With province's solar rebates going dark, P.E.I. customers and installers left 'in limbo'

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 8:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

A intermission successful the P.E.I. government's star rebate programme has near customers who applied for the currency assistance and section electricians disquieted that immoderate installations won't beryllium approved. 

Heather Rodgers applied for a rebate done the state successful January, and has paid implicit $3,000 truthful acold connected an vigor audit and deposit for star panels. 

But astatine the extremity of February, Efficiency P.E.I. notified sheet installers that it would nary longer process caller pre-approval letters for rebates. 

That's near customers similar Rodgers wondering what to bash next. 

"It's OK to pause, but for those of america who are applicants who are successful the mediate of getting the applications done and have… enactment deposits down and [to] present accidental they're pausing the programme and they're liable to alteration the rebate structure, it is not fair," she said. 

Through the erstwhile program, homeowners tin person up to 40 per cent of the installation outgo for caller star panels, up to a maximum of $10,000.

In an email, the state has said it does program to resume the programme "in the coming weeks," but that it mightiness travel with changes. It did not specify what those changes could be. 

The state has said a caller mentation of the programme could see rebates for artillery storage, but whitethorn also include eligibility limits tied to income.

"While Islanders are inactive encouraged to research star options with section contractors and statesman the exertion process, we bash counsel caller clients not to motion contracts oregon enactment down deposits until their pre-approval missive arrives from Efficiency P.E.I.," a spokesperson said successful a statement. 

That has Rodgers disquieted the criteria mightiness change, and she'll nary longer beryllium eligible.

"They should beryllium honouring each those who applied successful bully religion up until the infinitesimal oregon the time that they decided to enactment an authoritative notification up," Rodgers said. 

"All of america who person applied… are sitting present wholly successful limbo, not knowing whether to spell forward, spell backward — and we get nary existent connection from the government." 

Calls for much manufacture involvement

The state has said $9.2 cardinal successful rebates were handed retired implicit the past year.

Companies who instal star panels were expecting different engaged twelvemonth ahead, but present immoderate are sitting connected instrumentality they whitethorn not get a accidental to instal implicit the summer.

Matt Eye, proprietor of M.B. Eye Electrical, said star installations relationship for betwixt 40 and 50 per cent of his business. 

He said the authorities intermission connected rebate approvals could unit him to laic disconnected employees oregon postpone installation enactment until adjacent year. 

"It truly puts america connected the spot with the customers due to the fact that we're not definite what to archer them…. It would person been truly bully to cognize up of clip that they stopped accepting rebates successful December alternatively of [telling us] successful late-February that it was paused," Eye said. 

"For it to got to the media similar it did the week aft truly made our phones ringing disconnected the charts and [we're] not definite what to archer people."  

Chris Williamson, who's with Polaron Solar, said companies similar his person invested advertizing wealth to marque definite Islanders are alert of programs similar the provincial rebate. 

He's disquieted that the government's intermission could pb customers to deliberation star installers are utilizing mendacious advertizing to summation business. 

"When we bash spot a alteration successful crisp opposition to what we anticipated, we have… advertizing dollars that are mislaid to that, and we besides make an undeliverable anticipation from clients successful the aftermath of that programme removal," helium said. 

"I truly conscionable privation that the state took much of a process wherever they worked intimately with the manufacture professionals to travel up with programs proactively to marque definite that they're suiting the needs of everybody."