Paying for Solar and Still Getting an Electric Bill? Here's Why

We expected the power bill to be cut. Instead it's never changed.

Kelly Stricklin, Weaverville, N.C., to WLOS News 13

Short answer: Rooftop solar almost never makes a grid-connected home's electric bill disappear. Fixed utility charges, low credits for exported power, nighttime use, and production shortfalls leave a remaining bill, and the solar loan or lease payment sits on top of it. If your combined total is higher than your old bill, the question is whether you were told something different, and whether the paperwork backs that up.

That is how Kelly Stricklin of Weaverville, North Carolina, described his solar system to WLOS News 13 in October 2022. He said he paid about $50,000 for 16 panels sold by Pink Energy, saw no savings, and fell behind on the loan, which hurt his credit.

He is not an outlier. Every homeowner below told their story to a reporter or a state attorney general:

• Liz Childs, Candler, North Carolina. She told WLOS she was promised her electric bill would drop by about 60%. Instead, her bill went from about $300 the September before solar to $415 with panels, while she paid on a loan of almost $60,000 over 25 years. Utility data showed her system had generated zero kilowatt-hours in recent months. Pink Energy blamed product failures by its equipment supplier, Generac.
• Ona Armstrong, West Asheville. She told the same station she was promised about 70% off her bill and averaged closer to 20%, while paying what she called an extra mortgage.
• A senior on a fixed income, Florida Treasure Coast. He told WPTV in 2026 that he is locked into a $60,000, 25-year loan and pays nearly double what he paid before.
• A Florida couple, same report. Still paying off $39,000 in panels that they said never lowered electric bills of nearly $300 a month. They said the system stopped working in November 2024.

The Texas numbers say the same thing at scale. A San Antonio Express-News analysis of complaints to the Texas attorney general, quoted by a Houston law firm, found that in more than half of the cases it examined, homeowners were making payments on systems that were unfinished, faulty, or never worked. Another 28% said their systems made much less power than promised, usually not enough to cover the monthly solar payment.

This guide explains where the second bill comes from, how to calculate what solar is actually costing you, and how to tell a disappointing result apart from a misrepresented one. It is informational, not legal or financial advice.

What You Hear vs. What the Record Shows

These are the lines that come up again and again in sales pitches and in homeowner posts online. Here is how each holds up.

Key Takeaways

• The utility bill does not go to zero. Most utilities keep a fixed monthly customer charge that solar cannot offset, and many credit exported solar power at less than the retail rate.
• Your real cost is two numbers added together. Solar payment plus remaining utility bill, compared with what you paid before solar for the same months.
• "Your bill will be zero" is a specific claim. If a salesperson said it, or a proposal showed it, write down when and how, and keep the document.
• A dead or underperforming system makes everything worse. If production stopped, you are paying full utility rates and the loan at the same time.
• Do not stop paying first. Build the record, dispute in writing, and get advice before you default.

The "Bill Swap" Pitch, Explained

Door-to-door solar pitches often present the deal as a swap: your utility bill goes away and a slightly smaller solar payment replaces it. That framing hides three things.

1. The utility bill rarely goes away. You still pay the fixed connection charges, plus any power you draw from the grid at night or on cloudy days that your credits do not cover.
2. The solar payment is often inflated. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's August 2024 solar financing report found that hidden "dealer fees" can make a solar loan cost 30% or more above the system's cash price, and that lenders often leave those fees out of the APR. Our solar dealer fees explainer walks through how that shows up on paper.
3. The payment lasts 20 to 25 years. The utility bill you were trying to escape could change in either direction over that time. Your loan payment usually does not, unless it jumps when an assumed tax-credit paydown never happens (see why solar loan payments jump at month 18).

A worked example (illustrative numbers)

The figures below are hypothetical, chosen only to show how the math works. Use your own bills.

The $55 remaining utility bill is not unusual. It can come from a fixed charge, a summer of air conditioning after sunset, and export credits that are worth less than the power you buy back. And if the system was down for three months, that bill could look like your old one.

