poverty line, and federal weatherization programs extend eligibility to households earning up to 200% of that threshold, capturing an even larger share of energy-burdened residents. Yet in fiscal year 2024, weatherization assistance reached just 227 households through LIHEAP. That gap is a missed opportunity and a systemic failure to deploy one of the most cost-effective tools available. A U.S. Energy Information Administration 2024 Residential Utility Disconnections Report found that utilities disconnected electricity over 13 million times in 2024 to households with past-due bills. What is more startling is that Texas led the charge with over 3,028,000 disconnections.

There is, however, a clear path forward and it is already being tested. Through partnerships with the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI), SPEER has developed a scalable, community-based weatherization outreach model. By distributing DIY kits, hosting local events, and training contractors and community organizations, the program has reached hundreds of residents while building a network of “boots on the ground” stakeholders equipped to expand its impact. This kind of model matters because weatherization is not just about retrofitting homes, it is also about building infrastructure for delivery. Education, workforce training, and community trust are all essential to scaling solutions effectively.

But weatherization alone is not enough. Texas must also confront the policies that shape how energy is used and managed across the system. Stronger building energy codes are one of the most immediate and durable solutions available. Buildings constructed today will determine energy demand for decades. Without updated codes, growth will continue to translate directly into higher load. But with them, Texas can bend the curve and ensure new construction is efficient by design rather than costly to fix later. Policies set by utility regulators and state or local governments can help move these solutions forward.

At the same time, distributed energy resources (DERs) must become a central part of the state’s energy strategy. For households that can afford these resources and already have tightly sealed and efficient homes, rooftop solar, battery storage, smart thermostats, and demand response programs offer a way to reduce peak demand, improve reliability, and give customers more control over their energy use, especially with 410 gigawatts (GW) of large load in the ERCOT interconnection queue as of April 2026. When aggregated into virtual power plants (VPPs), these resources can act like a flexible, dispatchable grid asset, reducing the need for costly new infrastructure. Failing to scale DERs carries real consequences. It risks overinvestment in traditional grid infrastructure, higher electricity costs for consumers, and missed opportunities to improve resilience. Yet several large barriers remain; both a system where the investment burden of these resources is shouldered by households while utilities and the grid capture much of the value, as well as the fragmented nature of energy policy and regulation in the United States, which can slow deployment and increase costs.

Instead of relying solely on large, centralized infrastructure, the state can build a more flexible, distributed system. One that reduces demand, empowers communities, and strengthens reliability from the ground up. The stakes are high, but so is the opportunity. By investing in energy efficiency, scaling weatherization, adopting stronger building codes, and unlocking the full potential of distributed energy, Texas can address its housing, affordability, and energy challenges at the same time. This is not just about keeping the lights on. It is about building a system that works better for everyone, especially those who have been left behind for far too long.

Liz John