The FTC's Entry Into Rooftop Solar Consumer Protection

The rapid growth of homegrown solar energy solutions is leading to an environment where an uneven patchwork of policies may lead to inconsistent growth for solar power, according to the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission. To learn more about how consumers are potentially being impacted by the "complex matrix of laws, regulations, policies, subsidies and incentives" at play, the FTC held a workshop on June 21, 2016, to examine consumer protection issues in the rooftop solar industry — also known as solar "distributed generation." Beyond exploring a wide range of issues related to rate design, competition and state net metering policies, the workshop signaled a growing interest among federal and state regulators to address —potentially through the issuance of binding regulations —perceived consumer protection challenges in the industry.