Read this before you read anything else
You're month-to-month or on a variable rate
Switch now. Not next month. Variable rates float up quietly — most people don't notice until a summer bill doubles. There's no contract holding you, so there's nothing to wait for.
Your contract ends in the next 60 days
This is the sweet spot. You can lock a new plan now and schedule it to start the day the old one ends — zero overlap, zero early-termination fee, zero gap in service.
You're locked into a contract for another 6+ months
Usually you wait — unless the early-termination-fee math says otherwise. We walk through exactly when eating the fee still wins below.
How season actually moves the price
Texas wholesale power is a supply-and-demand market. When everyone's AC runs at once, prices spike. That rhythm is predictable — and providers price their fixed plans around it.
The contract-end play, step by step
The one timing move that beats every seasonal guess. Do this and you never get dumped onto a month-to-month holdover rate.
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Find your contract end date
It's on your Electricity Facts Label and your last bill. If you can't find it, our Renewal Checker reads it for you.
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Shop 30–45 days before it ends
Enough runway to compare honestly, not so early that rates move on you. Price every plan at your real usage — not the advertised 1,000 kWh fantasy.
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Schedule the start for your end date
Texas lets you pick a future start date. Set the new plan to begin the day the old one ends. No overlap, no ETF, no gap.
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Set a reminder for next time
Contracts renew silently. We ping you before the next one expires so you never coast onto a holdover rate again.
When paying the early-termination fee still wins
Providers count on you treating the ETF as a wall. Sometimes it's a speed bump. Here's the only calculation that matters.
Ride the contract out
- You have 8+ months left on a decent fixed rate
- Your current rate is within ~1¢/kWh of today's best offer
- The ETF is $150–$300 and monthly savings are small
- Waiting it out costs you almost nothing
Eat the fee and win
- You're on a variable rate that jumped after a teaser period
- A new plan saves you $40+/month at your usage
- Months left × monthly savings > the ETF
- Example: $200 ETF, but $45/mo saved × 6 months = $270 kept
The renewal-letter trap
About 60 days before your contract ends, your provider mails a renewal notice. It looks like a courtesy. It's a trap. The 'renewal rate' they offer is almost always higher than what a new customer pays for the exact same plan — sometimes 3–4¢/kWh higher. Do nothing and you either roll onto that inflated renewal or drop to a month-to-month variable rate that can be double. The letter is designed to make ignoring it feel safe. It isn't.
Straight answers
For locking a new long-term fixed rate, usually yes — providers price summer offers high because wholesale demand is high. But 'worst time to sign a fresh 12-month term' is not the same as 'never switch in summer.' If you're bleeding a variable rate in July, switching to any reasonable fixed plan still stops the bleeding. Timing the season is the tiebreaker; getting off a bad rate is the rule.
30 to 45 days. That's enough to compare carefully and schedule the switch for your exact end date, without signing so early that better rates appear before you start. Shop earlier than 60 days and you're guessing at a market that will move.
No. Switching providers is not a credit event, and your lights never go out — the same wires deliver your power no matter who bills you. The only cost of leaving early is the early-termination fee in your contract, which we help you weigh against the savings.
Almost never without checking. Renewal offers are usually priced above what the same provider charges new customers for the identical plan. Compare it against the open market first — if their renewal happens to win, great, but make them earn it. Loyalty is not rewarded in this market; it's billed.
Not sure where your contract stands? Find out in five minutes.
Enter your ZIP and we'll price every plan at your actual usage. If your current plan is already the best one, we'll tell you to stay put — and remind you before it expires.
Tools that answer the timing question
My contract is about to end and I don’t trust the renewal offer
The Renewal Checker reads your contract end date and compares your renewal against the open market.
Check my renewalI want to see every plan priced at what I actually use
Compare plans ranked by your true annual cost — fees and traps included, not the advertised rate.
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