Spruce Power review: Broken solar panel system 1

In June 2022, we noticed that our NV Energy bill was significantly higher compared to last summer. Since then, we collectively called Spruce Energy’s Customer Service number which is provided on the bill [protected]) and repeatedly left messages only to be informed that someone would be in touch “shortly” to discuss our concerns.

On October 10, 2022 we finally reached someone on the phone in customer service. This Representative informed my Mother that the system appears to be offline and had been offline since early June 2022. The rep asked if we had any power outage or surges in the area and requested pictures of the system to be emailed to Spruce with a copy of the most recent NV Energy bill. The energy bill and photos were sent within 10 minutes of receiving the email request to no avail.

I called Spruce on Wednesday (10/19/22) for a “Status Check” on my parents behalf. I left a message with the call center and was told someone would call us back ASAP as this was an ongoing issue. Still no response. I called again on (10/24/22) and spoke with someone who said the meters were broken and needed to be replaced. The replacements could take another six months to receive and then there could be another delay on installation depending on local scheduling.

When I inquired as to the date that the work order for replacement meters was placed, the representative said she didn’t have that information. Then I asked how my parents would be compensated for the extremely high energy costs this summer while the system was offline. The phone representative stated that Spruce Energy did not issue credits and that we needed to contact NV Energy for resolve. Spruce also asked for another copy of the NV Energy bill which was previously sent on 10/10/22 so that Spruce could provide a statement showing how much energy was being produced even though it wasn’t being transmitted to the power company.

Upon reviewing my Parents signed contract prior to the initial installation of the system, it states that whatever company owns the contract in a situation similar to this would be handled in the following manner:

PROVIDER’S STANDARDS

For the purpose of this Limited Warranty the standards for our performance will be (i) normal professional standards of performance within the solar photovoltaic power generation industry in the relevant market; and (ii) Prudent Electrical Practices. "Prudent Electrical Practices" means those practices, as changed from time to time, that are engaged in or approved by a significant portion of the solar power electrical generation industry operating in the United States to operate electric equipment lawfully and with reasonable safety, dependability, efficiency and economy.

What exactly is the professional standards for performance when it comes to monitoring a solar system? Four months being offline and no customer support between Spruce and the client is unacceptable. We placed over one dozen calls to Spruce that went unanswered and unreturned regarding these excessive NV Energy bills.

We were recently informed that it could be another six months before the meters can be replaced. In the interim this defeats the financial objective of owning solar which is to save money.

The meters should be replaced within 30 days given how long they’ve been offline. This Spruce Energy account should be credited the full amount in relation to last year’s lower NV Energy bills until the meters are replaced (June 2022 until replacement date). It is Spruce Energy’s commitment to monitor the system and make corrections accordingly. It is also their responsibility to interact with customers and address concerns, neither of which were met. It’s abundantly clear that this account is not being monitored.