McKee signs bill cracking down on solar retailers

(The Center Square) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has set new restrictions on retail solar businesses amid claims that they use deceptive practices to lure energy consumers into costly contracts.

McKee signed into law a bill on Wednesday that requires residential solar companies to register annually with the state Department of Business Regulation, which would have the authority to investigate complaints and impose administrative fines, revoke registrations and order violators to cease and desist.

Companies would be required to conduct criminal background checks on "principal" sales representatives and follow local restrictions on door-to-door sales and federal telemarketing rules.

McKee, a Democrat, said the new requirements will make sure that "the pitches families are receiving from salespeople in this emerging industry deliver what they promise."

Lawmakers echoed similar concerns about the need for the protections, saying they will protect the state's energy consumers while allowing the solar industry to grow.

“Residential solar panels are an opportunity for Rhode Islanders to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on their electricity bill," House Deputy Majority Whip Mia Ackerman, a Democrat, said in a statement. "However, the recent explosion of door-to-door solar panel sales have created a customer protection issue that the legislature must address."

Another sponsor of the legislation, state Sen. Jake Bissaillon, D-Providence, said the new requirements will "provide Rhode Islanders confidence in the deal they are being offered and ensure that only those who are being honest with consumers can get a foothold in Rhode Island’s solar industry."

"Rooftop solar benefits homeowners while also contributing to the clean energy transition that Rhode Island very much needs," he said. "Our state cannot afford to have a few bad actors destroy the public’s trust and slow down solar adoption."

Solar companies have proliferated as the state has pushed for more homeowners to install solar rooftop arrays to conserve energy and foster the growth of the green industry.

But critics say some solar businesses use high-pressure tactics and deceptive door-to-door marketing to dupe largely poor and elderly consumers into signing contracts that end up costing them more than they expected.

Several residential solar companies are under investigation by the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office, which says consumer solar complaints have jumped at least 100% between 2022 and 2023.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha welcomed the bill's passage, saying the new requirements and ongoing legal actions by the AG's office will "ensure that when Rhode Islanders invest in solar panels, their money goes to green energy rather than lining the pockets of unscrupulous brokers."