The salesman Erin Rodell spoke to at the door sounded very convincing.
He spun quite the yarn: His solar energy company was endorsed by Lincoln Electric System and was collaborating with Creighton University. Rodell said he even had a Creighton logo on his shirt.
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The salesman also spouted all kinds of claims about the benefits of installing solar panels. Rodell said he told her that once the panels were paid off, she’d never see another electric bill.
It all sounded so good that Rodell was hooked, and she signed a contract for a solar array.
“He had me very, very convinced,” the Lincoln woman said.
But it turns out it was all too good to be true.
A couple of days after signing the contract, Rodell said she wanted to learn more about the benefits of solar and started doing some research.
On the LES website, she learned that the utility has a list of authorized solar companies that it works with, almost all of them based locally. The company she signed a contract with, Everlight Solar, wasn’t on the list.
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Rodell has since canceled her contract, filed a police report because the person who came to her home did not have a peddler’s permit and contacted the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
“Just incredibly blatant lies” is how she described her experience with the salesman.
Everlight Solar, which is based in Wisconsin, did not comment specifically about Rodell’s allegations. But it did say in a statement that its representatives do not use high-pressure sales tactics “because those tactics do not work, sully our name and would result in high cancellation rates.”
“We want our customers to be happy, to be excited that they are going solar, and excited to work with our company,” the statement said.
Whether Rodell’s experience with Everlight is an outlier for the company, the problem of solar companies misrepresenting the benefits of residential solar programs appears to be widespread.
Omaha Public Power District has had similar issues with solar companies using aggressive and often misleading sales tactics.
“OPPD has experienced several customer complaints about business practices and false claims by solar companies,” said Kirk Estee, the utility’s customer alternative energy solutions manager.
He suggested that customers check out the list of solar and customer-owned generation trade allies on OPPD’s website before signing a contract.
In Minnesota, the state’s attorney general filed a lawsuit last month against four solar companies that allegedly scammed homeowners by using deceptive sales tactics.
Marc Shkolnick, manager of energy services at LES, said none of the companies named in the Minnesota complaint appear to be operating locally, but he has heard plenty of concerns about other companies using similar tactics in Lincoln.
He said one company, which he declined to name, has sold more than $1.5 million worth of solar panels to local customers.
“I think it’s a fairly significant problem,” Shkolnick said.
According to LES, deceptive tactics local customers have encountered include quoting inflated electric rates and unreasonable electric rate increase projections that overstate cost savings and payback of initial investments, pressuring customers to sign a purchase agreement, suggesting that they will no longer receive an electric bill and providing misleading information about incentives or signing bonuses.
People who choose to install a solar array qualify for a federal tax credit that as of this year is 26%. LES also provides a per-kilowatt credit of $375 for south-facing solar panels and $475 credit for west-facing ones, but only to customers who work with an approved solar installer.
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Kevin O’Neill didn’t find out until after he’d signed a contract with ADT Solar that the company wasn’t on the approved list.
O’Neill said the company had accurately represented the benefits in its sales pitch, but afterward, he couldn’t get ahold of anybody for weeks.
He said he eventually found out that the company was still trying to negotiate with LES to qualify for solar panel credits.
O’Neill said he eventually got LES to agree to give him the credits, but he ultimately wound up canceling his contract and going with another company, which will save him $10,000.
“It worked out better for us,” he said.
ADT Solar could not be reached for comment.
Shkolnick said he believes the situation is “a combination of willful deception and rampant ignorance.”
Most companies know what they are doing, he said, but in some cases, poorly trained sales reps may be giving out bad information.
“It certainly puts a black eye on the whole solar business, which is unfortunate, because there are some very reputable dealers in the space that operate in good faith,” Shkolnick said.
LES now only works with companies that go through training it offers and sign an agreement attesting that they will accurately represent the benefits of solar installations.
“It’s not 100% due diligence and vetting for the customer,” Shkolnick said, “but at least they’re going on record saying they will actually represent facts.”
States with the most power outages in the last year
States with the most power outages in the last year
An aging power infrastructure and a growing climate crisis have left U.S. residents increasingly in the dark. Traditionally, power outages are caused by singular disruptions—a car rams into a pole, equipment fails, or a tree falls onto a power line. These incidents usually affect small areas for short periods. However, as the changing climate spurs more natural disasters, power outages also become more frequent and severe.
These outages are life-threatening in more ways than one. Power outages leave residents without air conditioning or heating, making them susceptible to heatstroke or hypothermia. Furthermore, improper use of alternative energy sources like grills or gas-powered generators can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
During an outage, hospitals resort to contingency plans to power only the most vital equipment. Accessibility is hindered as motorized stair lifts and elevators stop functioning. Prolonged power outages also disrupt the food supply chain. Factories pause or halt production, warehouses stop loading trucks, and stores lose perishable food.
Stacker analyzed data from the Department of Energy to identify the 15 states that have experienced the most power outages since the start of 2021. Data was available through June 2021, so it does not include more recent natural disasters like Hurricane Ida. These states do share one severe weather incident: the arctic blast that caused record low temperatures across 48 states in February 2021.
Read on to find out which 15 states have experienced the most power outages this year.
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#15. Nebraska
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 5
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 4
— Most common cause: transmission interruption
In recent years, high winds in Nebraskan storms have continually toppled trees and triggered power outages. And although Stacker’s data didn’t include information on outages after June 2021, Omaha Public Power District said a storm in July was the largest storm they had ever faced. At least 188,000 households were left without power.
