Making Approved Solar Retailer Status Mandatory in Victoria Would Be Disastrous

In Orwell’s Animal Farm, animals were told that doing extra work was voluntary, yet those who didn’t volunteer got their rations reduced.

In November 2013 the Clean Energy Council told solar companies that becoming an Approved Solar Retailer (ASR), which requires extra work, was voluntary. But in 2018  solar companies that had not signed up started to lose their opportunity to benefit from participation in state government solar rebate and zero interest loan schemes.

Beware of schemes that claim to be voluntary but force you into applying by other means.

It seems to me that the Clean Energy Council’s Approved Solar Retailer Scheme is well on its way to becoming de-facto mandatory.  And murmurings from Victoria suggest that soon only ASRs may be able to install systems under the Victorian Solar Homes Package scheme. If that happens, then any Victorian business that does not sign up for Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer status will be soon pushed out of the market.

It’s the oldest trick in the bureaucrat’s handbook. Start your scheme as voluntary (because no-one would accept a compulsory scheme) – then slowly change the rules until it becomes de-facto mandatory.

What is the Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer Scheme?

Solar installation businesses that are willing to go through a rigorous application and vetting process, stick like glue to a strict code of conduct and pay the required fees can get a badge that declares them a Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer (ASR).

The code of conduct covers the retailing part of a solar business – how you advertise, quote, make the sale to customers and support them afterwards. It does not cover the quality of installation. That’s covered by the accredited installer scheme, which accredits individual installers based on their technical knowledge, competence and qualifications.

Ronald explained the scheme here in detail a year or so ago.

I used to be a fan

Up until recently I was a raving fan of the ASR scheme. If companies were willing to pay the money, do the lengthy application, add processes etc, then they could have a badge that gave them a competitive advantage.

Hell, if a company wants to go the extra mile – then let them be rewarded with a badge that acknowledges that.

My opinion began to change last year.

I started to get nervous when the QLD state government announced solar companies would have to join the ASR scheme to install systems under the government’s interest free loans and solar-for-renters rebate program.

But I didn’t worry too much as the interest free loans weren’t a game changer – and generous landlords are rare as hens’ teeth – meaning the take-up of the loans would be low and the rental scheme was unlikely to take off. The companies that chose not to be ASRs were not being locked out of too much.

But the CEC’s real vision for the ‘voluntary’ Approved Retailer Scheme became clear in SA in October 2018.  The South Australian government, after reported strong lobbying from the CEC, decided that the $6,000 battery rebate could only be offered by companies that signed up to be CEC Approved Solar Retailers.

Many SA installers went batshit. Overnight they were locked out of offering a $6,000 discount on batteries in SA. The government backtracked a little and allowed companies to join if they promised to apply to become a CEC Approved Retailer.

So lots of SA solar companies started to apply.

ASR applications went through the roof. The CEC was under immense pressure to approve more Approved Retailers than ever. In the rush I fear that their previously very tight vetting process suffered.

There are now around 250 Approved Solar Retailers. Unfortunately, among those are a handful that I would not recommend to anyone. I’ve had a gutful of legal threats recently so I’m not going to name names, but put it this way: there is one well known solar company that many industry insiders consider the antithesis of how to sell solar power. This company can now quote customers who have gone through an Approved Solar Retailer, because the CEC approved one of its sister companies as a member. This ASR can simply pass quote requests onto its sibling. How the hell the CEC let this company in is beyond me. That’s the worst example, but there are plenty of issues with other recently anointed ASR badge holders.

In my bookstore book, The Good Solar Guide, I wrote this (9 months ago):

The Clean Energy Council’s Approved Solar Retailer Scheme is different from its Accredited Installer scheme. In my opinion, the Approved Solar Retailer scheme is excellent and takes most of the risk out of buying solar. You’re highly unlikely to go with a bad ’un if you choose a company on the approved retailer list, and you’ll almost certainly end up with a well-installed, quality system.

Sadly I don’t feel this way any more. I can’t in good conscience advise someone that using an ASR is a 100% safe way to buy solar. When I update the GSG later this year, I will be changing these words to be much more cautious. From what I’m seeing, it is no longer the case that if you get a quote from an ASR you are protected from bad companies. I wish it wasn’t so. But in their rush to sign companies up, so they can offer the SA Battery Rebate, it seems to me the CEC have lost the very essence of what made the scheme special: exclusivity and safety.

