What your city can and cannot require on a generator install

The rule

A residential energy backup system is defined as one “a backup energy system at a residential property capable of providing no more than 50 kilowatts of electricity to the residence, or with a storage capacity of no more than 100 kilowatt hours.”

Of the Cummins home standby range we sell, the air-cooled RS13A to RS20A (13kW to 20kW) and the liquid-cooled RS25, RS30, RS36, RS40 and RS50 are at or under the 50kW ceiling. The liquid-cooled RS60 to RS150 (60kW to 150kW) are above it, so the statute does not cover them and the city keeps its full authority over those installs. It was added by Senate Bill 1252 of the 89th Legislature and took effect on 1 September 2025.

The exception, and where it applies: Denton and Garland

A city that owns its electric utility keeps its authority inside that utility's territory. In our service area that is two cities: Denton and Garland. Denton is served by Denton Municipal Electric, and if you are a DME customer, Denton's own generator requirements still apply to you, including its published permit and its three-inspection sequence. Garland Power & Light, owned by the City of Garland, serves most but not all of Garland, so the city keeps its authority at GP&L addresses and the state limit applies everywhere else in the city. Your electric bill says which one you have.

What this does not change

This is a limit on what a city may impose, not permission to skip the process. Nothing here removes:

• The permit itself. An unpermitted generator is the problem that surfaces at closing when you sell.
• The inspection that releases gas and electric service. In Mansfield, for example, the city will not issue the electric or gas service release until the inspection has passed.
• The National Electrical Code, the fuel gas code, and the manufacturer's listed clearances — which are what really decide where a generator can sit.
• Your HOA's separate and much narrower powers, covered in can my HOA stop me installing a generator.

Since September 2025, the city need not be the one who inspects

A second statute, Texas Local Government Code § 247.0025 (SB 1202), took effect on 1 September 2025. It covers a home backup power installation, which it defines as:

“An electric generating facility, an energy storage facility, a standby system, and any associated infrastructure and equipment intended to provide electrical power to a one- or two-family dwelling that is connected at 600 volts or less.”

A home standby generator at a one- or two-family house is inside that definition, at any size. The statute lets an authorized third party do the plan review and the inspection instead of the city. Besides the persons Section 247.002 already authorizes, it names a licensed electrical inspector and a licensed master electrician (Occupations Code §§ 1305.002 and 1305.153):

“An authorized third party may review a development document required to install a home backup power installation without having to submit the document to the authority for review, and may conduct the development inspection without having to request the inspection from the authority.”

And once the city is notified, it is on a clock:

“A regulatory authority shall issue each approval, permit, or certification applicable to a review of a development document or development inspection conducted under this section not later than the third business day after the date the authority receives the notice.”

The three-business-day deadline comes from the statute, so a city that publishes it is restating the law. There are two fee rules, and they cover different things. For the review and inspection the third party performed, Texas Local Government Code § 247.003, as amended by S.B. 1202: “A regulatory authority may not impose a fee related to the review of a development document or the inspection of an improvement conducted under this chapter.” For issuing the permit itself, the bar applies only where the authority has not published a fee schedule: “A regulatory authority that has not posted or provided a fee schedule as required by Subsection (d) may not charge a fee for issuance of an approval, permit, or certification for a home backup power installation under this section.” A city with a posted schedule may still charge to issue the permit.

What to compare between contractors instead

For a home generator at or under 50kW outside Denton and Garland, the install is governed by the adopted codes and the manufacturer's listing, not by city-specific rules. So compare who holds the TECL license, whether the electricians are employed or subcontracted, how the gas line and transfer switch are handled, and who services the unit afterward.