Two approvals: the city permit and the utility agreement
The city issues the permit under the codes it has adopted, and the utility signs an interconnection agreement. PUCT rule 25.211 covers on-site distributed generation of up to 10 MW at under 60 kV, and the rule text shows it effective January 5, 2017. Under it you submit an application and sign the agreement before interconnecting, and each utility files its own tariff fees for interconnection studies.
The same rule bars a pre-interconnection study fee for pre-certified units of up to 500 kW that export no more than 15 percent of the total load on a single radial feeder and contribute no more than 25 percent of its maximum short-circuit current. Rule 25.212 sets the technical requirements for parallel operation. If a facility is disconnected for not complying and then restored, the utility has two business days to verify compliance.
None of this sets a credit for exports. Texas doesn't mandate net metering: Utilities Code 39.916, as the statute reads (the copy cited here may predate the latest session), makes utilities allow the connection and leaves the value of surplus power to an agreement with the retail electric provider.
Utility and city charges in Texas, row by row
There's no estimate row here: interconnection and permit charges come from utilities and cities and aren't installer prices. The table lists the El Paso Electric application fee and the city rows we could confirm, each with its date and caveat.
The rows leave out the system itself, any building or plan review fee beyond the solar line and SolarAPP+ processing fees. If a Texas quote itemizes these charges, hold its lines up against your own utility's and city's rows here.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso Electric interconnection application, 1 to 100 kW | $85 ($230 over 100 kW) | EPE page; an expansion application is $42.50. |
| Pre-interconnection study fee for pre-certified units up to 500 kW within the feeder limits | none allowed | PUCT 16 TAC 25.211; each utility files its own tariff fees for other studies. |
| Solar Panel Permit, Houston | $91.06 plus a $33.56 admin fee | HPWCODE1119 page; plan review may apply depending on scope and is not added here. |
| Solar energy system, Irving | $75 plus $55 an hour of plan review, $130 minimum | Ordinance fee list; SolarAPP+ charges a separate processing fee. |
| Residential solar installation permit, Garland | $150 plus a 4.5 percent surcharge | City page; the surcharge is a non-refundable technology and equipment fee. |
| Solar installations, Frisco | $150 | Consolidated fee schedule effective October 1, 2026. |
| Solar or alternative energy permit, Lubbock | $75 | 2025-2026 Building Safety fee schedule; the permit needs an approved Lubbock Power & Light interconnect agreement. |
| Residential solar panel system permit, McKinney | $150 | Fee schedule row; the effective date is not printed. |
| Solar permit, Amarillo | $230 | Fee page row; no date printed. |
| Solar panel permit, Arlington | $275 | Fee schedule effective September 1, 2025; the row carries an asterisk whose footnote our source does not show. |
| Solar permit lines, Austin | $19.08 intake, $111.66 base and $74.44 inspection | Fee table updated March 28, 2025, effective October 1, 2024; each line includes surcharges. |
| Solar panel base fee, Killeen | $100 plus $5 per panel | Schedule ran October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, so it may have been replaced. |
| Dallas solar permit steps | $15 technology fee, $577 pre-screen, $125 inspection | Fees apply by step; an electrical trade permit is $196 only if premise wiring is altered. The bulletin is undated. |
Every figure below is a fee as a utility or city prints it; none is modeled. Dates sit in each row's note, and a medium-confidence row says what is uncertain. Full method. Prices as of Oct 24, 2026.
What each utility prints about its application
El Paso Electric charges $85 for systems of 1 to 100 kW, $230 above 100 kW and $42.50 for an expansion application. Most of its customers who install solar qualify for its net metering rate, and rooftop solar customers can't join its Texas Community Solar Program or its Budget Billing Plan. Austin Energy credits 100 percent of production at its Value of Solar rate of 12.89 cents per kWh for systems under 1 MW-AC, effective October 1, 2026 and subject to change, and bills all consumption. CPS Energy says contractors manage the application.
Oncor's installer page describes a web portal that tracks a request from the first application to permission to operate. Certified systems there are inverter-based units listed to UL 1741. Oncor reviews the application, the customer signs an Interconnection Agreement, and Oncor programs the meter to measure surplus kWh flowing out.
CenterPoint's application instructions ask for the Interconnection Application and an Application and Study Fees Addendum first. They say a study fee is normally set in the CenterPoint application, that every interconnection goes through CenterPoint design review, and that an AC disconnect must be visible and accessible, typically within 10 feet of the meter, with a placard if it sits farther away.
Oncor and CenterPoint don't print a dollar figure or a review time on the pages cited here, so ask your utility for its current fee and study schedule before you sign with an installer. City utilities add their own paperwork: Lubbock's permit form wants an approved Lubbock Power & Light interconnect agreement attached, and Garland Power & Light keeps its own PV installation requirements page.
SolarAPP+, and the third-party route Dallas uses
Houston has processed SolarAPP+ applications without traditional plan review since July 15, 2024, for contractors whose state license is registered with the city, except where the design wind speed is 140 mph or more. Irving takes residential PV of up to 38 kW, with or without storage, through SolarAPP+ on its MGO portal, and SolarAPP+ charges its own processing fee. Waco has applicants go through SolarAPP+ first and then take out an Alternative Power Source/SolarAPP+ permit in its Citizen Self Service Portal.
