Don Dare and Hannah Moore
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — A Jefferson County couple paid more than $80,000 for solar panels, but they don’t work and no one is helping. The solar company has gone bankrupt and now, the loan company wants it’s money.
The monthly bill for their non-working solar system is $300. Presently, the Millers pay on average about $200 a month to their local power company. That’s $500 every month. It’s a lot of money, especially when they consider the solar system was supposed to be a money saver.
Ron Miller said he called the company three years ago after seeing an advertisement touting the benefits of solar panels.
There are 36 solar panels on Ron and Sharon Miller’s home in Jefferson City. They were supposed to help save on their power bill, but the solar system never worked.
“Nothing, they’re just there. They are not doing anything. They’re not saving me anything. They’re not giving me nothing,” said Sharon.
The original contractor was Power Home Solar in Louisville doing business as Pink Energy, its new name. Sharon said the salesman told her solar power would lower her electric bill a lot.
The system was installed in August of 2020. The cost was $82,000. It was three years ago in September when she noticed no power was being generated. However, Sharon said she had peace of mind because her contract called for continued maintenance by the installer.
“They said we’ll take care of it. But I never seen them, never heard from them. then all of a sudden I started getting letters saying they filed for bankruptcy,” said Sharon.
No one was at Pink Energy’s office in Louisville last October. The business shut its doors permanently at the end of September 2022. A former employee told WATE they were not warned and neither were customers about the bankruptcy.
Ron and Sharon received a default notice from the company that loaned them money for the solar system. The couple owes nearly $83,000.
Ron is a 100% disabled Vietnam veteran. A caregiver from the VA attends to his needs.
“My husband is very sick, he’s on hospice right now. I don’t know what I’m going to do because if something happens to him, I can’t afford it. I won’t be able to afford it and I’ll lose my home,” said Sharon.
Ron said he’d like to see the entire solar system removed.
“They ain’t been nothing but trouble since they were put in,” said Ron.
Chris and Claire Carver’s experience is much like that of Ron and Sharon Miller. Solar panels installed by Pink Energy on their home in Anderson County home never worked properly, nor did they save them money.
Fred Augustine said technicians from Generac got his finally troublesome solar system working earlier this year. Generac makes the hardware for solar companies. In April, technicians from Generac were able to get the solar battery and inverters in Augustine’s unit talking. Also, other hardware devices were placed on his solar panels.
Generac equipment was installed at Sharon and Ron Miller’s home. Sharon plans on contacting Generac to see if they can help get her system working. But first, she has to deal with the loan company that wants its money.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have no idea. Only God can help me. He will give me the grace and the power with him being on my side. My husband and I worked all our lives to have a little something. To leave to our children. I need help, I need help to be able to take care of this,” said Sharon.
There is some hope for the Millers. Perhaps it can come from Generac, a leading manufacturer of solar storage units. The company has been in business for more than 60 years and says it stands by its products.
Since Fred and Penny Augustine were able to get Generac to activate their faulty solar system, we passed their information on to Sharon. She said she was also going to talk with the loan company to avoid any further complications.
Read More:Jefferson County couple owes $83k for solar panels from Pink Energy
2023-09-19 20:44:00