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

Last updated: October 18, 2026  ·  8 min read

Welcome to McKinney. If you're relocating from outside Texas, the first surprise isn't the historic square or the summer heat — it's that there's no single electric company to call. In McKinney 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 they see and overpay for a year. McKinney is really two places at once — a charming, tree-shaded historic downtown and a wave of big new master-planned subdivisions — and that split shapes your electric bill as much as any plan does. This guide gets your power on smoothly, then does the thing only an electricity-cost site can: shows how the home you're choosing will shape the 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 McKinney: the transmission and distribution utility (TDU), which is Oncor for the entire Dallas–Fort Worth area including McKinney and owns the poles, wires and meter, and the retail electric provider (REP) you actually buy your plan from. You don't choose Oncor — 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 Oncor to energize your meter. That's why "who do I call to set up electricity" has a different answer in Texas 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 leasing office hands you, or the plan a homebuilder's design center steers you toward in one of the new subdivisions, or the first result you see — while you're juggling movers and a move. Those are frequently the worst deals: a high month-to-month rate, a builder- or property-referred plan, or one whose advertised price assumes exactly 1,000 kWh you may not use. 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. For the full walkthrough see setting up electricity when moving to Texas, and for today's McKinney plans and typical costs, McKinney electricity rates & plans.

How Your McKinney Home Changes the Bill

This is where McKinney gets interesting, because cooling is 40–60% of a summer bill and no other DFW suburb shows the difference as clearly within one city. Around Historic Downtown McKinney you'll find older, often single-story homes under decades-old tree canopy; out in the master-planned communities — Stonebridge Ranch, Craig Ranch and the Mediterranean-styled Adriatica — you'll find large, new two-story homes on lots with young landscaping. The older home is smaller and shaded; the new one has more conditioned square footage and a two-story stack effect pulling heat upstairs. Same city, two very different summer bills. Our guide on how your home type changes the bill walks through single- vs two-story in detail.

The other half of the story is tree cover, and McKinney is close to a controlled experiment in it. A mature canopy shading the roof and the west-facing walls can meaningfully cut the afternoon cooling load — exactly what the older streets near the square enjoy and a treeless new subdivision lacks — the full effect is covered in do trees and shade lower your bill. One more factor cuts across both: winter. North Texas summers are hot but dry, so it's the cold that catches newcomers off guard — the February 2021 freeze and ice storm strained the grid and spiked demand, which is why many McKinney households lean toward a fixed-rate plan for budget certainty across both the summer peak and a winter cold snap.

Setting Up the Rest of Your Utilities in McKinney

Electricity is the one you shop; the rest you simply arrange. Here's who handles what in McKinney:

A North Texas wrinkle worth knowing: your tap water is drawn from the regional supply run by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), but you don't deal with the district directly — you open and pay the account through the City of McKinney, alongside sewer and trash. Natural gas is a separate account with Atmos Energy. 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 older home or a brand-new build, have your ESIID handy.

Getting Settled: Neighborhoods, Schools & Climate

McKinney's appeal is that it kept its character while it grew. Historic Downtown McKinney — the walkable square — anchors the older, tree-lined side of town, while master-planned communities like Stonebridge Ranch, Craig Ranch and Adriatica have added tens of thousands of newer homes on the city's expanding edges. It's all in Collin County, with US-75 as the spine of the commute toward Plano and Dallas, so weigh drive time against the electricity math of a larger, farther-out house.

On schools, your address decides your district: most of the city is served by McKinney ISD, but the fast-growing edges fall into Prosper ISD, Frisco ISD or Melissa ISD. Because ratings and boundaries change, look those up at the source rather than trusting a static list: the Texas Education Agency publishes accountability ratings, and HAR.com maps schools and neighborhoods by address.

On cost of living and climate, Texas has no state income tax, but property taxes and home insurance run high in fast-growing Collin County — and North Texas hail season is worth factoring into the insurance quote. Summers are hot but dry, which is what drives the AC-heavy bills, while winters are mild on average yet carry a real hard-freeze and ice risk — the February 2021 event is the one everyone still talks about. Flooding is localized here rather than metro-wide, but it's still worth checking a specific address's flood map — FEMA's flood map service is the authority — before you sign anything.

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 McKinney?

McKinney is in the deregulated market, so you choose your own retail electricity provider — you do not call the utility. Oncor owns the poles and wires and delivers the power to every McKinney address, but you pick the retail provider and plan, then choose a start date and the provider arranges the connection with Oncor. 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 before you sign — a shaded older home near downtown and a new two-story in Stonebridge Ranch sit at very different points on the price curve.

Who provides water, gas, and trash in McKinney?

Electricity is delivered by Oncor, but you choose the retail provider. Water and sewer come from the City of McKinney, which is supplied wholesale by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). Natural gas is Atmos Energy. Trash and recycling are handled by the City of McKinney. You set up water and trash with the city and gas with Atmos directly, and unlike some Texas metros there is generally no separate municipal utility district bill to track in McKinney.

How much is a typical McKinney electricity bill?

It depends a lot on which McKinney you land in. An older, tree-shaded home near Historic Downtown might use roughly 1,000 to 1,500 kWh a month in summer, while a large new two-story in a treeless master-planned community often runs 1,500 to 2,500-plus kWh as the air conditioning works against full sun. At an example energy rate near 14 cents per kWh, that difference can be well over $100 a month between two similar-sized homes. Because the cheapest plan changes with usage, compare at your real usage, not the advertised 1,000 kWh rate.

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

McKinney summers are hot but dry, so the cooling season runs roughly from May into September and drives the high summer bills, especially for newer homes in full sun. The bigger surprise for newcomers is winter: North Texas carries a real hard-freeze and ice risk, and the February 2021 storm showed how a deep freeze can strain the grid and spike demand. Spring brings hail and occasional severe storms. A fixed-rate plan is one way to hold budget certainty across both the summer cooling peak and a winter cold snap.

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?  ·  McKinney electricity rates & plans  ·  Setting up electricity when moving to Texas