The SolarAPP+ Foundation's table, as displayed on October 24, 2026, showed entries only from Adelanto to Santa Barbara County. Its Texas names in that span were Celina, Denison, Houston and Irving. Waco sits later in the alphabet and wasn't shown, even though its own page confirms it, so a city missing from that table may still use SolarAPP+.
Dallas works differently. As the City of Dallas's Service First Bulletin 204 summarizes SB 1202 and SB 1252, which took effect September 1, 2025, a qualified third party, meaning an electrical inspector or master electrician holding a license, may review documents and inspect home backup power installations of 600 volts or less, and the city must issue the permit within three business days of notice of an approved review. The bulletin also requires compliance with IRC R324.3 and R324.6, the rooftop PV, roof access and pathway sections, in building review.
Berkeley Lab's 2026 Data Update puts the national median from application to issue at 6 days for PV-only systems installed in 2025, and 3 days for PV with storage. State medians appear on that slide only as unlabeled dots.
What Texas cities charge for the solar permit
Houston prints $91.06 for its Solar Panel Permit and a $33.56 admin fee, with plan review depending on scope and priced by valuation. Irving's ordinance lists $75 plus $55 per hour for plan review, with a $130 permit minimum. Garland charges $150 for a residential solar permit plus a 4.5 percent technology and equipment surcharge. Frisco lists $150 on its consolidated schedule effective October 1, 2026, and Lubbock $75 on its 2025-2026 schedule.
McKinney's schedule lists $150 and Amarillo's fee page $230, and neither prints an effective date. Arlington lists $275 for a Solar Panel permit on its schedule effective September 1, 2025 (Resolution 25-213), and its May 2021 FAQ describes one permit that combines the residential and electrical permits, with the contractor holding the city's New Home Builder/Remodeler and Electrical Contractor registrations.
Some cities charge by step. Austin's residential table, updated March 28, 2025 and effective October 1, 2024, lists a $19.08 intake fee, a $111.66 electrical permit base fee and a $74.44 inspection fee for 1 to 50 kW. Killeen lists $100 per application and $5 per panel on a schedule that ran from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, so it may since have been replaced. Dallas's undated bulletin lists a $15 technology fee, $577 for pre-screen plan review, a $125 building inspection service fee when an inspection is required and $196 for a stand-alone electrical trade permit when premise wiring is altered; it says electrical review isn't required for solar permits, but zoning, building code and fire specialty review are.
When a connection problem is an emergency
- Smoke, flame or a burning smell anywhere on the system is a 911 call; keep everyone clear of the equipment.
- The utility has not yet given permission to operate.
- The monitoring app has lost its connection.
What to settle before the applications go in
- Name your electric utility from the latest bill, because Oncor, CenterPoint, Austin Energy, CPS Energy and El Paso Electric each print different rules.
- Find out in writing which company files with the utility, which one takes out the permit and who covers each fee.
- Keep the signed interconnection agreement with your contract papers.
Who issues the permit and who approves the connection
Your city's permit office issues the permit and your electric utility signs the interconnection agreement. Ask the permit office for its solar fee row and the code editions it enforces; the state adopted the 2026 NEC effective September 1, 2026, and cities adopt their own.
Houston asks contractors to register their state license with the city, and Lubbock's form is for electrical contractors holding the state license.
Ask for the company's contractor license number and look it up with your state's licensing board before you sign.
Questions people ask
Do I need a utility agreement before I turn on solar in Texas?
Yes, PUCT rule 25.211 puts the application and a signed agreement before interconnecting. Each utility files its own tariff fees for studies, so ask yours for the schedule.
What does El Paso Electric charge to interconnect solar?
$85 for systems of 1 to 100 kW. The fee is $230 above 100 kW and $42.50 for an expansion application.
Does Houston use SolarAPP+?
Yes, since July 15, 2024, except where the design wind speed is 140 mph or more. Irving and Waco also send applicants to SolarAPP+, and Dallas uses a third-party review route.
What do Texas cities charge for a solar permit?
The rows run from $75 in Lubbock to $275 in Arlington. Houston prints $91.06 and a $33.56 admin fee, Frisco and McKinney $150, Garland $150 plus a 4.5 percent surcharge, and Amarillo $230; Austin and Dallas charge by step.
How long does a Texas solar permit take?
Ask your city, because the timing figure here is national. Berkeley Lab puts the national median at 6 days from application to issue for PV-only systems installed in 2025. In Dallas, the city must issue the permit within three business days of an approved third-party review, as its bulletin summarizes SB 1202.
- El Paso Electric: Texas Interconnection of Facilities up to 10 MW Read Oct 24, 2026.
- PUCT Substantive Rule 25.211 (PDF); 25.212 PDF; PUCT DG page Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Houston Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Irving Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Garland Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Frisco Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Lubbock Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, McKinney Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Amarillo Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Arlington Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Austin Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Killeen Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Dallas Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Texas Utilities Code 39.916 (legacy host, Wayback copy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Austin Energy: Value of Solar Rate; For Your Home (solar rebate) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- CPS Energy: Rooftop Solar (residential) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Oncor: for installers Read Oct 24, 2026.
- CenterPoint Energy DER Application Tariff (PDF) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- City solar permit page, Irving Read Oct 24, 2026.
- City solar permit page, Waco Read Oct 24, 2026.
- SolarAPP+ Foundation: where is SolarAPP+ available Read Oct 24, 2026.
- LBNL Distributed Solar & Storage 2026 Data Update, slide 12 Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Commission adopts rules (2026-09-01) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License; Houston Permitting Center HPWCODE1119 Read Oct 24, 2026.