The best time to renew an electricity contract in Texas is the fall shoulder window of September and October, and inside the 14 days before your current contract ends. That window opened this month with a jolt. On September 12, 2026, TexasPowerCost's daily tracker logged 27 plans withdrawn, 25 plans repriced, and only 2 new plans launched across the Houston, Dallas, and Austin-area markets in a single day. If your contract ends this fall, the shelf you shop from just changed.

Key takeaways

• On September 12, 2026, 27 Texas electricity plans were withdrawn, 25 were repriced, and 2 launched, according to TexasPowerCost. Across September 1 to 13, the tracker counted 56 withdrawals, 358 repricings, and 22 launches.
• Texas retail electric providers must send a residential contract expiration notice at least 30 days before the end date, and you can switch without an early termination fee starting 14 days before that date, per the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
• CenterPoint's per-kWh delivery charge rose 28.3 percent on September 1, 2026, from 4.999 to 6.4130 cents, according to Rhythm Energy. Delivery charges are identical on every plan, so they change your bill, not which plan wins.
• 75 percent of Texas shoppers picked contracts of 12 months or less in 2025, per ElectricityPlans, and the 12- versus 24-month spread is usually under 1 cent per kWh as of September 21, 2026, per TexasPowerCost.
• Choose Texas Power's marketplace data shows August as the cheapest month to buy, at 16.67 cents per kWh as of July 21, 2026 including delivery, and January the most expensive at 17.47 cents.

What happened to Texas electricity plans on September 12, 2026?

On September 12, 2026, retail electric providers withdrew 27 plans, repriced 25, and launched 2 across the Houston, Dallas, and Austin-area markets, according to the TexasPowerCost plan-changes tracker. Counts are by distinct plan, so one plan listed in three utility territories counts once. That was the largest single-day withdrawal count of the month to that point by a wide margin, and it included True Power's 36-month True Value plan in Dallas and Houston.

Here is how the first two weeks of September played out, day by day, per the same tracker:

Add it up and September 1 through 13 produced 56 withdrawals, 358 repricings, and 22 launches. Repricing was the daily norm. Withdrawal came in one burst. My read: providers repriced their way through the first week after the September 1 delivery-rate refresh, then cleared the plans they no longer wanted to sell into fall on September 12.

Why do retail providers pull plans in bulk in September?

Retail electric providers withdraw plans in bulk in September because the regulated delivery rates reset on September 1 and the summer's wholesale costs settle at the same time, so every Electricity Facts Label has to be re-issued anyway. A withdrawal removes an offer for new shoppers. An expiration is the end of your own contract term. The two are different events, and only the second one touches your bill.

Brady Hartung of Rhythm Energy summarized the calendar in the provider's September 1, 2026 delivery-charge update: "The five TDUs in Texas get approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) to change their rates throughout each year, but the largest changes are typically March 1 and September 1."

Summer 2026 gave providers plenty to reprice around. ERCOT recorded an all-time peak demand of 91,134 MW on July 22, 2026, and a weekend record of 90,411 MW on August 23, according to ERCOT's 2026 peak demand records. Those records stay unofficial until final settlement, and that settlement is what providers are pricing into their fall shelf right now.

When is the best time to renew an electricity contract in Texas?

The best time to renew a Texas electricity contract is a shoulder-season month, when statewide demand is moderate and providers are not pricing in peak risk. Rhythm Energy names April, May, September, and October as the months with lower demand and more stable rates. Energy Texas gives the same advice: renew in fall or early spring. The 60 to 90 days before your end date is the practical shopping window, and the final 14 days is the fee-free switching window.

The marketplace data adds a twist. Choose Texas Power's analysis of two years of purchases found that August was the cheapest month to buy, at an average of 16.67 cents per kWh as of July 21, 2026 including delivery, while January was the most expensive at 17.47 cents. At the 1,000 kWh tier, August was cheapest and January dearest. At 500 kWh, December was cheapest and July the most expensive. Author Dominique Coury offered one explanation: shoppers signing up in August "may be more eager to select the cheapest plan available to offset their recent high summer electricity bills."

