Your Pennsylvania Solar Contract Is Costing You More Than You Were Told. Here's How to Fight Back.
The short version: Most Pennsylvania 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. In 2022, then-Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro opened an investigation into Pink Energy. Big solar companies that worked in Pennsylvania have gone bankrupt. Sunnova Energy is one of them. 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 reason solar sales teams have been hitting the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley harder than almost anywhere in the Northeast. Pennsylvania has high electricity rates, dense neighborhoods full of homeowners over 55, and an SREC program that made the pitch sound like a guaranteed investment.
It wasn't.
For a growing number of Pennsylvania homeowners, the solar math isn't working the way it was presented at the kitchen table. Payments are climbing. SREC values have dropped. And the companies that installed these systems are disappearing.
If you signed a solar contract in Pennsylvania and the numbers aren't adding up, you're not imagining things. And you have more options than you think.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General Is Watching Solar
In 2022, then-Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro opened an investigation into Pink Energy. His office also joined a group of state AGs. The group sent a letter to five solar lenders: Dividend Solar Finance, GoodLeap, Cross River Bank, Sunlight Financial, and Solar Mosaic. The letter asked them to pause loan payments for Pink Energy customers. Pennsylvania's Bureau of Consumer Protection still cites solar in ongoing cases.
This matters to you. State enforcement agencies have put it on the record. The same sales tactics used on Pennsylvania homeowners are now named in court filings. If what your salesperson told you doesn't match your contract, you're not alone. You're not crazy. And you have options.
What's actually in your Pennsylvania solar contract
Here's what most Pennsylvania 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 save money. 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 past $300. Most homeowners don't notice until they compare their current bill to what they started paying!
Did they mention SREC values aren't guaranteed? Pennsylvania's Solar Renewable Energy Credit program was a selling point - but SREC prices fluctuate with the market. If your salesperson projected steady SREC income as though it were locked in, and those values have dropped, your financial picture is different from what you were shown.
Did your salesperson mention Freedom Forever? Freedom Forever was one of the biggest solar installers in the country. They put in about 2 gigawatts of solar across 35 states. On April 15, 2026, they filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. They owe $500 million to $1 billion. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people are owed money. Freedom Forever was still installing in Pennsylvania when they filed. If Freedom Forever installed your system, your contract is still active. But the company behind your warranty is now in bankruptcy limbo.
Freedom Forever isn't alone. SolarInsure counted more than 100 solar company bankruptcies in 2024. SunPower filed Chapter 11 in August 2024. A company called Complete Solaria bought them. Sunnova Energy filed Chapter 11 in June 2025. Titan Solar Power filed Chapter 7 in June 2024. Pink Energy, Lumio Holdings, and Vision Solar are on the same list. When your installer goes bankrupt, your payments don't stop. Your contract doesn't cancel. But your warranty usually disappears.
Your rights under Pennsylvania law
Pennsylvania gives you real legal tools to push back. Here's what you need to know - and what your salesperson almost certainly didn't explain.
Your 3-day cancellation window. Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. §201-7) gives you 3 business days to cancel any contract signed at your home. This is on top of the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. If your salesperson didn't tell you about this right - and most don't - that affects the enforceability of your contract. How do you know if you were told? Pull out your contract. If there's no cancellation notice on the front page, that's your answer.
Private right to sue under the UTPCPL. This is the big one. Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. §201-1 et seq.) doesn't just prohibit deceptive practices - it gives you the right to take private legal action. If your solar company misled you about savings, system performance, or contract terms, you don't have to wait for the state to act. You can pursue your own claim. That's a tool most Pennsylvania homeowners don't know they have.
SREC market reality. Pennsylvania's SREC program was pitched as steady income. But SREC values fluctuate with market conditions. If your salesperson treated them as guaranteed revenue in your savings projection, and those values have dropped since you signed, the financial gap between what was promised and what's real is wider than you think.
PECO, PPL, and Duquesne Light rate assumptions. Your savings projections were built against your utility's rates. If your utility's rates haven't climbed as fast as your salesperson assumed, the savings gap is narrower than promised - or gone entirely. Every Pennsylvania homeowner's situation depends on which utility serves them and what rate assumptions were used in the pitch.
Winter performance gaps. Pennsylvania winters reduce solar production - especially in the western part of the state near Pittsburgh. If your savings projection used annual averages without disclosing the seasonal drop, the month-to-month math doesn't hold up. You're still paying your full solar payment in January when your panels are producing a fraction of their rated output.
Hidden dealer fees in your loan. If you financed your system through a solar loan, there is a good chance a dealer fee was added to your loan balance without being clearly explained. Under the federal Truth in Lending Act, every finance charge must be disclosed. If yours wasn't, that's a violation - and it means you've been paying interest on money that went to the solar company, not to your system.
What you can do right now
You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are the first steps for Pennsylvania homeowners.
File a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Go to https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/. Or call 800-441-2555. 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 Pennsylvania. Find Out What It's Actually Costing You and Your Family.
Pennsylvania homeowners have one of the strongest consumer protection tools in the Northeast - including the right to take private legal action under the UTPCPL. A free Solar Relief Assessment helps you understand what's in your contract, what went wrong, and what you can do about it.
[Get free Solar Relief Assessment →](https://solarhomeadvocate.com/free-assessment?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=state-guide&utm_content=pennsylvania)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. Freedom Forever filed Chapter 11 in April 2026. If you signed a solar contract in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania?
Did a salesperson come to your home? If yes, you have a 3-day right to cancel. That's under 73 P.S. §201-7 (3-day rescission) and the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. Pennsylvania also has Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. §201-1 et seq.). That law covers unfair or deceptive sales tactics. You can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Go to https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/ or call 800-441-2555. If your salesperson didn't tell you about the 3-day cancel rule, that can affect your contract.
Has Pennsylvania sued any solar companies?
Yes. In 2022, then-Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro opened an investigation into Pink Energy. His office also joined a group of state AGs. The group sent a letter to five solar lenders: Dividend Solar Finance, GoodLeap, Cross River Bank, Sunlight Financial, and Solar Mosaic. The letter asked them to pause loan payments for Pink Energy customers. Pennsylvania's Bureau of Consumer Protection still cites solar in ongoing cases.
How does the escalator clause affect my Pennsylvania solar contract?
Most Pennsylvania 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. Pennsylvania's average electricity rate is about 20.19 cents per kilowatt-hour in early 2026. That's above the national average of 17.45 cents. 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania solar contract?
Did the salesperson come to your home? Then Pennsylvania law gives you 3 business days to cancel. That's under 73 P.S. §201-7 (3-day rescission) 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?
Go to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's website at https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/. Or call 800-441-2555. 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.