By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:On a vote of 5-0, the Florida Public Service Commission has approved Sunrun’s request that its third party leases not be considered a sale of electricity and that:

SolarWakeup’s View:  In a victory for third-party leasing in the state of Florida, Sunrun has JUST been granted the right to sell its products in the state of Florida.

Sunrun asked the Florida Public Service Commission 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. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the staff recommendation.

The unanimity of the decision was surprising, given the legendary power of the utilities in the state. Some observers fully expected a decision on the petition to be postponed for more discussion, even after Sunrun voluntarily submitted a copy of its lease in March for the commission to peruse.

During the brief discussion, Sunrun was asked about its Florida website and whether homeowners had access to it, to which Sunrun responded that they would once the company started operating in the state officially (which, it should be noted, required passage of the declatory statement the company requested).

Now that Sunrun has blazed the trail, I’d expect more third-party leasing companies to flood the state. After all, a 2008 report from the Florida Public Service Commission suggested there is the potential of a 52 GW solar resource in Florida that is not currently being exploited.

“The Commission’s vote to grant our petition is a critical step toward broadening access to solar energy for Floridian households,” said Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer of Sunrun. “We are grateful for the time the Commission and technical staff spent promptly reviewing our petition and our Florida lease product and look forward to bringing additional solar energy choice to more people in the Sunshine State soon.”

“Sunrun is delighted to now be able to offer Floridians the opportunity to lease a solar system, enabling them to have clean, reliable, affordable solar power for their homes,” said Lynn Jurich, CEO and co-founder of Sunrun.

This article was edited at 10:45 am on 4/20/2018 to add comments from Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer of Sunrun.

This article was edited at 1:48 pm on 4/20/2018 to add comments from Lynn Jurich, CEO and co-founder of Sunrun.

More:

FPSC Staff Recommendation:

Original Sunrun Petition

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.

Because what would a post about Florida be without a photo of Disney World?

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.

Mark these dates on your calendar and weigh in as you wish.

More:

FPSC Staff Recommendation:

Original Sunrun Petition