AG: Be cautious with solar panel sales
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is urging consumers considering installing solar panels on their homes to do careful research and be wary of potentially misleading marketing and high-pressure sales tactics.
Officials in Tong’s office said he has received about 90 complaints regarding the business practices of solar installers over the past five years. Tong made his announcement jointly with Michelle Seagull, the state’s Department of Consumer Protection commissioner.
“Residential solar may help reduce electric bills and dependence on fossil fuels to power our electric grid, but consumers must proceed with caution,” Tong said, adding his office has several active investigations. “Solar power purchase agreements or lease agreements are often longterm, complex, and can be expensive.”
Seagull said homeowners need to “do extensive research, compare costs, understand if your home is suitable for rooftop solar.”
“Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to high pressure sales tactics,” she said.
Among the complaints Tong’s office received were: ⏩ Senior citizens who said
they did not understand the solar contracts they signed. ⏩ Misunderstandings regarding on how solar rebeen bates or credits work.
⏩ Electric bill savings that were less than had promised.
⏩ Damage done to homes during the installation process.
Mike Trahan, executive director of the Connecticut Solar & Storage Association, said in each of the past two legislative sessions, bills that would have revamped the solar transaction process were introduced. Both times, according to Trahan, the bills failed to get enough support.
“We stand ready to work with the legislature, the Attorney General and Department of Consumer Protection to work this out,” he said.
One problem cited by Trahan concerns homeowners who lease the solar panels on their roofs.
“When the homeowner looks to sell the house, they often can’t find the lease or the company that did the lease is no longer to doing business in the state,” he said. “It ends up delaying the sale of the home. We need to come up with a better way, a better process to transfer the lease agreement to the buyer.”
The state’s solar installers have averaged about 5,000 system installations annually over the past several years, according to Trahan.