“Bureaucracy is ever desirous of spreading its influence and its power.”
– Herbert Hoover

The CEC ASR scheme is approved by the ACCC.

ACCC stands for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. They are meant to protect competition and the consumer.  Unfortunately a defacto mandatory ASR scheme harms both competition and the consumer.

If the ASR scheme was genuinely voluntary as the CEC promised it would be, it would not harm competition and it would help protect consumers. But it seems it is becoming less voluntary all the time.

Last week a little bird told me that Solar Victoria, the state government agency that administers the $2,225 Victorian solar rebate, was considering making Approved Solar Retailer Status mandatory. If this occurs and you want the $2,225 rebate deducted from your solar power system in Victoria you’ll have to use a Clean Energy Council Approved Solar Retailer.

If this happens it will be effectively impossible to compete in VIC without ASR status. No consumer is going to choose a company that can’t offer an extra $2,225 of free government money!

That’s how ASR will become mandatory in VIC. If it eventuates, the rest of the country is likely to go the same way as other states (or a Labor federal government) introduce more voter-friendly solar rebates, all potentially only available to ASRs.

It’s bad for installers who don’t want to be ASRs.

If this comes to pass, excellent companies that have done nothing wrong will be forced to either join the ASR or stop selling solar power systems. That’s not good. How can the CEC think this is OK?

All I can think is that they believe anyone who chooses not to join their scheme must be guilty of being a shonk – otherwise they’d have nothing to fear. The classic nothing to hide argument.

Hey CEC, there are hundreds of solar companies out there who are happily delivering great customer service and installations, abiding by Australian Consumer Law when they sell and support solar and installing to the Australian Standards. They don’t want another layer of bureaucracy to deal with. They don’t want every quote they send to a potential customer to be gone through by a competitor looking for a ‘paperwork’ error that puts them in breach of your rules. And they really don’t want to show you their finances. They like privacy.

Don’t lose your empathy for hard working solar businesses who just want to get on with the job.

The effect of power and publicity on all men is the aggravation of self, a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim’s sympathies.
– Henry Adams

I support those businesses’ right to operate without extra burden. I trust them to do the right thing. And that’s based on 10 years of experience working closely with them. The bad guys can be dealt with using the fantastically consumer-focused Australian Consumer Law. No need to reinvent the wheel.

It’s bad for installers who are Approved Solar Retailers. Yes really.

Huh? How can that be? Surely existing Approved Solar Retailers have everything to gain from this?

Please don’t be naive dear solar company – as ASR becomes de-facto mandatory – the CEC becomes your judge, jury and executioner. They will dictate how you can market and sell your solar power systems. And they will decide your fate if a complaint is made (which is highly likely to be from a competitor who knows how much losing ASR status will, now, hurt your business).

My business mentor told me many years ago:

“One is the worst number in business”

Don’t become dependent on one customer, one marketing channel, one product, one vendor or one ‘Approved Retailer’ badge. Because if you lose that one thing – your business will suffer greatly. If I was an Approved Solar Retailer, I’d be worried about the power I’ve handed to one body.

So the creeping compulsion to be an ASR is bad for solar installers who don’t want to be ASRs.  It is bad for those that are ASRs but don’t realise how dangerous their dependency has become as the scheme slides towards being mandatory.

 “Some third person decides your fate: this is the whole essence of bureaucracy.”
― Kollontai Alexandra, La Oposición Obrera

It’s bad for consumers because…

#1 It is no longer an effective shark net.

I genuinely believe that – due to the pressure that comes with having to sign SA installers up quickly so they can access the SA battery rebate – the ASR scheme has gone from being an effective shark net to one with shark-sized holes. I gave one example earlier.

“bureaucracies are about rules, not results.”
-Peter Drucker

If a bad company follows all the rules when applying they may get admittance to the scheme despite their reputation in the industry.

#2 Price rises are inevitable

But the real kicker for consumers is the irony of an ACCC-approved scheme that will inevitably push prices up for consumers if it becomes mandatory in Victoria.

