Customers who signed up to SolarZero believing they were locking in cheap, predictable power are increasingly turning to disputes resolution services, saying their bills have climbed sharply and that getting out of their contracts can cost thousands of dollars.
SolarZero, once one of the country’s best known solar brands, went into liquidation in late 2024. Its roughly 15,000 customers remain tied to the long term agreements they signed, which are now serviced by Verofi through a business called SZ Servicing. The systems were offered on a lease arrangement over a 20-year term, with the promise that households would save on power, pay a monthly lease fee and export some electricity back to the grid.
For a growing number of those customers, the maths no longer works. Several told RNZ they had lost the guaranteed pricing that convinced them to sign, watched their bills rise, and then been quoted large sums to walk away. Others say the contract has made their homes harder to sell.
Mark Wellington, a customer of about four years, said his rates had jumped even though he lives alone and does not use electricity for heating or cooking. “My original price per kilowatt was 8c and 15c but now it’s 26c and 15c [import and export] and I get a power bill every month in winter,” he said. His battery storage, he added, was running out quickly each evening.
Another customer described an even steeper rise. “Three years into my agreement, they raised our rates to time of use, an overnight 225 percent increase at peak time rate,” she said. “Bearing in mind I’m still paying a monthly fee of $160 plus GST before I even use any power. There is no way I would have locked myself into a 20-year contract with those high fixed fees and not have an offer of price protection. I live with a disability and am on a fixed income. I just wouldn’t have locked into anything for that long unless there was a certainty of costs.”
Rohan Metrani said he and his wife were spending about $400 a month on power on top of their SolarZero lease, despite the two of them living alone. “It’s not about savings anymore. It’s become more of a liability at this stage,” he said.
In a statement, SZ Servicing said it had adjusted grid energy pricing for some customers in line with their contract terms and to reflect increases in the wider grid energy market. “We understand any increase is frustrating, particularly for customers managing household costs. SZ Servicing has engaged directly with impacted customers to explain the changes and respond to any questions about their individual agreements,” it said.
The complaints are now showing up in the official figures. Utilities Disputes, the free service that handles deadlocked disputes between consumers and their power and solar providers, said that in the year to 31 March, SolarZero was involved in 20.8 percent of accepted deadlocked complaints despite holding about 0.5 percent of the market. Across the sector it received 440 complaints about solar overall, an increase of 105 percent on the previous year.
“We are seeing consumers raising concerns about their solar system failing to deliver the promised returns as well as difficulties in exiting the agreements for long term solar,” the service said. Those complaints, it added, made up a substantial share of the cases it accepted for formal investigation and conciliation over the past year.
Commissioner Neil Mallon said he had been sharing his decisions with regulatory bodies to flag the pattern. “Utilities Disputes is also working on some general guidance together for consumers to follow and intends to publish some more information about its concerns, particularly with long term subscription models for solar,” he said. “If consumers have any concerns about their solar retailer, they should get in touch so we can talk them through their issues and potential solutions.”
The frustration is sharpened by timing. Solar has moved to the centre of the election year debate, with both major parties promising to help more households put panels on their roofs. For customers locked into a lease they cannot easily escape, watching new schemes built around outright ownership has been galling.
“A long term loan to outright own the solar as an asset for my home while also lowering my power bill is something I would definitely pursue if I could get out of this SolarZero contract which has ended up being a total misrepresentation of what SolarZero promised us,” one customer said. “I could be using that money that goes toward SolarZero’s monthly fee to pay a long term loan for panels I would actually own and where I am free to shop around for the lowest electricity rates.”
She said she believed the government carried some responsibility for the situation. “It backed SolarZero through the government’s energy fund, and many of us signed up because we believed we were supporting a more energy-resilient New Zealand.”
Labour’s energy resources spokesperson Megan Woods said the SolarZero experience was part of the reason the party’s SolarSaver policy was designed to let households own their systems outright rather than lease them. Announced earlier this month, the $160 million plan offers low-interest loans and kickstart subsidies of up to $3,000 for lower and middle income households, and would only take effect if Labour wins the November election and then legislates it.
For the thousands still holding SolarZero contracts, none of the election promises change the deal in front of them. The lease terms run for two decades, the servicing has passed to a new operator, and the pricing that first drew them in is, in many cases, gone. Utilities Disputes remains the main avenue for those who feel stuck, and the commissioner’s warning about long term solar subscription models suggests the regulator’s interest in the sector is only growing.
Have you had a good or bad experience with a solar lease or subscription deal? Tell us in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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