If you entered into a contract which did not provide for automatic renewals and you did not consent to a renewal, you should have been released from your commitment to pay a fixed rate and returned to your natural gas distributor's prevailing rate, which tends to fluctuate from month to month. A quick way to determine this is to look at your natural gas bill from a time after your contract should have expired. For example, if you entered into a five year contract which took effect in February of 2003, look at a bill from March 2008 or later. If the bill, under "Details about your new gas charges", says "For questions about your gas commodity contract call Direct Energy", you are still under contract. Also, under a renewal contract your natural gas supply rate would likely have been an amount such as $0.399 or $0.499 per cubic meter during 2008-9, rather than a figure like $0.263952.
If you call Direct Energy Customer Care at 1-800-348-2999, they should be able to tell you when your contract was renewed and when it will expire, and whether termination fees would apply if you were to cancel your contract. Again, if your contract does not provide for automatic renewals and you did not consent to a renewal, it should not have been renewed and, if it was, you are entitled to a refund.
