Consumer Protection Residential Energy Systems

The act defines a solar sales company as an entity that:

• Transacts with a consumer to sell, or negotiate or execute a contract for the sale of, a residential solar electric system or residential battery energy storage system (system); or
• Transacts with a consumer to lease or enter into a power purchase agreement for a system.

The act requires a solar sales company to provide to a consumer certain disclosures when entering into an agreement with the consumer for the purchase or lease of a system or a power purchase agreement for a system (agreement). The act also specifies the terms that an agreement must contain, including payment terms and contact information for the solar sales company. A solar sales company is required to retain a copy of a signed agreement for at least 4 years after the date the agreement is entered into. The personal information of a consumer must be maintained consistent with applicable data privacy laws.

In the event of a sale of a system, the consumer has at least 3 business days after the date of the transaction to cancel the agreement without financial penalty, besides any nonrefundable deposits. The act requires a solar sales company to conduct a welcome call with the consumer, which welcome call must include certain disclosures. The consumer's 3-day cancellation period does not begin to run until the welcome call is conducted. The act describes the terms that any financing documents must contain if the purchase of a system is financed.

The act sets forth requirements for a salesperson of a solar sales company and prohibits a solar sales company from using written or digital sales materials with names, logos, pictures, or other indicia of association with a public utility, cooperative electric association, or municipal utility, unless the solar sales company has received express, written consent from the relevant utility to do so or is complying with federal fair use laws. A solar sales company is also prohibited from representing that the solar sales company is affiliated with, sponsored by, or approved by a state incentive program without the express, written consent of the state agency in charge of the state incentive program.

The act requires a solar sales company to provide certain warranties for the installation and workmanship of a residential solar electric system. Lastly, the act requires an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers that offers financial incentives for a system to provide certain information about the offered incentives to customers.

A violation of the requirements of the act is enforceable as a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". The act's requirements apply to agreements between a solar sales company and a consumer that are entered into on or after July 1, 2026.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)