By Sam Silerio
When El Paso temperatures soar, the electric bill can make you sweat almost as much as the weather. Air conditioners work overtime, household electricity use climbs, and we start looking for ways to get more control over our energy costs.
If you’re looking for ways to save, rooftop solar and home battery storage can be part of the answer. That’s where Switch Together can help.
Switch Together is a group-buying program offered to El Paso homeowners by the national 501(c)(3) nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, in collaboration with the city of El Paso. It brings interested residents together so qualified solar installers can compete to offer discounted pricing to a large group. Participants register for free, receive a personal, no-obligation recommendation, and decide for themselves whether going solar or installing batteries makes sense for their home.
Through this year’s El Paso Switch Together, the average 6-kilowatt install (about 15 solar panels) would cost between $12,000 and $15,000, depending on whether one pays cash, finances the system – and also their roof type. Outside of Switch Together, an El Paso homeowner could expect to pay $18,000 or more for the same system in 2026.
Switch Together can help you understand how solar works, what the installation process looks like, and the financing options available. Installers go through a rigorous vetting process, including a review of their financial health, helping you avoid some of the hassle and uncertainty that can come with shopping for solar on your own.
Solar panels aren’t the only option. Participants can also install home battery storage or an electric vehicle charger at a discounted group rate. A battery can store electricity produced by rooftop solar for use later, like at night or during a power outage, giving you another way to make use of the power your panels generate at home.
El Paso Electric has recently added a new “demand charge” that only applies to rooftop solar customers, but this year’s Switch Together installer, Power Pro Solutions, is incorporating those numbers into their proposals for participants to consider and truly weigh the costs and benefits of the installation.
That combination is especially valuable during a Texas summer. Instead of simply bracing for the next high electric bill, explore ways to produce your own electricity, store some of it for later in your own battery, and make more informed choices about the power you still buy from the grid.
Switch Together is designed to make that process easier and more affordable. The program also offers free educational webinars and in-person events where you can learn more and ask questions before making a decision.
To date, more than 17,410 households across the country have accepted an offer from Switch Together.
There is no cost to register and no obligation to accept an offer. It’s open to the whole El Paso metro area, and you can learn more at Switch Together El Paso’s website. Registration for the current program is open through Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026.
If you’ve thought about going solar, now may be the time to see what rooftop solar and battery storage could do for your home – and your electric bills.
Sam Silerio is the Texas program director for the nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, an Army veteran, UTEP alumnus and Texas-licensed attorney.
The post Opinion: Switch Together program brings deals on rooftop solar and home batteries appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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