Paying Two Bills — Solar and Electric — What Is Going On?

Quick answer

Paying both a solar lease or loan payment and a full utility bill is the most common solar complaint in America. It happens for two main reasons: the system was undersized for your actual usage, or the system is malfunctioning and not producing electricity. Both situations may constitute a breach of your solar contract. Document your bills, request production data, and send a formal written demand to your solar company.

They Promised You Would Never Pay an Electric Bill Again

It was the whole pitch. The solar rep sat at your kitchen table and showed you the numbers. Your current electric bill. The solar payment. The savings. Zero electric bill. Maybe even money back from the utility. You signed. You believed it.

Now you are paying $180 a month to Sunrun. And $140 a month to your utility company. And you are furious — and confused — because nobody will give you a straight answer about why.

You are not alone. This is the single most common complaint SolarComplaints.co hears from homeowners. And it almost always traces back to one of three causes.

The Three Reasons You Are Paying Double

Reason 1: Your System Is Not Working

Solar panels that are not generating electricity still come with a monthly payment. If your inverter failed, your system tripped offline, or your panels were installed but never properly commissioned, you will pay full utility rates plus your solar payment — double billing for nothing.

This is more common than you might think. Multiple homeowners have discovered their system was producing zero electricity for months — only finding out when they received an unusually high utility true-up bill. Solar companies are often not proactively monitoring your system, and some systems have known defective components that were never flagged to the homeowner.

If you do not have access to a monitoring app or your app shows low or zero production, this is your first call to make.

Reason 2: Your System Was Undersized

Solar sales reps are paid on commission. Larger systems cost more. But there is also pressure to hit a price point that gets you to sign. The result, in many cases, is a system designed to cover 70 or 80 percent of your usage — not 100 percent. This is buried in the technical documents, never mentioned in the sales presentation.

You were promised your bill would go to zero. The contract says your system will produce X kilowatt-hours per year. What was never explained is that X kilowatt-hours covers only most of your actual usage — leaving a residual utility bill every month, forever.

If this was not clearly disclosed, it may be a deceptive trade practice under your state consumer protection law.

Reason 3: Net Metering Changes You Were Not Warned About

Many states have changed their net energy metering (NEM) rules in the past few years — reducing the credit solar homeowners receive for electricity sent back to the grid. Homeowners who were sold based on NEM projections from 2020 or 2021 may now be receiving far less credit than promised, resulting in higher utility bills than expected even when the solar system is working perfectly.

California's NEM 3.0, implemented in 2023, dramatically reduced export credits. Florida, Nevada, and other states have made similar changes. If your sales rep made promises based on older NEM rates without disclosing that those rates could change, that may be an actionable misrepresentation.

What To Do Right Now

Step 1: Pull Your Production Data

Log into your solar monitoring app — or request production data from your company in writing. Compare your actual production to what your contract promised. If your system is producing significantly less than contracted, you have a documented breach.

Step 2: Compare Your Bills

Gather 12 months of utility bills from before solar installation and 12 months after. Calculate your actual savings — or lack thereof. If the numbers show you are spending more on energy post-solar than pre-solar, that is your financial damage documented.

Step 3: Send a Formal Written Demand

Write to your solar company — certified mail — stating the specific savings you were promised, the specific savings you have received, and demanding either a system fix, a production guarantee payment, or contract cancellation. Give them 30 days to respond.

Step 4: File Your Complaints

File simultaneously with: your state AG, the BBB, and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If financing is involved, add the CFPB. These complaints create pressure, paper trails, and sometimes direct resolution.

Step 5: Get a Contract Review

Understand exactly what your contract actually promised — versus what the rep said. This is the foundation of every option available to you, from negotiating a settlement to pursuing a DTPA or CLRA claim.

The Bottom Line

Paying two energy bills is not bad luck. It is either a system failure, a deliberately undersized installation, or a sales misrepresentation — all of which give you legal leverage. You were sold a promise that was not delivered. That matters. Use it.

Need help reviewing a solar contract?

Use our free contract health check to organize your concerns and learn what documentation may matter.

Start a contract health check

Frequently asked questions