Lindsay Mader, lindsay.mader@sierraclub.org
AUSTIN, Texas – As the country continues to face a significantly shifting energy landscape due to the data center boom, the Sierra Club’s Dirty Truth report is again exposing just how much cost and pollution utilities are passing on to customers. The 2026 Dirty Truth, released today, shows that most Texas utilities are doing far too little to deliver affordable energy, especially while electricity bills in Texas are increasing and expected to continue this upward trend.
The Sierra Club analysis grades utilities across the country on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning, and how much renewable energy they are adding. This provides reliable insight into the experience Americans are feeling when paying their bills, because renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and gas are the most expensive. Solar and wind also don’t contribute to poor health outcomes and don’t guzzle billions of gallons of water a year.
Nationally, 76 utilities scored 7 out of 100 in aggregate. This is eight points lower than last year’s report and the lowest score in the report’s history. Compared to the first version of this report in 2021, utilities’ scores have dropped 11 points. Texas utilities scored from a B to an F (see breakdown below).
Statements from the Sierra Club
“Texans are waking up every day to new data center proposals, extreme weather, and skyrocketing energy bills and insurance prices,” said Jaime Perkins, Sierra Club Texas organizer. “But utility executives and corporations are faring quite well. This analysis shows that most Texas utilities are severely underutilizing the most affordable energy available so that they can profit more on gas and coal.”
Texas Utility Scores
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) got another F (0%).
After years of Fs – the lowest score of all utilities in Texas and a sign it is making no progress to lower prices and pollution. By keeping the Fayette coal plant open east of Austin and planning for zero investment in affordable renewables, LCRA is failing customers. LCRA sells its power wholesale to 29 cities and 4 rural electric cooperatives across Texas, so its operations and expenses have far-reaching impact. LCRA’s board members are appointed by Governor Abbott.
- Adding 303 MW of new gas.
- Retiring 0% of coal.
- Adding 0 MW of renewable energy
Xcel Texas has maintained its B (50%).
This grade is largely due to the utility’s plans to retire the expensive, dirty, and water-guzzling Tolk coal plant in the Panhandle as the Ogallala Aquifer continues to dwindle. The Texas Public Utility Commission is currently deciding whether or not to allow this transition to proceed.
- Adding 4,669 MW of new gas.
- Retiring 100% of coal.
- Adding 7,519MW of renewable energy
Entergy Texas received a D (18%).
Entergy Texas, which received a C last year, continues its downward trajectory due to over-relying on gas and investing far too little in renewable energy. While the utility’s amount of planned gas holds steady, the company has decreased their planned renewable energy investments from 2,711 MW in 2025, to only 100 MW this year.
- Adding 2,513 MW of new gas.
- Retiring 100% MW of coal.
- Only adding 100 MW of renewable energy
CPS Energy in San Antonio scored a B (60%).
This is a small improvement over last year’s C. CPS Energy still plans to shutter their coal plant, so this year’s change is due to significant reductions in planned gas before 2035. The utility moved from 2,611 MW of planned gas in 2025, to 923 MW of planned gas this year. In part, this is due to company plans to purchase existing gas plants, instead of building new ones. While pre-existing gas plants reduce impacts when compared to building new, burning gas still worsens the climate crisis.
- Adding 923 MW of new gas.
- Retiring 100% MW of coal.
- Adding 2,850 MW of renewable energy
See Public Citizen’s press release for more information on CPS and its score.
Background
To produce each utility’s grade, Dirty Truth focuses on three metrics that gauge impacts on affordability and public health due to fossil fuel pollution:
- Utility efforts to retire coal plants by 2030. Burning coal for energy is outdated, extremely expensive, and it releases toxins into the air that are detrimental to health.
- Utility efforts to not build new gas plants through 2035. Gas prices are volatile, and gas power plants are much more expensive than solar, wind, and battery storage – and are a significant contributor to climate change.
- Utility efforts to build clean energy through 2035. Clean, renewable energy is the most affordable energy available today and uses little water resources.
In an interactive webpage, users can see their utility’s score and what progress – if any – the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.