The panels are up, but nothing is switched on
Installing solar and being allowed to use it are two different events, weeks or months apart. Almost nobody is told that before they sign.
The crew came, the panels went on the roof, and everyone left. That was six weeks ago. The system is not producing anything, the electric bill arrived as usual, and the loan payment has started.
This is the most solar-specific complaint there is, and it happens because of something almost no homeowner is told clearly at the point of sale: installing a solar system and being permitted to switch it on are two separate events, run by different organisations, with weeks or months between them.
What actually has to happen after the crew leaves
Details vary by state and utility, but the sequence is broadly the same everywhere — and each step is a place the job can stall.
| Step | Who controls it | Typical stall |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Physical installation | Your installer | The visible part. Usually the fastest part. |
| 2. Electrical/building inspection | Your city or county | Fails inspection, and nobody schedules the re-inspection. |
| 3. Interconnection application | Your utility | Paperwork submitted late, or submitted wrong, then queued. |
| 4. Meter change, if needed | Your utility | Utility scheduling, often the longest single wait. |
| 5. Permission to Operate (PTO) | Your utility | The legal green light. Until this lands, switching on can breach your interconnection agreement. |
A few weeks between installation and PTO is normal and not a sign of anything wrong. Months of silence is a different thing.
How long this actually drags, in homeowners' words
- “almost three years and our solar system still does not have Permission to Operate (PTO)” Homeowner complaint record, CA
- “it still has not been turned on! No explanation, no communication” Homeowner complaint record, UT — seven months
- “system is still not operational and has failed 3 inspections” Homeowner complaint record, TX
- “promised start dates that are continually cancelled” Homeowner complaint record, CA
- “It's almost 4 years now and they still haven't finished the job” Homeowner complaint record, NJ
- “knowingly accepted my life savings while misrepresenting the status” Homeowner complaint record, MD
The part that actually hurts: you are already paying
A solar loan is a loan. Its repayment schedule is set by the lender, and it is generally not tied to whether your system produces a single kilowatt-hour. So the gap between installation and PTO is a period where you can be paying both a full electricity bill and a solar payment for a system that is doing nothing.
- “bank began deducting monthly payments from my account” Homeowner complaint record, TX — system still unactivated
- “paying both my regular electric bill and the solar bill” Homeowner complaint record, TX
- “paying a full electric bill and the Solar Panel bill” Homeowner complaint record, TX
- “continue to get huge bills” Homeowner complaint record, CA
What to do if you are stuck in the gap
In this order
- Ask for three specific facts in writing The date the interconnection application was submitted, the utility's reference number for it, and the current PTO status. Vague answers to these three questions are the tell — a company doing the work has them to hand.
- Call your utility yourself with that reference This is the step that changes everything, because the utility has no stake in the story. They will tell you whether an application exists, what state it is in, and what is outstanding. Several complaints resolved into "the paperwork was never filed."
- Ask the building department whether the inspection passed Also free, also neutral. One documented job had "failed 3 inspections" while the homeowner was being told it was progressing.
- Put the payment problem in writing to the installer State plainly that you are paying a loan on a system they have not delivered, and ask what they intend to do. Written, dated, and specific.
- Contact the lender separately They are a different company with their own compliance obligations. If the system was financed on the basis of a working installation, the lender should know it is not working.
- Escalate to the people who license them State contractor licensing board, state attorney general consumer division, and your utility commission. Free, and a licence matters more to an installer than your individual job.
The single highest-value move on that list is the second one. Your utility is the neutral referee — it has no relationship with your installer and no reason to manage your expectations. One phone call converts months of "it's in process" into a fact.
When the delay is genuinely not the installer's fault
Worth saying plainly, because assuming bad faith is often wrong here. Utility interconnection queues are real and in some regions are genuinely months long. Inspection backlogs are real. Meter swaps run on utility crews the installer cannot command. A grid-capacity study in a constrained area can add months legitimately.
The difference is not the length of the wait — it is whether they can show you where it sits. A good installer volunteers the reference number and the queue position. A bad one offers reassurance with no checkable facts in it.
Warning signs
- No interconnection reference number, ever.
- The utility has no application on file.
- Inspection failed and nobody told you.
- Different story each time you call.
- "It's with the utility" for months with no evidence.
- Loan payments running while nobody will discuss it.
Normal, even if slow
- You get an application date and reference number.
- The utility confirms the application exists.
- A named person owns your file.
- You are told the queue position and it moves.
- Inspection results are shared, pass or fail.
- They raise the loan-payment issue before you do.
If you need someone else to finish it
A system that is physically installed but never commissioned can usually be taken over by another licensed installer — inspection corrections, interconnection paperwork and commissioning are all transferable work. It is not free, and it is a great deal cheaper than a system that never switches on.
Who can pick up an unfinished system
Solar installers by city
Get matched with a local installer
Tell us your city and where the job stalled. You get licensed solar installers who can quote on finishing an unfinished system — or give you a second read on what is actually holding it up.
Get matched with an installer Questions to ask before signingQuestions homeowners actually ask
My solar panels are installed but not turned on. Why?
Because installation and permission to use the system are separate events. After the panels go up you still need a local electrical inspection to pass, an interconnection application processed by your utility, sometimes a meter change, and finally Permission to Operate (PTO) — the utility's legal green light.
A few weeks is normal. Months of silence is not. Ask for the interconnection submission date and reference number, then call your utility yourself to confirm it exists.
What does PTO mean in solar?
Permission to Operate — your utility's formal authorisation to switch the system on and export power to the grid. Until it is granted, running the system can breach your interconnection agreement.
It is also the most useful phrase you can use with your installer, because it turns a vague progress question into a checkable status with a date and a reference number attached.
Do I have to pay my solar loan before the system is turned on?
Usually yes, and this is the part that catches people out. The loan repayment schedule is set by the lender and generally has nothing to do with whether the system produces anything — so you can be paying a full electric bill and a solar payment simultaneously for a system doing nothing.
Some installers will cover payments during an activation delay they caused. Get that commitment in writing before signing, because it is worth very little as a spoken reassurance.
How long does it take to get Permission to Operate?
Commonly a few weeks to a couple of months, but it varies enormously by utility and region — interconnection queues in constrained areas genuinely run long, and that is not the installer's fault.
Judge the answer, not the wait. An installer who is doing the work can give you the submission date, the reference number and the queue position. One who cannot has usually not filed anything.
How do I find out if my installer actually filed the interconnection paperwork?
Call your utility and ask directly. This is the single highest-value step available to you, because the utility has no relationship with your installer and no reason to manage your expectations.
Ask whether an interconnection application exists for your address, what status it is in, and what is outstanding. Several documented complaints resolved into the discovery that nothing had ever been filed.
Can another company finish a solar installation someone else started?
Usually yes. Inspection corrections, interconnection paperwork and commissioning are transferable to another licensed installer, and this is a common rescue job — particularly for systems orphaned when an installer closed.
Expect to pay for it, and expect the new company to want to inspect the existing work first. Get the original system design, equipment list and any permit records together before you call, since it makes quoting far easier.