POWER LINES
“Call us first” Going solar? Your co-op’s trusted advisors should be involved early on. BY JEFF MCCALLISTER
Nick and Amanda Kelly knew they were making a long-term investment, one they hoped would benefit not only their wallets, but the entire planet. After a search they had begun to think would never end, they finally found their dream house on an ideal parcel of land in north-central Ohio. As they settled in, they began seeing advertisements for the installation of solar panels that sounded almost too good to be true. “It was perfect,” Amanda Kelly says. “We could get a system with no money out of pocket that would save us money on our bills now, and by selling the extra electricity the panels generated, we’d even have a small income stream — especially once we paid off the loan. Saving money, saving the planet for our kids — it was everything we wanted.” Today, the Kellys are in a battle with the solar company to get the panels removed and their investment returned. The salesperson, they say, wildly exaggerated the production potential of their system and subtly pressured them into signing a contract before they had a chance to investigate all the details and promises of the deal. Now, between the loan payment and their regular electric bill, the total they spend each month for electricity has quadrupled. “It’s like most things that sound too good to be true,” says Andrew Finton, energy advisor for North Central Electric Cooperative, of which the Kellys are members. “The solar company either didn’t have or didn’t give them any information that is specific to connecting to the (co-op) system, and it would have made a big difference — things like our on- and off-peak rates and our demand charge that are designed to make our billing fair to all of our members. The numbers they were using to estimate the savings on their bill weren’t even close to real life.”
The co-op’s message: “Talk to us first.” “People somehow think that we might be anti-solar because we sell our own electricity,” Finton says. “They don’t remember that we’re not for profit, that we have always been their trusted energy advisors. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into someone’s home and showed them all kinds of ways that they could use less electricity. How many for-profit companies teach their customers how to use less of their product? Not very many. “Those solar companies like to get that contract signed before the member even has a chance to talk to us about it, and then it might be too late,” he says. “I would never tell anyone they can’t get solar panels for their home; I just want to make sure they have all the information they need to make a good decision.” 4 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • JUNE 2020
