More regulation needed for solar panel industry, expert says

An Auckland University professor says New Zealand should follow Australia's lead in regulating the solar panel industry.

Complaints to the Utilities Dispute about solar have risen more than 170 percent in the past four years and several high profile providers have collapsed, including Solar Zero, one of the country's largest residential solar businesses.

Professor Alex Sims said New Zealand could take a leaf from across the ditch as an increasing number of people considered getting solar.

"There's been a real push on that, these issues aren't going to go away.

"In Australia, they've got more of a mature uptake of solar because it's been pushed by governments for a number of years.

"They've realised that just leaving it to the normal dispute resolution mechanisms isn't really working. They've got a dedicated body, they've got more regulation, and that's something that New Zealand should really be looking at."

Seeing Solar Zero customers being locked into 20 year contracts that restarted if they moved house sparked her interest in solar providers.

"I've done a lot of work on unfair contract terms, and that just went 'bang' - that is an unfair contract term."

The situation created an imbalance that punished customers for moving house, while giving the company a fresh set of revenue from the same hardware, she said.

"I just thought that's a really good example of something that a) should not be there, but b) that the Commerce Commission should be doing something about."

She said there were a number of variables when it came to considering solar, such as the quality of the materials, whether to lease or buy, and individual circumstances like location and lifestyle.

"It needs to be designed really, really carefully for your site - there's no point having solar panels that will only get the sun in the middle of summer and not in winter."

"And it is really, really complex - it depends on everybody's situation, the tilt of the roof, where they are in the country, the orientation of the house - it's not like you're buying a car and a car is a car wherever you are.

"How many people you've got in the house and are you prepared to make some changes? For example, run your dishwasher and things during the middle of the day, maybe change your freezer, your fridge.

"I can't really think of anything that's so dependent on particular circumstances."

She said while leasing could be an attractive option because it avoided the initial cost of tens of thousands of dollars, it locked people into long term contracts.

Former Solar Zero customers who now had their contracts serviced by SZ Servicing said the terms had altered radically, losing their guaranteed pricing and seeing bills increase sharply.

It also altered the complaints process should a dispute arise - leasing from a solar provider meant consumers could take complaints to the Utilities Dispute, as the companies were providing ongoing electricity, while those who purchased the panels upfront were left with traditional forms of dispute resolution such as the Disputes Tribunal.

Selling a property with leased panels could create issues, she said.

"I've heard reports of people saying that it's more difficult for people to sell their house because the new owner, when they come in to buy it, don't want to have the lease because there's ongoing payments."

Professor Sims said it was crucial to seek word-of-mouth recommendations and scrutinise contracts before opting for solar.

"Shop around and ask people. If you've got friends or family that have got solar, have they dealt with a company? How was the company to deal with?

"There are very good companies out there and it's just finding the right one and just being really, really careful."