Your new provider handles the switch, and your power stays on. Here is what to check first and what to expect.
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View All Plans →In most of Texas, you choose the company you buy electricity from, and you can switch to a different one when you find a plan that suits your home better. That choice goes back to a 1999 state law that opened most of the state’s market to competition.
Not every Texan has that choice. Some areas were never required to open up, such as places served by a city-owned utility or an electric cooperative, and customers there may not be able to pick a provider. Across most of the state, though, the options are plentiful, and that’s where it can get confusing. If you’re new to Texas or have never switched before, the number of plans, the contract terms and the talk of cancellation fees can make it seem like a bigger deal than it is.
Switching is actually pretty simple, and it won’t interrupt your power. Two companies are involved in your electricity. The provider you choose sets your price and sends your bill. Your local utility, which depends on your address, maintains the poles and wires, reads your meter and handles outages. When you switch, only the provider changes. The utility keeps delivering power the same way it always has, so your service is just as reliable as before.
Before you start shopping, take a few minutes to look at the plan you already have.
You can change plans or providers whenever you like. What you need to know first is whether leaving your current plan will cost you anything.
Find your contract end date. It should be in your contract documents. If you can’t find it, ask your provider, which is required to give you the start and end dates. If you’re on a fixed-rate contract, your provider also has to send written notices as the end date gets close, the last one at least 30 days ahead (for contracts longer than four months).
Check for an early termination fee. If your plan has a cancellation fee, it’s listed on your plan’s Electricity Facts Label and in your terms of service. If your contract has already ended and you didn’t sign up for anything new, you were moved to a month-to-month plan that you can cancel any time at no charge.
Weigh the fee against the savings. A fee doesn’t automatically mean you should stay put. It means you have some math to do. Say your contract has a $150 cancellation fee and five months left, and a new plan would save you about $20 a month. That’s $100 in savings against a $150 fee, so waiting until your contract ends makes more sense. If the new plan saved you $40 a month, switching now would come out ahead. (These numbers are made up to show the idea. Use your own.)
Also keep in mind that a fee listed on paper isn’t always a fee you’ll pay. If your contract is close to ending, you’re moving, or your provider has changed your terms, you may be able to leave without it. The last section of this page covers those situations.
Your electric bills show how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) you used each month. Look at several months, including at least one high-usage month. A plan that looks cheap at low usage can look very different when your usage climbs, so you want a realistic picture of your household before you compare anything.
Every plan comes with an Electricity Facts Label, and it’s the best tool you have for comparing them. For residential plans, the label shows the average price per kWh at three usage levels: 500, 1,000 and 2,000 kWh a month.
That average price is the number to compare, not the energy rate a plan advertises. It includes the plan’s recurring charges and the utility’s delivery charges along with the energy rate (taxes aren’t included), so it’s much closer to what you’ll actually pay. Find the usage level closest to yours and compare plans at that level. Check the contract length on the label too, so you know what you’re committing to before you sign up. Our guide on how to read an Electricity Facts Label walks through each line.
Once you’ve picked a plan, you can sign up online, by phone or by mail. The provider will ask for your service address and may ask for your ESI ID, a number that identifies your home’s electric service. You’ll find it on your electric bill.
The new provider may require you to establish credit before it serves you, and it may ask for a deposit. If you paid a deposit to your old provider, it can be transferred to the new one or refunded to you with interest, depending on what you and the two providers agree. The old provider may subtract anything you still owe it.
You don’t need to call your current provider to cancel. Your new provider takes care of the switch. It happens within seven business days of signing up, or around the start date you requested if you picked one. The exact day depends on the utility’s schedule, so treat it as approximate.
Switching itself doesn’t cost anything. The only exception is if you ask for a special meter reading outside your utility’s regular schedule. An early termination fee on your old contract is a separate matter: if one applies when you leave, you’re still responsible for it.
After you sign up, your new provider will send you a confirmation and its terms of service. Read them. If you change your mind, you can cancel the switch with no fee or penalty within three federal business days after you receive the terms of service.
You’ll also get a notice in the mail confirming the switch and naming the provider that requested it. If that notice names a provider you didn’t choose, take it seriously. No provider is allowed to switch you without your permission.
Your old provider bills you for service up until the switch takes effect. Your first bill from the new provider arrives with your next billing cycle.
If your current plan has an early termination fee, these are the main situations where you can leave without paying it.
Your contract is about to end. If you’re a residential customer, you can switch without the fee as long as the switch happens no earlier than 14 days before the contract end date shown in your expiration notice. The notice is required to tell you this. Some contracts end at “the first meter reading on or after” a certain date. In that case, count the 14 days back from the date stated.
Your provider changes your contract terms. If your provider notifies you of a change to your contract and you don’t want to accept it, you have 14 days from the date the notice was sent to leave without a fee.
You’re moving. Your contract doesn’t follow you to a new home. You won’t owe an early termination fee if you give your provider a forwarding address and, if they ask for it, proof that you moved.
Texas electricity plans can be difficult to compare. Power Texas brings rates, providers, plan details, and helpful information together so you can understand your options and choose an electricity plan with confidence.
Whether you want to shop on your own or have questions along the way, our goal is to make finding electricity simpler.
Learn more about Power Texas →
Power Texas may receive compensation from electricity providers when customers enroll through our marketplace. However, commissions, advertising relationships, and other commercial arrangements do not determine our editorial content or recommendations.
Our recommendations are based on our independent assessment of the Texas electricity market and the information we believe is most useful to consumers.
The rules and consumer guidance behind this page come from the Public Utility Commission of Texas. We last checked them on October 1, 2026.
PUC Electricity FAQs; Power to Choose FAQ; 16 TAC §25.474, Selection of Retail Electric Provider; §25.475, General Retail Electric Provider Requirements and Information Disclosures; §25.478, Credit Requirements and Deposits; §25.480, Bill Payment and Adjustments.
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