SolarCity of Tesla CEO Sued Over Failure To Discuss Changes In Bills
SolarCity is legally challenged over its failure to discuss the impact of the decision taken by the legislature of the state.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SolarCity is sued by a couple in Northern Nevada, which has accused the solar energy service provider for omitting and failing to reveal details regarding rates in the future before it installs panels on their house near Reno.
Amongst the claims in the petition, which was filed in January, were fraud, breach of contract, deceptive trading practices and negligence. The petition also claimed that the couple signed an agreement with the Californian organization in August, two months following the legislature’s decision giving the task to Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to determine new rates capable of installing rooftop solar panels more expensive.
The lawsuit filed on January 29 claims that the company did not mislead the couple of how the impending decision of the commission could change the calculus for adopting rooftop solar. SolarCity was responsible for informing future customers that changes could be made to their bills after the legislative body authorized the commission to decide rates June 5, the petition claims.
The lawsuit seeks class action status for customers who signed the agreements after June 5. Without the details, most customers were made to believe their charges would continue to remain low, the petition suggested, but when the commission gave a ruling in December, it ratified increases in bill for solar customers. It increased the fee and lowered the value of credits that customers become eligible to earn by producing excessive power under a program called net metering.
An official of SolarCity, Jonathan Bass, told that the company guarantees the charges paid by customers for solar power generated from the panels, but that commission and utility were responsible to lower the value of net-metering credits.
Political commentator Jon Ralston first reported the complaint on Monday. It is the second-class action petition filed following the decision made by the commission. In January, solar customers of Clark County filed a petition against NV Energy, claiming the utility provided incomplete details to the commission and pressurized the 3-member panel to give approval to the new rates.
The newly charged solar rates are challenged on a number of fronts that include the commission, which would probably give a ruling on an appeal soon. In those proceedings, at least one commissioner and NV Energy raised the same concerns to those discussed in the most recently filed lawsuit. They have given an argument that potential customers were not warned by solar companies of the possibility that the commission would increase the customer bills.
The decision of the commission has faced criticism from solar advocates for effectively destroying the solar industry in Nevada. The company now faces issues that can harm the business in such a competitive market.
