The Maine Office of Public Advocate is warning community solar companies against making “misleading” appeals to people who receive benefits from the state’s low-income assistance program for electricity.
Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said at least one company is offering 20% electric bill discounts to electric customers if they subscribe in a community solar program.
But after a change to the Low Income Assistance Program this year, those customers could receive up to 80% off their monthly bill based on income eligibility, Sanborn said. The way that community solar billing works, those people could lose out on the full benefits they might receive if they remained ordinary electric customers, Sanborn added.
“We want to make sure that if folks … target marketing to low-income customers, they are actually providing a better offer for those customers than what those customers would have received if they hadn’t signed up,” Sanborn said.
In a letter to about a dozen community solar companies, Sanborn said they should stop advertising to people enrolled in low-income program unless they could provide a discount at least equal to what the program provides.
The marketing may constitute an unfair trade practice prohibited under state utility rules, and if companies fail to comply, the public advocate may seek enforcement action at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, Sanborn said in the letter.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.