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#14. Mississippi
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 5
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 11
— Most common cause: severe weather
Hurricane season in Mississippi leads to a spate of power outages. Hurricane Zeta left more than 226,000 Mississippians without power in October 2020, causing the worst storm damage southern Mississippi had experienced since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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#13. Minnesota
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 5
— Most common cause: transmission interruption
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 8
— Most common cause: system operations
Minnesota’s cold winter storms regularly cause power outages. A record-breaking snowstorm in October 2021 left roughly 33,500 residents without power; two months later, another storm caused outages for about 38,000 people. Minnesota has had to adapt its energy infrastructure accordingly, like applying heating lubrication to keep wind turbines, which provide 30% of the state’s power, from freezing.
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#12. Pennsylvania
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 6
— Most common cause: transmission interruption, system operations
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 12
— Most common cause: transmission interruption, severe weather
According to the Pennsylvania State Climatologist, winds traveling westward carry most of the state’s weather occurrences. The eastern regions of Pennsylvania, unprotected by the Appalachian Mountains, face the full effects of the Atlantic Ocean’s coastal storms. In June 2020, a derecho—a line of severe, rapidly moving storms—traveled through southeast Pennsylvania into New Jersey, causing 850,000 outages.
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#11. Maine
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 6
— Most common cause: severe weather, system operations
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 22
— Most common cause: severe weather
Maine residents are familiar with power outages, as storms have left hundreds of thousands without power in the past two years. The largest outage recorded in the state was in October 2017, when a storm left half a million Maine residents without power. Maine power companies have attempted to prevent outages by trimming trees and purchasing more protective equipment.
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#10. Oregon
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 7
— Most common cause: system operations
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 14
— Most common cause: vandalism, system operations
While system malfunctions are the most common cause of power outages in Oregon, extreme weather can also cause power failure. Power lines aren’t equipped to handle excessive ice, and in February 2021, an ice storm disrupted power for at least 260,000 Oregonians. In September 2020, Portland General Electric shut off power for 5,000 customers to mitigate a wildfire risk—a first for the company.
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#9. Oklahoma
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 7
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 8
— Most common cause: severe weather
High winds and lightning storms contribute to Oklahoma’s power outages. In July 2020, winds of up to 80 miles per hour left 40,000 people in the Tulsa area without power. Three months later, the state issued its first-ever October ice storm warning and experienced its most severe storm in at least five years, which left more than 300,000 residents without power.
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#8. New Hampshire
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 7
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 13
— Most common cause: severe weather
A set of rapidly moving thunderstorms traveled across New Hampshire in June 2021, bringing hail and strong winds that affected power for over 25,000 residents. In March 2021, strong winds knocked down trees and power lines, including a line that fell onto a school bus. Thankfully, no children were injured. A nor’easter in December 2020, the first of the season, left 60,000 in the state without power.
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#7. Missouri
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 9
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 3
— Most common cause: system operations
Severe thunderstorms in June 2021 cut off power to 38,000 Missouri residents. A week later, some Missourians experienced two power outages within 24 hours due to a faulty underground cable. And at the end of the same month, a storm flooded areas of Jefferson City, downing multiple power lines.
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#6. Kansas
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 9
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 1
— Most common cause: system operations
Kansas has faced several power outages due to extreme weather. Storms in June and July 2021 left 38,000 then 65,000 residents without power. A December 2020 power outage affected almost 10,000 Kansans, some twice. Further outages weren’t caused by weather conditions, like a substation explosion that led to more than 20,600 reports of power failure.
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#5. Washington
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 10
— Most common cause: severe weather, vandalism
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 21
— Most common cause: vandalism
During a heatwave in June 2021, thousands of Washington customers lost power. One power company, Puget Sound Energy, said the outages were caused by high temperatures, not by too many people running their air conditioning. A different company, Avista, scheduled planned outages to prevent their systems from overloading from heat and the increased demand for electricity as people turned on air conditioning.
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#4. Arkansas
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 10
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 11
— Most common cause: severe weather
In May 2021, storms and high winds cut power for 60,000 Arkansas residents, toppling trees and pulling down power lines. During Easter weekend in 2020, severe storms gave the state the most outages in the country, leaving more than 100,000 people without electricity. Three days later, the power was still out for 21,000 Arkansans.
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#3. California
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 15
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 55
— Most common cause: severe weather
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s outdated power lines sparked the 2018 California Camp Fire, killing 85 people and destroying nearly all of Paradise, California. The company has since taken to implementing planned outages amid high wildfire risk conditions. Rain, an infrequent occurrence in the state, also causes power outages: Last month, PG&E said that the Bay Area outages, which affected more than 26,000 customers, were caused by light rain turning the dirt on power lines into mud.
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#2. Louisiana
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 19
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 18
— Most common cause: severe weather
Hurricanes in Louisiana have contributed to power outages vast in both quantity and scope. Hurricanes Laura and Delta touched down just six weeks apart in 2020. One utility company, Entergy Louisiana, had nearly finished restoring power to those affected by Hurricane Laura when Hurricane Delta led to outages for over 300,000 of its customers. Overall, more than 600,000 Louisiana residents lost power as a result of Hurricane Delta. In May 2021, flash flooding in Louisiana led to four deaths, including an oxygen-dependent older man who died from oxygen failure during a power outage.
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#1. Texas
– Total electric disturbance events (2021): 66
— Most common cause: severe weather
– Total electric disturbance events (2020): 47
— Most common cause: severe weather
One of the nation’s worst power outages ever hit Texas in February 2021, leaving 4 million residents without power in freezing weather. More than 200 residents died, and over 1,400 people sought hospital care due to carbon monoxide poisoning, as people used alternative power sources, like charcoal grills, to stay warm. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said natural gas providers’ equipment failure primarily caused the outages. Still, all of the state’s power sources were affected by the low temperatures.
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Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or [email protected].
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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