Why You Still Get an Electric Bill With Solar

1. Fixed monthly charges solar cannot touch

Almost every utility charges a monthly customer or "base" charge just for being connected. Solar credits typically cannot reduce it. California is a current example: the California Public Utilities Commission approved an income-graduated fixed charge in May 2024, set at $24.15 a month for most residential customers, and the large investor-owned utilities began applying it between late 2025 and early 2026 (pv magazine coverage of the CPUC decision). A proposal that promised a $0 bill in that territory was wrong on day one.

2. Exported power is credited for less than you pay for grid power

Under traditional net metering, every kilowatt-hour you sent to the grid offset one you bought. Many states and utilities have moved away from that. California's net billing tariff, for example, credits exports at much lower rates than retail (CPUC net billing overview). Homeowners who signed while the old rules applied, or who were sold on the old math after the rules changed, describe the drop as the moment the deal stopped working. See net metering changes and what they mean.

3. The system produces less than the proposal said

Shading, roof orientation, an undersized array, panel mismatch, or a failed inverter can all cut production. Compare the proposal's annual kWh estimate with your monitoring app and with an independent estimate from NREL's free PVWatts calculator. If the app itself stopped reporting, use this guide to proving production without the app.

4. The system is not on at all

Some homeowners start loan payments before the system has permission to operate, or after it quietly fails. Every month the system is off, you pay the full utility bill and the solar payment. If that is your situation, read solar loan payments before permission to operate.

5. Your usage grew

An electric vehicle, a new heat pump, a pool, or an extra person in the house can raise usage beyond what the system was sized for. That is not the installer's fault unless they sized the system using made-up usage or ignored information you gave them.

6. Annual true-up and time-of-use rates

On some plans, the real bill arrives once a year at "true-up," when months of small charges and credits are reconciled. Others price power by time of day, so evening use costs more just as solar production falls off. If a large annual bill caught you off guard, see true-up shock.

Find Your Cause: Symptom-to-Document Table

Is It a Bad Deal or a Broken Promise?

A deal can be expensive and disappointing without anyone lying. It becomes something you can dispute when the evidence shows a specific false statement or omission that mattered to your decision. Look for these:

• A written savings figure. A proposal or tablet screen showing your bill at $0, or showing savings that ignore the fixed charge you were always going to pay.
• A production estimate the system never came close to. Especially if the design ignored obvious shading or used panels other than the ones on the contract (see installer used different panels).
• A tax-credit assumption baked into the payment. If your loan only "works" after a lump-sum paydown from a credit you were told you would get, and you did not qualify, that is a real problem.
• Oral promises with a paper trail. Texts, emails, a recording, a family member who was in the room, or notes written the same day.
• A system that was never finished or never turned on. Paying for a product you did not receive is different from being unhappy with the return.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's report specifically flagged exaggerated savings claims and misleading statements about what consumers will pay as major risks in solar lending. The Federal Trade Commission's solar scam alert warns about the same pitch: promises that the panels will eliminate your bill or pay for themselves. For a deeper look at how misstatements turn into claims, read solar misrepresentation claims.

What the Reporting Shows

Complaint volume keeps climbing. WPTV reported in 2026 that the Florida attorney general had received nearly 750 complaints against the three solar companies it examined. In Texas, CBS News Texas reported that solar complaints to the attorney general rose from 154 in 2020 to 696 in 2024 (CBS Texas). The Express-News reporter behind the Texas analysis told Texas Standard that many of the people affected were elderly, disabled, sick, or not native English speakers. The Florida solar boom report and the Texas solar boom report cover both states in more detail.

