Cover Sheet Requirement for All Residential Solar Contracts in California, starting January 1

Beginning on January 1, 2019 all residential solar contracts in California must present a one-page cover sheet to customers when selling a solar system. Assembly Bill 1070 passed last year and is in response to complaints from solar customers and in turn will make things simple and understandable to consumers. This new law is required by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), in collaboration with the CPUC which should include the total cost of the system which includes the financing and energy/power cost. Click here for the initial form that will be required by the CSLB starting on January 1.

Key Provisions

• A disclosed document or cover page is to be printed for every solar energy contract for the installation of a solar system on a residential building (systems between 1 kW-AC and 5 MW-AC)
• The only field that needs to be entered currently for the consumer is the ‘Total System Cost’ (including financial charges)
• This is not applicable to a system that is being installed as a standard feature on new construction
• The contract should be printed in boldface 16-point type
• Cover sheet required for both single/multi-family residential buildings
• For cash sales, the total cost should match the sale price of the system
• For leases, the total cost of the lease should be included in the contract

What’s the net effect?

The goal of having AB 1070 in place is to simplify the process and make is more understandable for homeowners and consumers. It comes after several customer complaints from residential solar system owners and regulators have been concerned about misleading practices in the solar market. According to CALSSA (California Solar & Storage Association), bills like AB 1070 are put in place to ensure that consumer protection is the number one priority.

Updates in Energy Toolbase

• Energy Toolbase users have the ability to custom create any type of document, including a cover sheet which can be customized and branded to your business
• Energy Toolbase will add the current CSLB cover page template to our Document Gallery shortly

Links

• New Requirement for Residential Solar Energy System Contracts to Take Effect January 1, 2019, Contractor State License Board