FLUX
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When your term ends, read the fine print.

A low first-year rate is only half the deal. The renewal clause decides what you pay after it. Here is what that clause can do, what to check in yours, and what we do instead.
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Every fixed energy contract says what happens the day the term ends. Some move you to a variable rate. Some end and send you back to the default rate. Some renew you onto a new fixed term unless you act, and that term can be longer and pricier than the one you signed. A retailer that renews this way can afford a very low first year, because it is counting on you to miss the date. Check your renewal clause before you compare headline rates.

The day your term ends

Three ways it can go.

  1. Outcome 01

    You roll onto a variable rate.

    Your fixed rate ends and you pay the retailer's variable rate, which follows the market each month. You can usually pick a new fixed rate or leave whenever you like. This is the outcome that costs you least for forgetting.

  2. Watch for this one

    You are renewed onto a new fixed term.

    Doing nothing counts as saying yes. The new term can be longer than the one you signed, at a rate set the day it renews rather than the rate that won you over, and it can carry its own exit fee. This is the outcome to look for.

  3. Outcome 03

    The contract simply ends.

    Some contracts end with the term and your site goes back to your area's default supplier and its default rate, until you choose a retailer again.

Five minutes with your contract

What to check in your renewal clause.

Pull up your current contract or terms and conditions. Most retailers post them on their website. These five answers tell you what your rate really is.

  • 1.The date your term ends
    It is on your welcome package, your contract, or often a bill. Put a reminder in your calendar two months before it.
  • 2.What you move onto if you do nothing
    Look for words like renewal, expiry, or continuation. The clause should say which plan follows, at what rate, and for how long.
  • 3.Whether doing nothing counts as yes
    If the contract renews unless you act, the low rate you signed for was the opening offer, not the deal.
  • 4.How you will be told
    Find out how much notice you get before the term ends and how it arrives. A message printed on a bill is easy to miss.
  • 5.The exit fee on the renewed term
    A renewed term can carry its own cancellation fee, often per site and per fuel. If you were renewed without noticing, that fee is what it costs to undo.
How FLUX works

Forget to renew and nothing bad happens.

We built FLUX because the renewal trap is the business model for so much of this industry. Our contract is written for the customer who forgets.

At least 60 days before your term ends, we write to you with the date it ends, the plan and rate that follow, and a new fixed-term offer when one is available. If you want it, accept it. If you do nothing on a fixed electricity or natural gas plan, you continue on our posted variable rate. No new fixed term, and no exit fee on any plan. If you do nothing on SunWise, you stay on SunWise for another 12 months at the posted solar rates.

Questions we hear at renewal time

Renewals, answered straight.

Because the first year is not where the money is. A low rate wins the switch. If the contract renews you onto a longer fixed term at a higher rate when you miss the renewal, the years after the first pay for it. Read the renewal clause before you compare headline rates.
Start with your contract. Find the renewal clause, the rate and length of the term you are on now, and the exit fee for leaving it. Some contracts give you a window after a renewal to change your mind, so check for that first. Then you can weigh the fee against what the higher rate costs you over the rest of the term.
At least 60 days before your term ends we send you a notice with the end date, the plan and rate that follow, and a new fixed-term offer when one is available. Accept it and you are on the new term. Do nothing and you continue on our posted variable rate for that fuel, with no new term and no exit fee. It is Section 8.3 of our Terms and Conditions.
No. A new fixed term only starts if you accept one. Doing nothing never locks you in.
You continue on SunWise for another 12 months at the posted SunWise HI and LO rates, with no exit fee. A solar home belongs on the solar rate, so we keep you on it.
It only works when the customer loses. We would rather earn the renewal than catch it, so our contract is written for the customer who forgets.

FLUX facts on this page come from our Terms and Conditions (Section 8.3, Renewal). Other retailers' renewal terms differ and change; your own contract is the only reliable source for yours. Thinking about a change? See how to switch retailers in Alberta.

No renewal trap

A rate you can forget about. Safely.

See our posted rates and sign up in minutes. When your term ends, we write first.

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