Moving to Katy? Your New-Resident Guide to Electricity & Utilities

Last updated: October 18, 2026  ·  9 min read

Welcome to Katy. A lot of Katy's new arrivals are relocating from out of state, drawn by the schools and the big master-planned neighborhoods — and the first surprise usually isn't the summer heat, it's that no single electric company comes with the house. In Katy you choose your electricity provider from dozens that compete for your business, and the move-in scramble is exactly when newcomers grab the first plan a builder's sales office or leasing agent hands them and overpay for a year. This guide gets your power and utilities on smoothly, and then does the thing only an electricity-cost site can: shows you how a large, brand-new, two-story Katy home is going to shape that bill.

Your Electricity: Pick the Provider, Not the Utility

Here's the model that trips up every newcomer. Two companies stand behind your power in Katy: the transmission and distribution utility (TDU), which is CenterPoint Energy for the entire Katy area and owns the poles, wires and meter, and the retail electric provider (REP) you actually buy your plan from. You don't choose CenterPoint — it's assigned by your address — and you never call them to turn the power on. You enroll with a retail provider, and that provider tells CenterPoint to energize your meter. That's why "who do I call to set up electricity" has a different answer here than in the rest of the country: you sign up online with a provider, not a utility.

The move-in trap is grabbing whatever plan is fastest — the one the builder's design center folds into your closing packet, or the first result you see — while you're juggling movers and a mortgage. Those are frequently the worst deals: a high month-to-month rate, a referral plan, or one whose advertised price assumes exactly 1,000 kWh that a big Katy house blows straight past. Slowing down for five minutes to compare plans at your real usage routinely changes which plan is cheapest, and over a 12-month term the gap is often in the hundreds of dollars — that's the 1,000 kWh illusion, and it bites hardest exactly where usage is high. For the full walkthrough see setting up electricity when moving to Texas, and for today's Katy plans and typical costs, Katy electricity rates & plans.

How Your Katy Home Changes the Bill

This is where Katy gets expensive, because cooling is 40–60% of a summer bill and Katy is built almost entirely from the home type that costs the most to cool. The signature Katy house — in Cinco Ranch, Cane Island, Cross Creek Ranch or Firethorne — is large, two-story and brand new, and every one of those traits pushes the meter up. More square footage means more space to condition; the second story fights the stack effect, with heat rising all day to bake the upstairs bedrooms while the AC runs overtime to hold a setpoint. Our guide on how your home type changes the bill breaks down apartment vs single- vs two-story in detail, and Katy sits at the demanding end of that range.

Then there's the sun. Katy's newest subdivisions are scraped flat and replanted with saplings, so roofs and west-facing walls take the full afternoon sun with no canopy to soften it — the single biggest reason a new Katy home can out-consume an older, tree-shaded house of the same size. See do trees and shade lower your bill for how much mature cover is really worth. Humidity piles on: Katy is close enough to the Gulf that the air conditioner spends real energy wringing moisture out of the air, the same effect covered in why coastal homes cost more to cool. Put it together — big, two-story, treeless and humid — and a Katy new-build sits at close to the highest-AC scenario in the whole Houston market, which is exactly why comparing plans at your real usage matters more here than almost anywhere.

Setting Up the Rest of Your Utilities in Katy

Electricity is the one you shop; the rest you simply arrange. Here's who handles what across the Katy area:

The Katy wrinkle worth knowing: because so much of "Katy" is unincorporated land spread across Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties, your water, sewer and drainage usually come from a Municipal Utility District (MUD) rather than a city, and it bills separately — ask your builder, landlord or title company which one serves the address. For the full move checklist across every utility, see the Texas new-resident utility checklist, and to make sure the right meter gets switched on in an apartment or brand-new build, have your ESIID handy.

