Houstonians cite utility costs as main reason for cost-of-living woes: 'A little scary'
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A number of factors play into home affordability. While many first think of rent prices, mortgage, and interest rates, a new study from the Kinder Institute shows Houstonians are pinpointing utility prices as an increasing pressure on their wallets.
"It will add up pretty quick," Chris Fryer said.
For Fryer, utility payments are an inevitable part of his month-to-month life, but the inevitability of it doesn't make it any easier.
"I have an older home myself. My home was built in 1935 and still has the original windows and stuff, so those summer months really hit hard with the AC bills, you know," Fryer said.
A new study from the Kinder Institute found that in 2024, 70% of Harris County residents had a hard time affording housing costs, and utility bills were cited as a top contributing factor.
That is where people, that budget that they might have produced to cover the cost of housing, isn't keeping up with those expenses.Dan Potter, Kinder Institute study's co-author
"The second you see utilities pop forward, you go, 'Oh, of course,'" Dan Potter, the study's co-author, said.
Potter said that month-to-month payments that stay the same, like rent, are easier for people to plan for, but fluctuating bills, like Fryer's summer AC bill, can be harder for people to budget for.
"That is where people, that budget that they might have produced to cover the cost of housing, isn't keeping up with those expenses," Potter said.
In recent years, both Houston Public Works and energy providers have increased utility rates to help pay for improving grid resiliency and strengthening sewer systems. Those are needed improvements, but at a price that has some people raising an eyebrow.
RELATED: CenterPoint Energy announces it's 'ahead of schedule' in implementing storm resiliency plan
"I just came back from New York and frankly, I'm starting to see prices that are on par with Queens and the Bronx, so that's a little scary," Houston resident Herbie Garcia said.
Fryer said the price hikes might not feel so steep if he felt more confident in the work being done.
"You watch the bills keep rising up, and you can't help but wonder, 'Where is the money going. What is happening? What is being done?' You see some of the areas, even with the storm that hit us just before this one. Just as it was pushing in through Conroe, they were starting to get power outages just as the storm was hitting them, so what will happen when something big comes?" Fryer said.
I just came back from New York and frankly, I'm starting to see prices that are on par with Queens and the Bronx, so that's a little scary.Herbie Garcia, Houston resident
According to United Way of Greater Houston, utility assistance is the number one reason people reach out to them, with more than 83,000 people in 2024 needing help. Electric, water, and gas are listed as the bills that people face the most difficulty with.
ABC13 reached out to CenterPoint and Houston Public Works for comment.
Houston Public Works sent the following statement:
"The City of Houston strives to keep water rates affordable while balancing the need to provide reliable and safe service for all residents.
Revenue collected from water and wastewater rates and impact fees ensure that the City of Houston can pay for the increasing cost of operating, maintaining, repairing, and expanding the combined water and wastewater utility system, debt service on the utility system's bonds and other obligations of the utility system, protect the financial integrity of the utility system, and comply with certain bond covenants and all other applicable law.
The current water and wastewater rates for Houston are, on average, in the middle of what customers are paying in other Texas cities: not the highest or the lowest.
City Council recently approved the next cost of service rate study; a rate study is conducted every five years to provide recommendations on the water and wastewater rates to ensure the city continues to meet its financial goals. The consent decree, deteriorating treatment plants, and aging infrastructure will be factored into the study."
CenterPoint sent the following response:
"All of us at CenterPoint Energy are committed to continuing to work to meet the needs of our customers and providing the reliable, safe, and affordable service that they expect and deserve. In March, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved CenterPoint's rate case settlement agreement for Houston electric customers that includes a rate reduction of approximately $1 per month for the average customer and a reduction of the company's overall revenue by approximately $50 million annually through roughly 2029. We remain focused on meeting our customers' energy needs while prioritizing affordability as we work toward our goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the country."
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