Sunrun Could Start Operating In Florida In Earnest Within A Month

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:Sunrun is now one step closer to being able to operate without unreasonable restrictions after the staff of the Florida Public Utilities Commission (FPUC) has recommended that:

• Sunrun’s residential solar equipment lease does not constitute a sale of electricity;
• Offering its solar equipment lease to customers in Florida will not cause Sunrun to be deemed a public utility under Florida law;
• The residential solar equipment lease described in its petition will not subject Sunrun or Sunrun’s customer-lessees to regulation by the Commission.

SolarWakeup’s View:  It’s been a good year for Sunrun so far. Last month, they seized the leadership position in the U.S. residential segment from Tesla Energy. And this month, they are one step closer to being able to operate unfettered in a market that could soon be one of the hottest in the United States.

As I’ve written about extensively in previous career stops, Florida was the Bermuda Triangle of rooftop solar for years, in part because the state’s utility system wouldn’t allow the most popular residential funding mechanism at the time – third-party leasing – to exist. As a result, big third-party leasing companies refused to do business in a state in which it was uneconomical for them to operate.

The winds of change, however, have blown strong through Florida in the past two years, and starting after some significant legislative changes, third party companies have been lining up to enter the Sunshine State, including Sunrun.

Before they start operating in earnest, however, Sunrun asked the FPSC in Decemeber to declare that its third-party ownership business model wouldn’t instantly make them a regulated utility or penalize their customers under the same rules. And while a final decision won’t come until May, the staff of the FPSC – which carries a lot of weight in most states’ regulatory systems – have recommended that the California-based residential solar installer be granted its requests, which include:

• Sunrun’s residential solar equipment lease does not constitute a sale of electricity;
• Offering its solar equipment lease to customers in Florida will not cause Sunrun to be deemed a public utility under Florida law;
• The residential solar equipment lease described in its petition will not subject Sunrun or Sunrun’s customer-lessees to regulation by the Commission.

“We were thrilled to see a second formal staff recommendation, with another strong legal analysis, recommending that the Commission vote in favor of our petition,” said Anne Hoskins, Chief Policy Officer at Sunrun. “We are grateful for the amount of time staff has spent on this proceeding, and we look forward to answering any questions Commissioners may have about our Florida lease product during the April 20 Agenda Conference.”

Sunrun’s request will be considered at the next FPSC meeting on April 20, with a final decision being rendered on May 10. So stay tuned – things may be about to get intensely interesting in the Florida residential solar market.

More:

FPSC Staff Recommendation:

StaffReport

Original Sunrun Petition

OriginalSunrunPetition