Solar Power (Feed-in Tariff)

Sandra Osborne Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

I share the concerns of Labour Members. The shadow Secretary of State made a very powerful speech, but I want to concentrate on a constituents’ case because the Secretary of State does not seem to think that the December deadline is a problem. However, my constituents’ case is a perfect illustration of why it is a problem.

On 2 November, my constituents learned that the Department of Energy and Climate Change had changed the date from 31 March 2012 to 8 December 2011 for reducing the feed-in tariff rate for solar panels fitted to domestic properties from 43%. At the 43% FIT level, they calculated that they could borrow £12,000 to install solar panels and that they would break even on the loan repayments. The week before, they signed a contract for solar panels to be installed before 31 March 2012 and paid just over £7,000 as a deposit. At that time, there was no indication that DECC was about to make a sudden change to the date for introducing the revised FIT rate.

My constituents immediately feared that the contractor may not be able to have the system installed and their registration complete within the new time frame set by DECC. If that happened, they would be trapped in a contract from which they would be making a monthly loss that they cannot afford for the next 25 years. They would not have signed up to the contract if DECC had made it known that it was about to change the time frame for introducing the revised rate. My constituents acted in good faith and believe that the original tariff agreement to 31 March should be honoured or maintained at that level for people such as them who have already signed contracts and paid significant deposits with no guarantee that work and registration will be completed before 8 December. That should be taken into consideration. It was completely unreasonable to give five weeks’ notice of such a significant change at a time when suppliers and installers are exceptionally busy meeting the demands of the original 31 March deadline.

Following this shock, my constituents have been working closely with panel suppliers and installation contractors to complete the work prior to the new cut-off date. Luckily for them, the work has been completed, the system is installed, and registration documents have been submitted to their energy supplier. The registration documents were sent to the energy company by special delivery on Saturday 19 November, and they breathed a sigh of relief because this gave, or so they thought, plenty of time for registration prior to the December cut-off. The energy company has now informed them that it cannot guarantee that the registration documents will be processed prior to the December cut-off date because it is receiving unanticipated levels of rushed applications to make the new deadline, and that has resulted in a significant slowing in the registration process.

My constituents believe that this is, by default, another way for DECC to ensure that fewer people are able to receive the previously agreed tariff, and the Secretary of State openly admitted that in his speech. They rightly believe that this looks like another example of people entering into contracts with this Government only to have the goalposts moved without due consideration or proper consultation and find that they are left to take the financial hit. They were already in the position that 60% of the costs had been paid to the contractor and they could not reasonably cancel the contract. Having fast-tracked the installation process, they are now faced with another barrier to registration whereby, through the Government’s action, they will be tied into a green energy contract rather than breaking even. This leaves them with making a significant loss for the next 25 years, through no fault of their own. They tried to do the right thing; perhaps the Government should now do the right thing and change the deadline.