If your Texas electricity contract is expiring soon, act in the next few weeks, not the last few days. Once your current contract ends, most retail electric providers roll you onto a month-to-month variable rate that can run 30-50% higher than what you locked in. Your electricity bill won’t stop coming, but the number on it will jump.
The fix is pretty straightforward: find your exact contract end date, watch for your renewal notice, and compare new plans before the switch window closes. Texas electricity customers who wait until the holdover rate hits are the ones who overpay for months before noticing. Here’s how to get ahead of it.
Act Before Your Fixed Term Ends
Your electricity provider will move you off your fixed-rate plan automatically on the day your current contract ends, whether or not you’ve made a decision. Texas rules give you a window to switch without a penalty near the end of your term, but you have to know your dates and act within it.
Miss that window, and you’ll either pay an early termination fee to leave or ride out a variable rate until you can switch cleanly.
Find Your Actual Contract End Date
Check your most recent bill or your Electricity Facts Label (EFL) for the exact contract expiration date, not just the month.
Your Terms of Service will confirm it, too. Don’t guess based on when you signed up. Some plans run 12 months from enrollment, while others line up with a billing cycle, and the difference can be a few weeks either way.
What the Renewal Notice Should Tell You
Retail electric providers are required to send a renewal notice before your contract expires, usually 30 to 45 days out.
It should include:
- Your contract expiration date
- The renewal offer or default rate you’ll be moved to
- Any other plan options the provider is offering you
Read it closely. Renewal offers often sit 15-25% above what the same provider charges new customers, so don’t assume it’s your best option just because it’s convenient.
What Happens if You Do Nothing
If you take no action, your service continues, but your rate does not stay the same. You’ll be shifted onto a month-to-month variable rate, sometimes called a holdover rate or out-of-contract rate.
This rate isn’t locked in. It can move up each month based on market conditions, and it’s rarely competitive with current fixed-rate offers. This is where PUCT rules matter: providers must disclose that the shift is coming, but they aren’t required to keep you at a good price.
When Can You Switch Without an Early Termination Fee?
You can typically switch providers in the final 14 days of your contract without triggering an ETF. This is often called the ETF-free window.
That said, waiting until day 14 to start shopping is risky. Give yourself 30 to 45 days to compare plans, then schedule your switch to land inside that penalty-free stretch. If you’re moving instead of renewing, a different set of rules applies. ETFs generally don’t apply when you provide proof of a move, regardless of how much time is left on your term.
Compare, Enroll, and Check the New Plan
Once you know your contract end date, the real decision is whether to renew with your current retail electric provider or shop the wider Texas electricity market. Getting this right means comparing the total cost at your actual usage, timing the switch so service never lapses, and checking your first bill against what you were promised.
Should You Renew or Change Retail Electric Providers?
Renewing is rarely the cheapest path, and shopping the open market usually beats a standard renewal offer. Providers count on inertia. Renewal rates are typically priced higher than what the same company offers brand-new customers, because they know switching takes effort.
Retail electric providers you’ll commonly see across Texas include TXU Energy, Reliant, Direct Energy, Gexa, and Rhythm, among other energy companies competing for your account. Each one lists multiple plans, so comparing “providers” isn’t as useful as comparing specific plans at your usage level.
A tool like ComparePower lets you pull current rates by ZIP code instead of relying on an old bill or a renewal letter as your only reference point. If you want to see what’s currently available at your address, you can compare electricity rates for your address before your renewal notice deadline arrives.
How to Compare Total Cost at Your Actual kWh Usage
The plan with the lowest advertised rate per kWh isn’t automatically the cheapest for your home. Pull your last 12 months of usage from your bill or provider account, then check how each plan prices out at your real average, not just 1,000 kWh.
Watch for:
- Bill credits that only apply within a narrow usage range
- Minimum-usage fees if you fall below a set kWh threshold
- TDU charges, which are separate from the energy rate and vary by utility
- Meter read timing, which affects when your new plan’s billing cycle starts
Wholesale electricity prices set through ERCOT shift by season, which is part of why fixed rates protect you from summer spikes while variable and holdover rates don’t. Power to Choose is the state’s official comparison site for deregulated areas, and it’s worth checking alongside independent comparison tools.
How to Schedule a Switch Without Interrupting Service
Set your new plan’s start date to match your current contract’s end date, not before and not after. Switching providers in Texas doesn’t require a service interruption. Your TDU still delivers the electricity; only the billing company changes.
Enroll with your new provider 1 to 2 weeks ahead of your expiration date so there’s time to process the switch and schedule the meter read. If you enroll too early, you may end up switching mid-contract and owing an early termination fee on the plan you’re leaving.
What to Check on Your First Bill
Confirm your first bill reflects the new contract rate, not a leftover charge from your old plan or a prorated holdover rate. Compare the rate per kWh, base charge, and TDU delivery charge against the Electricity Facts Label you were quoted before signing.
Mistakes happen when a meter read falls outside the expected window, splitting a bill across two rates. If your bill doesn’t match your EFL, contact your new retail electric provider immediately, with your enrollment confirmation in hand.
Before your current term runs out, it’s worth taking a few minutes to compare available Texas electricity plans for your ZIP code so you’re not defaulting into a rate you never agreed to.
Conclusion
A Texas electricity contract that’s expiring soon isn’t a crisis, especially if you act early. Confirm your exact end date, read the renewal notice when it arrives, and shop your options 30 to 45 days out so you land inside the ETF-free window.
Compare plans using your real kWh usage instead of the headline rate, then schedule your switch to line up with your current contract’s end. Finally, check your first bill against your EFL. That sequence keeps you off the holdover rate and in control of what you pay next.