With Spring returning and hopefully a higher chance for rain, we start gardens as the growing seasons moves into high gear.
We also know that summer will be here soon. The good news is that the usually mild weather in April is reflected in lower electric bills.
April is also the beginning of the solar season here in Texas. Like it or not, energy from solar farms play an important role in maintaining grid reliability. This is especially true during April when traditional power plants, fueled by coal and natural gas, can go offline for the necessary maintenance to prepare for the high summer electric demand.
April is also the month when Texas sees the largest amount of solar energy generated by percentage for the grid. In April 2025, ERCOT recorded a peak generation of 26,741 MW from solar, which provided 50.4% of the grid’s energy. This marked a significant milestone as solar was ERCOT’S largest generation resource for almost 10 hours that day. By the end of 2025, the operational solar capacity had reached 34,586 MW. This growth is continuing and now, for the first time, the output has exceeded coal generation.
In 2017, BEC installed a 2MW solar farm near Leakey, Texas to help reduce our power costs during summer peak periods. This keeps our electricity rates stable. In addition to providing financial benefits during peak periods, we structured a program to allow members to participate by purchasing 100 kWh blocks of energy at a very competitive fixed price that will not go up for the next 5 years. While it is unclear what electricity prices will be in 5 years, by buying solar blocks you will have a hedge against prices going up. Out of the original 2,000 blocks we have about 900 still available.
In addition, we have other programs to help you save money on your electric bill. We have structured a rate that we call our Time Based Usage (TBU) rate, which is priced to more closely follow the electricity market. On average our members on this program save about 10% on their electric bill and it also raises awareness of how you use energy.
Being energy aware is being informed as to how and when you use energy. As the sun gets higher in the sky and temperatures climb, having this understanding may help you save even more money.