Why can't a Dallas or Houston Supercharger be modeled?

Those metros are in the deregulated ERCOT retail market. Transmission cost is allocated on the four highest summer 15-minute system peaks (knowable only after the fact), and energy is bought from one of roughly 140 competing retail providers rather than a filed tariff. There is no single public rate, so the tool states that up front instead of inventing one.

Which Texas utility does the model cover?

Austin Energy, a municipal utility that opted out of deregulation and sets rates by City Council. Its General Service ≥300 kW schedule carries a per-kW demand charge (shown in the rate table). San Antonio's CPS Energy is another municipal island but is not yet in the library.

How does Texas tax a charging business?

There is no state income tax, and the franchise tax exempts entities below $2.65 million of revenue — the lightest entity stack in the library. Texas taxes the asset instead: business personal property tax runs around 2% of value in Travis County, among the heavier in the set.

ForgeAsset / Supercharger ROI / Texas

Tesla Supercharger ROI in Texas

Texas is the third-largest EV market and Tesla's home state, but its deregulated electricity market means most of it cannot be reduced to a single tariff. ForgeAsset models Austin Energy — a municipal utility with a filed rate — while being explicit that deregulated ERCOT metros like Dallas and Houston are not expressible as one number. Austin's rate carries the state's 8.25% sales tax on electricity.

Model a Texas site

What makes Texas economics distinct

Why Dallas and Houston can't be a single rate

In the deregulated ERCOT market, a large site's transmission cost is set by its demand during the four highest 15-minute system-wide peaks of the summer — knowable only after each month ends — and its energy price comes from a contract with one of roughly 140 competing retail providers, not a filed tariff. There is no single public rate a Dallas or Houston fast-charging site pays, so the honest modeled answer for those metros is that the economics turn on a retail-supply contract rather than a fixed number.

Austin Energy is the modelable island

Austin Energy is a municipal utility that opted out of retail deregulation; its rates are set annually by City Council and socialize the transmission-peak exposure into one filed tariff. That is what makes Austin — and municipal utilities like it — expressible where ERCOT retail choice is not. The modeled schedule is Austin Energy's General Service ≥300 kW, whose demand charge is shown in the rate table below.

No income tax, but property tax bites

Texas has a constitutionally banned individual income tax and a franchise tax that exempts entities below $2.65 million of revenue — the lightest entity stack in the library. It recoups revenue on the asset instead: business personal property tax runs heavy (around 2% of value in Travis County), so a Texas site trades income-tax exposure for property-tax exposure.

Tesla's home state

Gigafactory Texas, Tesla's global headquarters, sits in Travis County — the same county as the one Texas utility this analysis can model. Every Texas interstate is a designated alternative-fuel corridor, and the state's federal charging-corridor build-out was certified fully built out in early 2026, even as the retail-rate picture stays a documented gap.

Utilities and tariffs modeled in Texas

Utility & tariff	Energy	Demand
Austin Energy ≥300 kW	7.3¢/kWh flat	$17.63/kW of monthly peak

Rates are digit-verified against each utility's own filed sheets and update within two weeks of any revision. Full derivations are on the methodology page.

Texas tax profile

Sales tax on hardware: 8.25%
Business personal property tax: 2.07% of equipment value (example rate)
Clean-fuels credit: no program
Per-kWh charging excise: none

Texas tax defaults applied: no clean-fuels credit program exists in Texas (the LCFS revenue line is $0), the entity stack is zero (no state income tax; the franchise margin tax applies only above $2.65M of revenue), and the sales-tax and property-tax defaults use Austin/Travis County example rates — both are editable. Texas business personal property tax is among the heavier in the library (~2.1% of value in Travis County). Coverage is Austin Energy territory; deregulated ERCOT metros (Dallas, Houston) are not modeled.

Texas programs and incentives

Austin Energy (municipal, Council-set rates)

The one Texas utility with a filed, expressible commercial rate. Rates are adopted annually by City Council; the schedule modeled here is General Service Secondary ≥300 kW inside city limits.

Deregulated ERCOT supply (Dallas, Houston — not modeled)

In deregulated territory a site buys energy from a competitive retail provider and pays transmission on the summer four-coincident-peak method. There is no single filed rate; these metros resolve to a named banner rather than an auto-selected tariff.

NEVI (federal, TxDOT-administered)

Texas's designated corridors (I-35, I-10, I-45) were certified fully built out in early 2026; a second phase began expanding to non-corridor locations from May 2026.

Texas charging market

Texas carries roughly 229 Supercharger stations — the third-largest footprint — but ForgeAsset models only Austin Energy territory. Deregulated ERCOT metros (Dallas, Houston) bill transmission on coincident peaks and buy supply competitively, which the engine states plainly it cannot reduce to one rate.

Texas Supercharger ROI — questions

Why can't a Dallas or Houston Supercharger be modeled?: Those metros are in the deregulated ERCOT retail market. Transmission cost is allocated on the four highest summer 15-minute system peaks (knowable only after the fact), and energy is bought from one of roughly 140 competing retail providers rather than a filed tariff. There is no single public rate, so the tool states that up front instead of inventing one.
Which Texas utility does the model cover?: Austin Energy, a municipal utility that opted out of deregulation and sets rates by City Council. Its General Service ≥300 kW schedule carries a per-kW demand charge (shown in the rate table). San Antonio's CPS Energy is another municipal island but is not yet in the library.
How does Texas tax a charging business?: There is no state income tax, and the franchise tax exempts entities below $2.65 million of revenue — the lightest entity stack in the library. Texas taxes the asset instead: business personal property tax runs around 2% of value in Travis County, among the heavier in the set.

Sources

Model a Tesla V4 Supercharger site in Texas — payback, NPV, IRR, and a 15-year cash flow from your own inputs.

Run a Texas scenario

Other states: California, North Carolina, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee. Coverage spans twelve states in total — see the full list.

ForgeAsset is software, not investment, tax, or legal advice — outputs are model estimates from your inputs, not guarantees. Rates and programs current as of research; verify current terms with each source before committing capital.