MEET THE 2024-2025 CEREMONIAL QUEEN! COMMUNITY, C1
Gallup Sun VOL 10 | ISSUE 491
www.gallupsun.com
August 23, 2024
Hoodwinked!
GALLUP SOLAR WARNS CUSTOMERS OF COMPANIES RUNNING A SOLAR PANEL SCAM
By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor
M
ore a nd more homeow ners across the country are turning to solar energy to keep the lights on. As of 2024, 4.2 million single-family homes are equipped with solar installations out of the 84.69 million eligible homes. The switch can lead to some major savings for the average homeowner — anywhere from $28,000 $120,000 over the lifespan of a solar panel system, depending on an area’s electricity costs. Accord i n g t o t he President of Gallup Solar Bill Bright, the average Gallup citizen pays over $100 a month in electrical bills. He said that with a solar panel, the electrical bill can go down to about $80 a month. A household can save an average of $20,000 over the lifespan of a solar panel system. But Bright also wants people to know that there are some risks when it comes to installing solar panels. Ga l lup S ol a r a nd Bright recently learned of a scam going on around the McK inley County community where salespeople are showing up to peoples’ doorsteps and encouraging them to go solar and allow a company to install solar panels. The solar panels work fine and provide electricity to the homes, but the homeowners eventually learn one major flaw: they’re not seeing a reduction in their electricity bill, which is one of the perks of installing solar panels for a homeowner. “It’s unfortunately happening across the U.S,” Bright said. “I”ve b e e n he a r i n g new s about it. [It’s] corruption, which is rampant in our country with retailers and contractors unfortunately. And they’ve moved into the solar industry.” When an electrician installs a solar panel system at a house or business, they are supposed to fill out a permit application and send it to the city. Without that application, the city can’t give the homeowner or business a special meter that tracks how much energy the panels are producing and using Soon after the
installers have been paid and leave, the home and business owners realize something is amiss when they look at their electrical bills and don’t notice any changes. BETHANY CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH GETS SCAMMED Rick K r uis k nows what Bright is talking about all too well. He is a deacon at the Bethany Christian Reformed Church, and in September he recom mended that they put solar panels on the chu rch’s pa r s on a ge, which is a house provided for the church’s clergy. Kruis felt confident in the project because he’d had it done to his own home and he’d gotten solar panels put on the church. “It’s sort of my ambition to be able to tell my grandchildren I did something for this climate crisis we have,” Kruis said. "I'm trying to promote solar anywhere I can.” After a recommendation from a friend, Kruis checked out the company SunPower. He liked what he saw — the company allegedly had an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and they were ranked the #1 residential solar panel installer in the country. The project was eventually subcontracted out to a company called Jag Inc. And Kruis said that’s
September, a nd they came out and began the project in early October. Kruis said they wrapped it up by the end of that month. The contractors left, and everything seemed to be fine. Until Kruis was alerted to the problem with the parsonage’s electric bill: nothing had changed. It didn’t take Kruis long to realize the contractors hadn’t submitted a permit to the city. “It only costs $160 [to submit the permit], but I think maybe the permitting process was intimidating to them,” Kruis
President of Gallup Solar Bill Bright representative eventually emailed Kruis and told him that Jag Inc. actually doesn’t have a contract with them, they merely supply the company with the necessary equipment. K r u i se event u a l ly realized he needed to get another entity involved, so he h a d t he New Mexico State Electrical Inspectors come out and take a look at the parsonage. The inspector confirmed that Jag Inc. had installed the solar panels correctly. But that still didn’t solve the permit problem. The church is still paying full price for electricity because the city can’t inspect the solar panel without a permit. Kruis said he may have a solution though: he has an electrician friend who has helped him with permits in the past. He said his friend isn’t a big fan of permits either, but they have a system where Kruis fills the paperwork out and then his friend files it under his LLC. Chu rch member s donated a total of $19,000 to get this project completed, and now Kruis
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nfortunately we don’t Contact Berlinda (505) 488-2344 have any dedicated solar engineers in Gallup orberlinda@gallupliving.com the surrounding area. They’re 309 E. Nizhoni Blvd mostly coming from the Rio Gallup NM 87301 Grande corner, mostly from Albuquerque and Santa Fe. They’re coming over here and bringing their own electricians and doing a good job, but taking all the money out of our economy.” President of Gallup Solar Bill Bright where things went wrong. “I was duped because I had so much confidence in the supposed parent compa ny that I took things for granted,” Kruis said. The church signed a contract with Jag in
said. Kruis said he called SunPower and Jag Inc., and at first the representatives were responsive and kind. But they weren’t forthcoming about finalizing the permit. A SunPower
says he feels embarrassed for even suggesting the project. THE PROBLEM CLOSE TO HOME Unfortunately, Larry Foster knows the type of pain Kruis is going through. About 18 months ago, a man came knocking on Foster’s door and told him about the benefits of solar energy, specifically explaining that he could save a lot of money on his electrical bills. Foster said he knew the man and his family, so there was a sense of trust there. He went ahead and signed a contract with a company called GoodLeap
LLC, which is based out of Oregon. H o w e v e r , GoodLeapLLC is just the middleman. They set Foster up with a plan for $15,000 and put him in contact with a New Mexico company called My Solar. My Solar gets their equipment from Add on Electric. Once they had the equipment they came out to Foster’s house and began the work. But Foster soon realized they didn’t do everything they were supposed to, and similar to Kruis, they left without filing a
See SOLAR PANELS, Page A3
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