For homes · Texas contract guide

What if my Texas electricity contract expires?

Your end date is a decision point. Check what happens if you do nothing, which notices to expect and how to prepare your next plan.

By Voltcheckr Research · Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Oct 23, 2026 · 7 min read

What changed: Updated the Home and comparison links to our residential homepage.

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If you take no action after the final notice, your provider must keep serving you on a default renewal plan: a month-to-month plan you can cancel at any time without a fee. Its price may change between billing cycles, under terms the rule says must be easy for the average customer to understand.¹

Your power stays on. In Houston, CenterPoint keeps delivering it whichever provider you choose, and the provider you choose sends the bill.^1,6,7

If your contract names a calendar end date, your provider may bill the contract price through the first meter read on or after that date.¹

A new fixed-rate term is different. Your provider needs your consent for it, through a new enrollment or a recorded, electronic or written authorization. Only the month-to-month default plan starts without your consent.¹

On a fixed-rate plan, your provider must send at least three written notices of the expiration date, spread through the last third of the contract. On a contract of 12 months or longer, the first may come up to three months before the end date.¹

On a contract longer than four months, the final notice must come at least 30 days before the end date. On four months or less, it must come at least 15 days before. Notices go by mail to your billing address unless you chose to receive them electronically.^1,4

The rule's day counts become dates once you know your end date. This table applies them to an example: a 12-month fixed-rate contract with a calendar end date of June 30, 2027.¹

Your own notices can arrive on other days within these limits. Count from the expiration date printed in your notice, not from this example.

The month-to-month plan has its own price, set out in its own Electricity Facts Label, so it can differ from your old fixed rate. The PUCT calls it a month-to-month variable rate plan, and its price may change from one billing cycle to the next.^1,5

Its EFL, like every EFL, shows the average price at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month. On a variable plan, that price is for the first billing cycle, and the EFL must state in bold type that later prices can change.¹

On a variable price plan, each bill must tell you how to find the price that will apply on your next bill. Your provider must also give the current price and one year of price history on its website and by phone.¹

If your bill has already jumped, our Houston high-bill guide, listed under Keep reading, covers the other causes to check.

Where to find your contract end date

Every bill on a fixed-rate plan shows the date the fixed rate expires, in bold, underlined type. Each expiration notice shows it the same way.^1,2

Your provider must give you the contract's start and end dates on request. The end date is either a calendar date or the first meter read on or after a calendar date. Your Terms of Service must also say that a month-to-month default plan follows if you take no action.¹

The early termination fee and the 14-day window

If your plan has an early termination fee, its EFL and Terms of Service state it. A switch no earlier than 14 days before the expiration date in your notice carries no early termination fee.^1,4

If your end date is the first meter read on or after a date, the 14 days count back from that date. A switch before the window opens can bring the fee your notice and EFL describe.¹

1. 1

   Find your end date

   It is in bold, underlined type on your bill. Count back 14 days to find when a switch carries no early termination fee.

2. 2

   Open every notice

   Read the renewal offers, their deadline, and the EFL of the month-to-month plan you would move to.

3. 3

   Compare offers at your usage

   Set each offer's EFL beside the month-to-month plan's, and compare them at the kWh on your own bills.

4. 4

   Sign up once the window opens

   Power to Choose says a switch happens within seven business days. Signing up as the 14-day window opens leaves about two weeks before the end date.

5. 5

   Let the new provider handle the switch

   Sign up with the new provider, which handles the switch. ERCOT mails you a confirmation, and you do not need to call your old provider.

6. 6

   Know your way back

   You can cancel a switch without penalty within three federal business days after receiving the new provider's Terms of Service.

To stay with your provider instead, accept a renewal offer by the deadline in your notice. If a notice never came, your provider must keep serving you under your fixed contract's terms until it sends the required notice or you choose another plan.^1,3,6,7

Questions? Call (469) 708-9311