Am I Locked Into an Energy Contract in Alberta? How to Check, and What Leaving Costs
Short answer: check the Cancellation Information section of the contract you signed. That
one section tells you your term end date and your exit fee. If you have never signed with a
competitive retailer, you are not locked into anything — you are on the Rate of Last Resort
and free to leave today.
This is the question we are asked most often, usually phrased as “am I stuck with
them?” It deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch, so here is how to find out in
about five minutes.
1Work out whether you are on a contract at all
Plenty of Albertans who think they are locked in never signed anything. If you have only ever
been billed by the default provider for your area, you are on the Rate of Last Resort, which has no term
and no exit fee — and, at 12.01 to 12.06¢/kWh through December 31, 2026, is almost
certainly the most expensive electricity available to you.
| What you are on | Locked in? | Cost to leave |
|---|---|---|
| Rate of Last Resort (never signed a contract) | No | Nothing |
| Competitive retailer, no-term or variable plan | Usually no | Usually nothing — confirm in writing |
| Competitive retailer, fixed-term contract | Yes, until the term ends | Whatever the exit fee clause says — flat, or per month remaining |
| Within 10 days of signing anything | No | Nothing — cooling-off period |
2Ask your current retailer two questions, separately
Ask “what is my contract end date?” and “what would I pay to cancel
today?” as two distinct questions, and ask for the answers in writing or by email. They are
often answered vaguely together, and the second one is the number that actually matters. Exit fee
structures vary far more between Alberta retailers than the headline rate does.
3The cooling-off period, if you just signed
Every competitive retailer in Alberta must give you a cooling-off period of ten calendar
days from when they receive your signed contract, during which you can cancel for any
reason, without penalty. Contracts signed at your door or over the phone carry additional
cancellation rights under Alberta’s consumer protection rules. If a salesperson has pressured you
into signing something recently, you are very likely still inside a window where you can walk away
at no cost.
What switching does not do
- It does not interrupt your service. The wires and pipes belong to your
distribution company, not your retailer. Nobody comes to your house and nothing is shut off. - It does not change your delivery charges. Those are regulated and identical
whichever retailer you choose. Only the energy portion of your bill is competitive. - It does not happen instantly. The Utilities Consumer Advocate puts the switch
window at 10 to 90 calendar days, effective on a meter read. You pay your old retailer until
then.
Where Get Energy stands
| Exit or cancellation fee | None, on any plan |
| Setup fee | None |
| Term required | None — fixed and variable plans are both available without a lock-in |
| Changing your rate later | Free. Variable customers can use RateRewindRateRewind™trade; to move to a fixed rate and backdate it to their last meter read, once per billing cycle |
We would rather you stay because the price is right than because leaving is expensive.
Related reading
No-contract energy providers in
Alberta ·
The best time to switch
energy provider ·
Should I lock in my energy
rate? ·
The Rate of Last Resort explained
Not sure what your contract says? Send us the bill
Send a photo of your current bill through Bill
Check and we will send back a line-by-line read of it — your rate, your fees, your usage
— whether or not you switch. If it shows a term contract, we will tell you that too. Call or
text (780) 665-4771 and you reach our own team in Fort McMurray.
Sources
- Utilities Consumer Advocate — How to switch energy retailers (exit fees, ten-day cooling-off period, 10 to 90 day switch window) — retrieved September 14, 2026.
- Service Alberta — Consumer Tips: Electricity and Natural Gas Contracts — retrieved September 14, 2026.
- Alberta Utilities Commission — Rate of Last Resort and regulated delivery charges — retrieved September 14, 2026.
Get Energy is a competitive retailer offering electricity and natural gas services for
residential, small business, and farm consumers across Alberta. Get Energy is a tradename of Utility
Network & Partners Inc.
Prices move week to week. Our Alberta Energy Market Report tracks wholesale power prices, the natural gas reference price and retail rate movement every Monday.