So which is it, fall or August? Both numbers are real, and they measure different things. Shoulder-season advice describes the offer prices providers post. The Choose Texas Power figure describes what shoppers actually chose. The gap between the two is the discipline of the buyer, not the season.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration measures a third thing: the average price every Texan paid. Texas residential electricity averaged 15.94 cents per kWh in June 2026 (as of August 26, 2026, the latest EIA release), up from 15.26 cents in June 2025, per EIA's Electric Power Monthly. That average blends every contract still running from last year with every new one signed this summer. Timing your renewal controls the offer price you lock, not the statewide average. If you are choosing between plan types before you time the renewal, my guide to fixed-rate versus variable-rate electricity in Texas covers the tradeoff.

The 30-14-0 Renewal Clock: what to do at each mark

The 30-14-0 Renewal Clock is a three-mark checklist built on the Public Utility Commission of Texas rules for residential contract expiration. Day 30 is when your notice must arrive. Day 14 is when you can switch for free. Day 0 is when your contract ends and the default rate takes over.

The PUCT's consumer guidance states the rule directly: "Retail electric providers are required to notify residential customers at least 30 days before a contract expires. The residential customer can switch without incurring an early termination charge if the switch is no earlier than 14 days before the contract expiration date provided in the notice. If the customer takes no action in response to the notice, the REP will serve the customer on a month-to-month product."

1. Day 30 (notice arrives): Pull the renewal offer and your current Electricity Facts Label side by side. Note the end date on the notice. That date, not your last bill date, drives everything that follows.
2. Day 30 to day 15: Shop new-customer offers in your ZIP code at your real usage. Compare the total bill at 1,000 kWh, not the headline rate. My walkthrough on reading the six numbers on a Texas Electricity Facts Label shows where the price cliffs hide.
3. Day 14 (fee-free window opens): Enroll in the winner. A switch requested inside this window carries no early termination fee under the PUCT rule.
4. Day 0 (contract ends): If you did nothing, you are now on the month-to-month product. Treat that as a deadline you missed, not a plan you chose.

What happens if your Texas electricity contract expires and you do nothing?

If your contract expires and you take no action, your provider moves you to a month-to-month product whose price can change every billing cycle. That is the default the PUCT rule describes. Month-to-month products carry no early termination fee, so leaving one costs nothing, but staying on one through a cold snap or a hot spell means paying whatever that month's price turns out to be.

Rebecca Bridges, chief marketing officer at ElectricityPlans and a deregulated-market veteran since 2001, put the risk in calendar terms in the site's 2025 shopping review: "Timing on your renewal matters most. For example, a 6-month contract can give you a low price from December to May. But you'll be shopping again at the start of the summer season, which makes it unlikely you'll retain that low rate."

A holdover rate works the same way in reverse. It floats you into whatever season comes next. A deliberate month-to-month plan, like the one I describe in how Lone Star Flex works, is a bridge you choose. A holdover is a bridge you fell onto.

Your plan got withdrawn from Power to Choose. Now what?

A withdrawal removes the offer for new shoppers. It does not change your existing contract, your rate, or your end date. Your Electricity Facts Label still governs until day 0. What changes is the shelf you will shop from when the 30-day notice lands.

Three moves cover it:

• Find your end date on your last bill or your Terms of Service, then set a reminder 45 days ahead of it.
• When the renewal offer arrives, compare it to current new-customer offers in your ZIP code at your usage. TexasPowerCost's plan-types guide notes that the spread between 12- and 24-month plans is usually under 1 cent per kWh as of September 21, 2026, so the term decision is smaller than the plan decision.
• Read the renewal EFL for usage credits, minimum-usage fees, and base charges. My piece on the five plan tricks that cost Texas households $480 a year lists the ones that show up most.

How much did delivery charges change on September 1, 2026?