What To Do If Your Total Went Up

1. Pull 12 months of utility bills from before solar and every bill since. Download them from the utility portal. Paper copies get lost.
2. Add the solar payment to each post-solar month. Put both columns side by side. This is the number that matters, not the utility bill alone.
3. Find the proposal and every version of the contract. Look for a projected bill, projected savings, production estimate, and any line that mentions a tax credit or "net cost."
4. Export production data. From the monitoring app, the inverter, or the utility's net meter readings.
5. Write down what you were told. Date, who said it, who else was there. Do it now, while you remember. The solar scam evidence checklist lists what else to save.
6. Send a written dispute to the installer and the lender. Describe the gap between what was promised and what happened, attach the comparison, and ask for a response in writing. If the loan was arranged by the seller, the FTC Holder Rule may let you raise the seller's misconduct against the lender.
7. File complaints. Your state attorney general, the CFPB for the loan, and your state utility commission if the issue is billing or interconnection.
8. Keep paying while you dispute, unless qualified advice says otherwise. Defaulting can bring credit damage and collection activity. See stopping solar payments: credit score risk.

If the company now blames the utility for your bill, use the solar company blames the utility checklist to separate usage, production, and sales claims.

Sources

Reviewed October 10, 2026.

• CFPB, August 2024 Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing, for dealer fees, payment increases, and exaggerated savings claims.
• FTC, August 2024 How to avoid getting burned by solar or clean energy scams.
• CPUC Net energy metering and net billing, and pv magazine, May 2024 coverage of California's fixed-charge decision.
• NREL PVWatts calculator, for independent production estimates.
• WPTV, 2026 Solar panel complaints mount on Treasure Coast.
• Texas Standard, November 2024 Why Texas' solar panel boom was a bust for thousands of customers.
• WLOS News 13, October 2022 Families sink thousands of dollars into solar panels they say don't work.
• San Antonio Express-News complaint analysis, as quoted by El Khoury Law.
• Texas Appleseed, October 2024 New report reveals financial damage from solar panel fraud in Texas.
• CBS News Texas, May 2025 Texas lawmakers attempt to crack down on abuse in solar panel industry.

FAQ

Why do I still have an electric bill if I have solar panels?

Because solar credits usually cannot cover your utility's fixed monthly charge, and because you still buy power from the grid at night and on cloudy days. If your utility credits exported power at less than retail, your daytime surplus will not fully pay for that nighttime use. A remaining bill is normal; a bill as high as before solar is not.

Is it normal for solar plus my electric bill to cost more than before?

It can happen without anyone breaking a rule, for example when usage rises or rates change. But if the system is working as designed and the combined total is higher from the first month, compare the proposal's savings estimate with reality. A large, immediate gap often means the savings projection was unrealistic.

The salesperson said my bill would be zero. Is that illegal?

It depends on what was said, whether it was in writing, and your state's consumer protection law. A promise of a $0 bill is hard to square with fixed utility charges that existed when you signed. Write down exactly what you were told, find any document that repeats it, and treat it as evidence for a dispute or complaint.

How do I prove the system is not producing what was promised?

Compare the proposal's annual production estimate with 12 months of actual production from the monitoring app or utility net meter data. Run your address through NREL's PVWatts as an independent check. Photos of shading and the installed equipment labels help show why the numbers differ.

Can I make the solar company pay my electric bill?

Not usually as a matter of course. Some leases and PPAs include a production guarantee that pays you when output falls short, and some disputes settle with a payment or loan adjustment. If you own the system, your remedy is generally a warranty claim or a claim based on misrepresentation, not an automatic bill credit.

Does the FTC Holder Rule apply to my solar loan?

It may, if the seller arranged the financing or referred you to the lender. The rule lets you raise claims and defenses you have against the seller against the lender holding the loan, generally capped at what you paid. It usually does not apply to leases or power purchase agreements, which are not credit contracts.

Should I stop paying the solar loan until this is fixed?

Not without advice. Missed payments can be reported to credit bureaus and can lead to collections. Dispute in writing first, keep records of every payment, and talk to a qualified professional about your specific contract before you stop paying.

What if my system stopped working and the installer is gone?

You are likely paying both bills in full. Contact the equipment manufacturer about the warranty, notify the lender in writing that the system is down, and read what to do when the inverter dies and the installer is gone.

Get Your Bills and Contract Reviewed

If your solar payment plus your electric bill now costs more than you paid before solar, use the free eligibility review to describe what you were promised and what you are paying. Have your proposal, loan documents, and a year of bills handy.