Your Montana Solar Contract Is Costing You More Than You Were Told. Here's How to Fix It.
The short version: Most Montana solar leases have an escalator clause. It raises your payment 2.9% every year. Over 25 years, a $150 payment grows to more than $300. If your solar panels aren't saving what you were told, you have real rights. Start with a free Solar Relief Assessment to see what's actually in your contract.
There is a line in most Montana solar contracts that your salesperson never pointed out. It raises your payment every year, automatically, for the life of the agreement. They talked about your NorthWestern Energy bill. They talked about Montana's summer sunshine. They made the savings look like a sure thing.
But that line is working against you right now. And it's not the only problem.
Montana winters are long, cold, and dark - especially in the western part of the state. Your panels produce very little from November through February. If your salesperson's savings projections used annual averages without showing you what happens during those months, the numbers were misleading from the start.
And here's the part that makes Montana different: when a solar company goes bankrupt or leaves the market, getting service, repairs, or warranty work in a rural state is harder than anywhere else. Your payments keep coming. Your help doesn't.
What's actually in your Montana solar contract
Here's what most Montana homeowners don't find out until they've been paying for a year or two: the deal you signed isn't the deal you were sold.
Your salesperson told you solar would lower your electric bill. But did they mention the escalator clause buried in your lease agreement? That's the line that raises your payment every year - by as much as 2.9%. On a 25-year lease, that turns a $150 monthly payment into more than $300!
Did they explain what your panels actually produce during a Montana winter? From November through February, your system generates a fraction of its rated capacity. Short days, heavy snow cover, brutal cold. If your salesperson showed you an annual average and called it "your savings," those numbers masked months where your panels barely offset anything on your NorthWestern Energy bill.
Did your salesperson tell you what happens if your solar company goes bankrupt? SolarInsure counted more than 100 solar company bankruptcies in 2024. SunPower filed Chapter 11 in August 2024. Sunnova Energy was one of the biggest solar loan companies in the country. They filed Chapter 11 in June 2025. Titan Solar Power filed Chapter 7 in June 2024. Lumio Holdings filed Chapter 11 in September 2024. Freedom Forever filed Chapter 11 on April 15, 2026. Pink Energy shut down in October 2022. Vision Solar filed Chapter 7 in December 2023. When any of these companies goes bankrupt, your payments don't stop. Your contract doesn't cancel. But your warranty usually disappears.
Your rights under Montana law
Montana gives you real legal protections. Here's what your salesperson almost certainly didn't explain.
Your 3-day cancellation window. If a solar salesperson came to your home and you signed the contract there, federal law (the FTC Cooling-Off Rule) gives you 3 business days to cancel with no penalty. If your salesperson didn't tell you about this right - and most don't - that affects the enforceability of your agreement. Pull out your contract. If there's no cancellation notice on the front page, that's your answer.
Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. MCA Section 30-14-103 prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices. If your solar company made misleading claims about savings, system output, or contract terms, this statute covers what happened at your kitchen table. The Montana AG enforces this law, and homeowner complaints are how enforcement starts.
Extreme winter production reality. Montana's winters are among the harshest in the country for solar production. Your panels produce far less energy from November through February than they do in summer. If your savings projections masked this with annual averages, the month-to-month math never added up. That's not a weather problem - it's a disclosure problem. Did your salesperson show you month-by-month production estimates? If not, the picture they painted was incomplete.
NorthWestern Energy rate assumptions. Most Montana homeowners are NorthWestern Energy customers. Your savings projections were built against NorthWestern's rate trajectory. If those rates haven't climbed as fast as your salesperson assumed, the gap between what you were promised and what you're getting grows wider every month.
Rural service reality. Montana's rural character creates a problem that homeowners in densely populated states don't face. When a solar company goes bankrupt or leaves the market, getting service, repairs, or warranty work is harder. There aren't five other installers down the road. If your company disappears, you're stuck with panels on your roof, payments on your bill, and nobody within reasonable distance to service the system. That exposure was part of the deal your salesperson made - and it's the part they didn't mention.
Hidden dealer fees in your loan. Most Montana homeowners with solar loans don't know this. A big chunk of your loan went to the installer as a dealer fee. These fees often run 15 to 30 percent of the loan. They get buried in the balance. The federal Truth in Lending Act says every fee must be listed clearly. When a fee is hidden, it can be a federal violation. And you've been paying interest on money that never went into your system.
What you can do right now
You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are the first steps for Montana homeowners.
File a complaint with the Montana Attorney General. Go to https://dojmt.gov/office-of-consumer-protection/consumer-complaints/. Or call 406-444-4500. Filing is free. The AG's office reads every complaint.