The demand for solar power in Victoria since the Victorian rebate was launched has been off the charts. My business, SolarQuotes, has been struggling to match enough good solar businesses with all the enquiries. We’ve literally had to stop most advertising via some platforms in Victoria to reduce demand for our services.

So Victoria has very high demand for solar power.

If Solar Victoria only allow Approved Solar Retailers to be eligible for the VIC rebate, the supply of quotes will instantly plummet.

I’m no economist, but I’m pretty sure that when demand is high and you reduce supply – prices go up.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the prices went up by $2,250 – just enough to wipe out any benefit from the VIC rebate.

Dear Solar Victoria, Please Don’t Make ASR Mandatory.

I’ve spoken to some great people at Solar Victoria. I can tell they are passionate about getting lots of high quality solar on rooftops and protecting the consumer. I can understand how insisting on Approved Solar Retailer status seems like an easy route to de-risking the solar buying process.

But I urge Solar Victoria to not make the mistake of making ASR mandatory.

In my experience, the Approved Solar Retailer scheme is not the safety net it once was and I can’t see how prices won’t rise if ASR becomes mandatory to access the rebate.

Hard working solar companies who have done nothing wrong will be forced to either acquiesce to the bureaucracy, or stop selling solar while the rebate is on offer. Talk about throwing out the baby with the bath water.

And there is no need. Everything is already in place in Victoria to weed out the bad companies. Australian Consumer Law is very consumer focused – combine that with the excellent Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) system and Solar Victoria has all the tools it needs to stamp out the bad guys. They just need to sharpen them and use them relentlessly.

Victoria also has a 100% inspection regime for solar systems. So it should be impossible for a shoddily installed solar power system to be switched on in VIC. Again this inspection regime just needs sharpening, and the penalties for unsafe installs harsher to make it even more effective.

Solar Victoria should use the tools they already have to make solar buying in Victoria as safe as it can be. Resist the urge to add rules on top of rules.

Dear ACCC, please consider withdrawing your approval of the ASR scheme if it continues to become defacto mandatory

I hope the irony of the ACCC giving their blessing to a scheme that is increasing prices and becoming less effective at protecting consumers is not lost on them. I urge the ACCC to have a chat with the CEC about the direction the Approved Solar Retailer scheme is headed.

Dear CEC, you can’t control everything

And I urge the CEC to stop lobbying state governments to force solar companies into signing up for the Approved Solar Retailer scheme. You had a great scheme that may have been growing slowly, but was effective and exclusive. Now that you’ve opened the floodgates the scheme is – from what I can see – no longer very exclusive, or even a safe-harbour for nervous solar buyers. Take the scheme back to its original promised intention – a voluntary scheme for retailers who want to join and get the kudos of a badge that is hard to earn and hard to keep.

Let solar installers who do not want another layer of bureaucracy to opt out without penalty, and let the shonky solar companies who don’t want to join because they simply want to stay shonky be answerable to Australian Consumer Law, the Australian Standards and state based consumer tribunals and consumer affairs.

After a shaky start, the CEC are doing an outstanding job of culling the approved list of solar panels and inverters. Their management of the Accredited Installer scheme has been good – they have been a big part of making the STC (aka the Federal ‘Rebate’) scheme so successful. Thank you CEC.

But the CEC cannot solve every problem in the consumer solar space. Australian Consumer Law is fantastically consumer-centric – consumers just need help knowing their rights and using them.

I urge the CEC to stop lobbying state governments to make Approved Solar Retailer defacto mandatory. You have a lot of power over the technical side of solar installation that you handle well. Resist the temptation to make your power all-encompassing.

As me old mate George once said:

“We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.”
— George Orwell

But I urge you to relinquish the power you have and want over state incentives. It hurts the ASR scheme and it hurts the consumer.

Let’s learn from the mistake in South Australia and bring the ASR scheme back to its originally intended purpose: an exclusive, hard to get, voluntary code of conduct that gives consumers who want it added protection when buying solar.

Disclosure: SolarQuotes has about 300 installers in its network who pay us every month for sales leads. Many of those are Approved Solar Retailers.