Delivery charges changed on September 1, 2026 in every Texas utility territory, and the biggest move was CenterPoint's 28.3 percent per-kWh increase. Delivery charges are regulated by the PUCT, pass through on every plan from every provider, and show up as a separate line on your bill. Here are the per-kWh rates as of September 1, 2026, as reported by Rhythm Energy and Energy Texas:

One note on timing: BKV Energy's delivery-charge history lists Oncor's 6.0295-cent rate as effective August 1, 2026, and AEP Texas Central's decrease as effective August 28, so those two rows reflect the fall level rather than a September 1 step. I covered the Oncor change in why your Oncor delivery charge went down and your bill still went up.

For a Houston home using 1,000 kWh a month, CenterPoint's monthly delivery cost moves from about $54.71 to $69.03, according to BKV Energy's September 2026 analysis. Graham Lumley, BKV's growth product manager, put the impact at about 24 to 27 percent more per month depending on a home's usage. Since every provider passes the same delivery rate through, this raises every renewal offer in Houston by the same amount. It never changes which plan is cheapest.

Should you lock in 12 or 24 months this fall?

Lock in the term that ends in a shoulder month, and let the spread between terms decide the rest. Three quarters of Texas residential shoppers picked a contract of 12 months or less in 2025, and 61 percent chose exactly 12 months, up from 53 percent in 2024, according to ElectricityPlans' 2025 annual review. Long-term contracts saved only 3 to 5 percent, which was not enough to persuade most buyers. The site attributes the shift to the ERCOT wholesale market flipping into contango in August 2025, where near-term power is cheaper than power years out.

The end-date math matters more than the term label. A 12-month plan signed in October ends next October, a shoulder month. A 24-month plan signed in October does the same two years out. A 6-month plan signed now ends in March, which is fine. An 8-month plan lands in May, right at the door of summer, which is the trap Bridges described. If your contract ends in June, July, or August, use the term length to move the next end date, not to chase a fraction of a cent.

Whether the price itself is worth locking is a forward-curve question, and I worked through it in should Texans lock in a fixed rate this August. The short version: with 12- and 24-month spreads under a cent as of September 21, 2026, a fixed rate that ends in the right month beats a slightly lower rate that ends in the wrong one.

Which Ambit plan fits a fall 2026 renewal?

Three Ambit Energy plans map to the three situations a fall renewal creates. Lone Star Classic is the fixed-rate plan for locking a shoulder-season price for a full term. Lone Star Flex is the month-to-month plan with no contract, which works as a deliberate bridge when your current contract ends in a bad month and you want to reach October or March before you commit. Free and Clear Nights fits homes that can shift laundry, dishwashing, and cooling into the free-nights hours. I compared all of them, with rates, terms, and fees, in every Ambit Energy plan compared for 2026, and you can check current pricing in your ZIP code on the Texas electricity rates and plans page.

Rates and plan availability are as of September 22, 2026, vary by service area, and are subject to credit approval. The Electricity Facts Label for each plan has the full pricing and terms.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance does a Texas electricity provider have to notify me before my contract expires?
At least 30 days before the expiration date for residential customers, per the Public Utility Commission of Texas. The notice must state the end date, and that date starts the 14-day fee-free switching window.

Can I switch electricity plans before my contract ends without paying a fee?
Yes, if the switch takes place no earlier than 14 days before the expiration date on your notice. Switching earlier than that can trigger the early termination fee listed on your Electricity Facts Label.

Does a plan being withdrawn from Power to Choose cancel my contract?
No. A withdrawal removes the offer for new customers. Your contract, rate, and end date stay exactly as written in your Terms of Service and Electricity Facts Label.

What is the cheapest month to sign up for electricity in Texas?
Choose Texas Power's marketplace data from the past two years shows August as the cheapest purchase month, at 16.67 cents per kWh as of July 21, 2026 including delivery, and January the most expensive at 17.47 cents. Provider guidance points to the shoulder months of April, May, September, and October for the most stable offer prices.

Is a 24-month plan worth it in fall 2026?
Only if it ends in a shoulder month and the rate is competitive. The spread between 12- and 24-month plans is usually under 1 cent per kWh as of September 21, 2026, per TexasPowerCost, and ElectricityPlans found long-term contracts saved just 3 to 5 percent in 2025.