For homes · Houston switching guide

Switching electricity with no early termination fee

Check the timing before you switch. Learn when Texas rules prevent an early termination fee and where to find your plan's cancellation terms.

By Voltcheckr Research · Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Oct 23, 2026 · 9 min read

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Texas rules name five situations in which a home leaves a plan without an early termination fee. Outside them, a fee your contract carries applies when service is canceled before the contract ends. If your bill comes from a retail electric provider, as it does for Houston homes with retail choice, these rules apply to you.^1,4

A switch dated 14 days or less before the end date in your expiration notice carries no termination fee. If your contract has a fee, the notice must state this window in bold type of at least 12 points, and it must describe the fee that would apply to a switch before that window.^1,4

On a fixed-rate plan you get at least three written notices in the last third of the contract. The final one comes at least 30 days before the end date on a contract longer than four months, and at least 15 days before it on a contract of four months or less.¹

So on a contract longer than four months, the final notice comes at least 16 days before the window opens. On a contract of four months or less, it can come as late as the day before. If your contract ends at the first meter read on or after a date, count the 14 days back from that date.¹

The switch date is what counts, so ask your new provider for a start date inside the window. A switch on a date you request can carry an off-schedule meter read charge set in the utility's tariff. What happens if you let the contract expire is a separate question.^2,4,6

Moving ends a contract with no fee. The rule reads: "There must be no early termination fee assessed to the customer as a result of the customer's relocation if the customer provides a forwarding address and, if required, reasonable evidence that the customer no longer occupies the location specified in the contract."¹

A contract covers service only at the address it names, and you have no obligation to take it to the new one. Your provider may ask for evidence that you are moving. The rule does not list which documents count, so ask your provider what it accepts. Your terms of service must state this right.¹

The PUCT's reminder to shoppers names moving beside the end-date window: a fee may apply unless you are within two weeks of the contract's end date or changing service addresses.⁵

If you switch and change your mind, you can rescind the new provider's terms of service without penalty or fee of any kind within three federal business days after you receive them. This right covers a switch, not a move-in at a new address. The terms of service explain how to use it, in a separate paragraph or box.^1,2

Mid-contract, your provider cannot change the length, or the price beyond what the EFL allows. It can change other terms with written notice at least 14 days ahead. That notice must say that if you do not accept the new terms, you may end the contract with no termination penalty for 14 days from the date it is sent.¹

The notice must also say, in bold, that starting service with another provider may take up to seven business days. Act early in the 14 days.¹

A month-to-month plan has no early termination fee by rule: a month-to-month contract runs 31 days or less and "may not contain a termination fee or penalty." For homes, a variable-price plan can only be month-to-month, so it carries no fee either.¹

The trade-off is the price: a variable price can change by a method the provider sets, and the EFL says whether and how. A fixed-rate plan runs at least three months, and its EFL answers yes or no on a termination fee, so read that row before you assume either way.¹

For a variable-price plan, the provider must publish the current price and, for homes, a one-year price history on its website and by phone. Each bill must say how to find the price for the next bill.¹

Before you confirm an enrollment online, on a signed form or by phone, the provider must disclose whether the plan has an early termination fee and the amount. Online, you check a box saying you read those disclosures, and the full terms of service must be open to review before you enroll.²

Your terms of service must state how service can be ended and any penalties that may apply, along with the moving right above. The PUCT's FAQ says early termination fees "are disclosed in the customer's Terms of Service and Electric Facts Label."^1,4

Texas rules bar a retail electric provider from charging you a fee to switch to it, except for an off-schedule meter read you request. Charges in the delivery utility's tariff for such a read can be passed on.²

Power to Choose, the PUCT's shopping site, says the same: "There is no switching fee unless you request a special meter reading at a time other than your regularly scheduled meter reading."^6,7

You do not need to tell your old provider you are switching. The new provider starts the switch, ERCOT mails you a confirmation and notifies your old provider. Any early termination fee in your old contract still applies unless one of the five exits above does.⁶

If you are billed a fee you believe the rules bar, raise it with your provider first. If it does not resolve your complaint, the PUCT's Office of Consumer Assistance takes it at 1-888-782-8477.⁸

Paying the fee costs less than staying only when the price gap between the two plans, at your own usage over the months until your window opens, is larger than the fee. Your EFL, bills and notices hold the numbers you need.^1,3,5

1. 1

   Find the fee

   Read the termination fee row of your EFL and the terms of service. They say whether there is a fee and how much.

2. 2

   Find your end date

   On a fixed-rate plan every bill shows it in bold, underlined type. Your provider must also give you the start and end dates on request.

3. 3

   Check the other exits

   A move, a contract change notice within its 14 days, or a month-to-month plan each let you leave with no fee.

4. 4

   Price the months left

   Use each EFL's average price at 500, 1,000 or 2,000 kWh, the level nearest your usage. If the gap until the window opens is larger than the fee, switching now costs less.

5. 5

   Read any pay-off offer

   Some providers offer to pay your old fee. The PUCT tells shoppers to read the terms and conditions of those offers first.

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