Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. (PG&E), along with its subsidiary PG&E Co., Sungage Financial LLC, NBT Bank NA, and SunMade Energy LLC, have been named in a federal class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The case, brought by homeowner Cameron Beatty, centers around allegations of a deceptive solar panel financing scheme targeting consumers with hidden fees and misleading loan terms.

The proposed class action—now widely referred to as the PG&E and lenders solar panel scheme lawsuit—claims that the defendants engaged in a coordinated “bait-and-switch” operation, tricking homeowners into financing solar panel installations through so-called zero-interest loans that ultimately carried undisclosed costs.

Beatty alleges that PG&E manipulated electricity rates to create financial pressure, driving homeowners toward solar loans structured to exploit federal solar tax credits. Once committed, consumers like Beatty allegedly discovered that significant portions of their loans—up to $20,000 in his case—were not used for solar installations but instead funneled to Sungage as hidden fees, in violation of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA).

“These hidden charges were neither properly disclosed nor reflected in the solar system’s value, representing a deliberate effort to conceal the true cost of credit,” said Beatty in the filing. “Consumers were misled by false representations and prevented from accessing clear system pricing.”

The lawsuit also contends that the loan agreements included unrealistic expectations that customers would apply federal tax credits to their balances within 18 months or face steep monthly payment increases due to loan re-amortization. Moreover, when Beatty attempted to sell his home in 2024, he discovered that the solar loan could not be transferred without burdening the buyer with new, higher interest rates—contradicting what was originally promised.

Class counsel Jason M. Ingber of Ingber Law Group described the case as the beginning of a broader effort to hold solar financing companies accountable. “This is an industry-wide fraud,” said Ingber. “These companies are preying on low-income homeowners and absorbing federal tax credits meant for them through misleading and exploitative loan structures.”

The lawsuit seeks to represent thousands of individuals who entered into solar financing agreements with Sungage Financial and/or NBT Bank and were subject to similar practices.

The case is titled Beatty v. Sungage Financial LLC, et al., Case No. 1:25-at-00443.