Is Your Business Safe Under California's New Licensing Rule for Solar Contractors

Is Your Business Safe Under California's New Licensing Rule for Solar Contractors At the end of July, things changed dramatically for California’s solar contractors. The Contractor State Licensing Board (CSLB) voted to change which contractors are qualified to continue installing solar systems with energy storage.

It’s a rule that forces many contractors out of

the emerging solar storage market in just a few months.

Who is Now Eligible to Install Solar + Storage?

The ruling states that the C-10 license is now the only one permitted to install solar and energy storage systems. This is despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of solar

+ storage installations were performed by other contractors - only 22% were completed by those with a C-10 license.

C-10 license holders are required to hire only Certified Electricians and registered electrical trainees (on a one-to-one basis) to perform all installation work. The CSLB head registrar has also issued recent documentation stating that all electrical work

performed under a C-10 contractor must be carried out by a Certified Electrician.

It is still permitted for General A and/or General B licensed contractors to install solar + storage equipment if the installation falls in line with those license classifications.

What Does This Mean for C-46 Contractors?

After a period of 90 days (starting July 27th), all contractors carrying only a C-46 license will be prohibited from completing installations that include energy storage equipment. C-46 contractors should still be able to execute solar installations that do not include energy storage systems.

Unfortunately, this means that 80% of California’s licensed solar contractors face serious limitations if they are not able to obtain C-10 licensing and ensure that their staff meets the strict requirements of a C-10 team.

The California Solar + Storage Association is working to reverse this decision. However, there have yet to be any official updates pointing to a change.

How Will This Affect Solar Installation Leads?

There will be two large Impacts to expect when it comes to solar leads.

The first is serious demand and competition for solar + storage leads among C-46 contractors before the 90-day grace period is up. Businesses will be scrambling to fit in as many of these customers as they can before they are cut off from serving them.

After the new rule goes into effect, the next impact will come in the form of a major bottleneck of solar + storage service. Far fewer contractors will be able to accommodate leads of this type, meaning that they’ll be dealing with a backlog of leads needing to be screened and scheduled. So qualified contractors will be swimming in

customers, but they won’t have the process efficiency necessary to fit in as many installations as they could in a given period of time.

Teaming up with a solar lead generation agency can help contractors that find themselves in either of these situations.

Ready-to-deliver lead services can help C46 contractors source as many solar +

storage leads as possible in the next months, without worrying about any of the extra time or hassle involved in qualifying or preparing those leads. With the right agency, they’ll also be able to avoid competition.

Overwhelmed C-10 contractors, on the other hand, can streamline their lead-to-sale process by letting an agency deal with all of the pre-meeting work. They’ll be able to get

far more deals done every month, improving their revenue stream.

While these new rules are bound to create trouble for California’s contractors, agencies like Grid Freedom are here to help businesses adapt and overcome. If you need help getting new customers sourced and processed, we’re ready to assist.

Get Immediate & Exclusive Access to PreScreened Leads at www.GridFreedom.com

Contact Us

Is Your Business Safe Under California's New Licensing Rule for Solar Contractors Grid Freedom, Inc. 2430 RT 34 Manasquan, NJ - 08736, United States Call: 855.596.9567 Email: accounts@gridfreedom.com Website: https://gridfreedom.com