Getting Settled: Neighborhoods, Schools & Climate

Katy is really a cluster of master-planned communities rather than one town. The best-known are Cinco Ranch and Cross Creek Ranch, with newer developments like Cane Island and Firethorne filling in around them — all built around amenity centers, pools and trails, and nearly all made up of the large two-story homes that drive those summer bills. Because the area straddles three counties, two addresses a few minutes apart can sit in different taxing districts and even different school zones, so it pays to check the exact address rather than assume.

On schools, your address decides your district. Most of Katy is served by the well-regarded Katy ISD — a major relocation draw in its own right — while some edges fall into Lamar CISD or Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Ratings and boundaries change, so look them up at the source: the Texas Education Agency publishes accountability ratings, and HAR.com maps schools and neighborhoods by exact address.

On climate and risk, Texas has no state income tax, but property taxes and home insurance run high in these master-planned communities — budget for both. Summers are long, hot and humid (hence the AC-driven bills), winters are mild, and hurricane season runs June through November. Flooding is the big one to research in Katy specifically: the area sits near the Barker and Addicks reservoirs and parts of it took on water during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, so check an address's flood history and map before you sign — the FEMA flood maps and the Harris County Flood Control District are the authorities.

Timeline & What You Need

Give yourself a little runway. Enroll in an electricity plan about one to two weeks before move-in so the power is on when you arrive — standard activation is next business day, and same-day "rush" connection usually exists but adds a fee, covered in how long it takes to switch electricity in Texas. To enroll you'll need your new address, the ESIID, a government ID, and a start date. New Texas customers without a local payment history may be asked for a deposit — a no-deposit or prepaid plan is the way around that if cash is tight during the move. Book internet as early as you can, and set up water, gas and trash about a week out.

Common Questions

How do I set up electricity when moving to Katy?

Katy is in the deregulated market, so you choose your own retail electricity provider — you do not call the utility. CenterPoint Energy owns the poles and wires and delivers power to every Katy address across Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties, but you pick the retail provider and plan, then choose a start date and the provider arranges the connection with CenterPoint. Enroll about one to two weeks before move-in, have your address, ESIID, ID and start date ready, and compare plans at your real usage first — a large new Katy home uses far more than the advertised 1,000 kWh, so the move-in rush is exactly when people grab an overpriced plan.

Who provides water, gas, and trash in Katy?

Electricity is delivered by CenterPoint Energy, but you choose the retail provider. Water and sewer in most of Katy come from a Municipal Utility District (MUD), because much of the area is unincorporated across three counties — ask your builder, landlord or title company which MUD serves the address; homes inside the City of Katy are on city water. Natural gas is typically CenterPoint Energy. Trash and recycling are usually handled by your HOA, a MUD or a private carrier outside the city limits, and by the City of Katy for in-city addresses.

How much is a typical Katy electricity bill?

Cooling is the whole story in Katy, where large two-story new-build homes bake in full sun. A Katy apartment might use roughly 700 to 1,100 kWh a month, while a big single-family house often runs about 1,500 to 2,400-plus kWh in August as the air conditioning fights the heat and humidity. At an example energy rate near 14 cents per kWh, a peak summer month for a large home can climb well past $250. Because the cheapest plan changes with usage, the number that matters is your real usage, not the advertised 1,000 kWh rate.

What should I know about Katy's climate before I move?

Katy summers are long, hot and humid, so the cooling season stretches roughly from April into October and drives high summer bills — especially in new, treeless subdivisions. Winters are mild. The bigger thing to research is flooding: Katy sits near the Barker and Addicks reservoirs, and parts of the area flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, so it is worth checking the flood history and map for any specific address before you commit. The humidity also makes the air conditioner work harder to feel comfortable, which keeps bills high right through the summer.

Key Terms

Retail Electric Provider (REP) · TDU Delivery Charges · Effective Rate · Kilowatt-hour · Electricity Facts Label · Full Glossary →

Keep Reading

The Texas new-resident utility checklist  ·  How your home type changes the bill  ·  Do trees and shade lower your bill?  ·  Katy electricity rates & plans  ·  Setting up electricity when moving to Texas