Compare what the salesperson told you to what's in your contract. In most cases, the two don't match. That gap is what makes a case.
Pull your utility bills from the last 12 months. Add up what you're paying the utility plus what you're paying for solar. Compare that to what you'd pay the utility alone. If the numbers don't work, that's a real gap — not just a feeling.
Find the escalator clause and the dealer fee in your contract. These two lines cause the biggest gap between what you were sold and what you're paying. You can spot both by reading your own paperwork.
Every contract is different. But the first step is the same for everyone. Understand what you signed. Solar Home Advocate built the free Solar Relief Assessment for this exact moment. Someone walks through your contract with you in plain English. They tell you your options.
You Signed a Solar Contract in Montana. Find Out What It's Actually Costing You.
Montana homeowners have rights under both federal law and the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act - and Montana's extreme winters and rural service realities mean your savings math deserves a hard second look. A free Solar Relief Assessment helps you understand what's in your contract, what went wrong, and what you can do about it for you and your family.
[Get free Solar Relief Assessment →](https://solarhomeadvocate.com/free-assessment?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=state-guide&utm_content=montana)Get free Solar Relief Assessment →**
No charge. No obligation. No high-pressure pitch.
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"Sal says: A 2.9% escalator clause nearly doubles your payment over 25 years. If you signed a solar contract in Montana, these facts hit your math and your warranty."
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are my rights if I signed a solar contract in Montana?
Did a salesperson come to your home? If yes, you have a 3-day right to cancel. That's under Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-502 et seq. and the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. Montana also has Montana Consumer Protection Act (Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-101 et seq.). That law covers unfair or deceptive sales tactics. You can file a complaint with the Montana Attorney General. Go to https://dojmt.gov/office-of-consumer-protection/consumer-complaints/ or call 406-444-4500. If your salesperson didn't tell you about the 3-day cancel rule, that can affect your contract.
What consumer protection does Montana offer solar buyers?
Montana uses Montana Consumer Protection Act (Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-101 et seq.) for unfair sales practices. It uses Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-502 et seq. for door-to-door sales. The federal Truth in Lending Act covers your solar loan. Call the Montana Attorney General's office at 406-444-4500. Or file online at https://dojmt.gov/office-of-consumer-protection/consumer-complaints/.
How does the escalator clause affect my Montana solar contract?
Most Montana solar leases have an escalator clause. It raises your payment about 2.9% every year. On a 25-year lease, a $150 payment grows to more than $300. Montana's average electricity rate is about 12.86 cents per kilowatt-hour in early 2026. That's well below the national average of 17.45 cents. So the gap between your solar payment and your utility bill was small from the start. Utility rates haven't always gone up 2.9% a year. So your solar payment can climb faster than your would-be utility bill. Your savings shrink instead of grow.
What happens if my Montana solar company went bankrupt?
SolarInsure counted more than 100 solar company bankruptcies in 2024. Big names include SunPower (Aug 2024), Sunnova Energy (June 2025), Titan Solar Power (June 2024), Freedom Forever (April 15, 2026), Pink Energy (Oct 2022), and Vision Solar (Dec 2023). If your installer went bankrupt, your contract still stands. Your payments still go out. But the workmanship warranty usually dies with the company. The panel maker's warranty (often 25 years) still exists. But filing a claim without an active installer is hard.
Can I cancel my Montana solar contract?
Did the salesperson come to your home? Then Montana law gives you 3 business days to cancel. That's under Mont. Code Ann. §30-14-502 et seq. and the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. If those 3 days have passed, you may still have options. Did they skip the cancel notice? Did they use deceptive sales tactics? Did your loan hide fees? Any of those can open a path to cancel. It depends on your specific contract and how it was sold.
What are hidden dealer fees on a Montana solar loan?
Solar finance companies add dealer fees of 15 to 30 percent to your loan. They roll the fee into the principal. They don't list it separately. That means you pay interest on fee money that went to the solar company. Not to your panels. The federal Truth in Lending Act says every fee must be listed clearly. A hidden fee can be a federal violation. That's one of the strongest paths to renegotiate or exit a solar loan.
How do I file a solar complaint in Montana?
Go to the Montana Attorney General's website at https://dojmt.gov/office-of-consumer-protection/consumer-complaints/. Or call 406-444-4500. Filing is free. Write down what the salesperson told you at the sale. Save your contract. Save any texts, emails, and voicemails with the installer. If you have a solar loan, keep your loan paperwork. A formal complaint creates a record. That record strengthens any legal review later.