Perch Energy and Soltice merger scales to 3 GW amid global energy volatility

Following Perch Energy’s acquisition of Solstice, the unified community solar entity now manages a 3 GW portfolio and a pipeline of over 1,000 projects across 16 states.

Executives from the combined “super-platform” noted that while global fuel price spikes are beginning to impact household energy bills, regulated utility hedging and multi-year rate planning typically delay the full retail impact. The company plans to use its expanded scale to lower customer acquisition costs and streamline the delivery of 5% to 50% electricity bill savings, specifically targeting low-to-moderate income households facing increasing energy burdens.

pv magazine USA held an exclusive interview with Perch Energy chief executive officer Bruce Stewart and Sandhya Murali, chief strategy and marketing officer.

Energy crisis

With global LNG and oil prices spiking this month, how quickly are you seeing this translate into retail electricity rate hikes across your 16-state footprint?

Bruce Stewart, CEO: We’re seeing examples like Con Edison in New York proposing a multi-year rate plan that could increase electricity and gas rates by more than 10%, and Grist recently reported that the average U.S. household energy bill has risen nearly 30% since 2021 alone.

That said, it’s still too early to tie this month’s spike in global oil prices directly to electricity rate increases. Regulated utilities typically set their rates well in advance, sometimes one to three years ahead, so it can take time for shocks in fuel markets to work their way through the system. Many utilities hedge against volatility by spreading their power purchases across several years. So, for example, a utility planning for 2030 demand might purchase a portion of that power each year between now and then. That approach helps smooth out sudden price swings tied to specific events. Of course, utilities are also citing an increase in demand for electricity and load growth generally from data center development

What that means is that some regions won’t see an immediate spike in electricity prices, but rather a more gradual increase if fuel costs remain elevated. One exception could be New England, where the power system is more heavily dependent on natural gas and therefore more sensitive to changes in gas prices.

You mentioned solar as a “security measure.” Is this actually driving new subscriptions right now, or is it still just a theoretical talking point for the industry?

Sandhya Murali, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer: Higher energy prices are absolutely driving consumers to find ways to save on their electricity bills. The burden of high energy costs is a real issue in many of the communities we serve, particularly for low-to moderate-income households who tend to pay a disproportionate share of their income towards electricity. As electricity costs rise, people are looking for relief and subscribing to community solar delivers real financial value, saving subscribers between 5%-20% and in some of our markets, upwards of 50%. This type of meaningful savings can be the difference between paying your electricity bill or buying groceries.

For the 1,000+ projects in your pipeline, are developers seeing higher hardware or financing costs that offset the increased demand from high energy prices?

Bruce Stewart, CEO: While rising electricity prices help give our developer partners confidence in the electricity savings that community solar has to offer, costs throughout the development cycle are always something that our partners are working to mitigate and manage. Community solar continues to play a critical role in delivering both affordability and local, cost-efficient clean energy. And when you talk about speed, community solar is one of the fastest sources of generation that can be added to the grid and deployed at scale.

Merger and scale

Now that the Solstice acquisition is official, how does managing 3 GW change your operational math? Does that scale actually lower your customer acquisition costs, or does it just make the regulatory overhead more complex?

Sandhya Murali, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer: The combined Perch and Solstice management and acquisition capabilities are very robust with strong acquisition channels and partnerships capable of absorbing cost-efficient acquisition of a mix of commercial, municipal, residential and low-moderate income subscribers. We are driving economies of scale on both acquisition and management services via automation and one efficient platform. Every state still has its own regulatory and policy requirements, so complexity doesn’t disappear and it’s important asset owners have a trusted subscriber organization partner to ensure nothing slips through the cracks from a consumer protection and compliance perspective. However, scale lets us serve asset owners across all markets with one partner, apply lessons from a large body of operational data to deliver services efficiently, and guide our clients through the various long-term project challenges. Being active across the country allows our policy team to help design strong programs that ensure subscribers see consistent savings and benefits over the full life of their projects.

With Perch and Solstice joining forces, is the era of small, regional subscriber managers over? Do you expect to see more of these “super-platforms” in 2026?

Bruce Stewart, CEO: The broader market of solar asset owners is likewise consolidating and mirrors our efforts to consolidate to best serve them across their larger portfolios. Both Perch Energy (prior to the Arcadia combination), and now Solstice, were both smaller and nimble companies operating with highly efficient platforms delivering a high service quality to our developer clients and customers – this remains our mission. We’ve been around for over a decade and are bringing the combined talent and experience of our team to bring our strengths together to improve the experience and results for customers and asset owners alike. With federal and regulatory challenges in the market, consolidating our talents helps us maintain that momentum and expand access to affordable clean energy for more homes and businesses when they need it most. For smaller subscriber managers, I’d say the key is being strategic about how you want to grow. We saw the clear opportunity to find partners who share our values and vision for the communities we serve.

Policy and LMI

How are you navigating the tension between high market demand and federal policy goals that might not be aligned with rapid solar expansion right now?

Bruce Stewart, CEO: We are continuing to see demand across our markets, and the pipeline of community solar projects remains healthy due in part to several partners who have adequately safe harbored in several states. While federal policy and regulatory processes can sometimes move more slowly than the pace of market growth, the reality is that the projects that are already built still must be run, and subscribers still need to see the savings they signed up for. Many projects are just coming online, and as more households and businesses start seeing the tangible benefits of electricity bill savings, we expect support for community solar to continue growing. States like Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota and Massachusetts are stepping in to fill changes in federal policy doubling down on community solar and ensuring their markets thrive in a post-ITC world.

We’re also seeing creativity from asset owners and financiers. Even if capital isn’t flowing into traditional renewable energy projects as it used to, investors are finding ways to put money to work in community solar because the demand and savings are real. With increasing demand for electricity, investors are seeing the positive benefits of putting generation quickly onto the grid via community solar to meet the market need.

Low-to moderate-income households are getting hit hardest by the current energy spike. What specific mechanisms is Perch using to make sure these customers actually see savings immediately rather than a year from now?

Sandhya Murali, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer: Energy burden is the highest among low-to moderate-income households, and we know that rising energy costs hit them hardest. Solstice has always been the most LMI-driven provider in the market – and that focus will continue as part of Perch Energy. Low-income households remain the hardest to enroll in community solar, but it’s challenge a we’re committed to because these are the households that need the benefits most.

Savings from community solar start immediately for projects already in operation reflected directly on monthly bills rather than waiting for rebates down the line. On top of that, through the Community Benefits REC model, we’ve worked with utilities to help hundreds of customers pay past-due balances, get them out of delinquency, and back on track with their bills. Programs like this ensure clean energy delivers real, immediate relief.

Together, as one team, we’re reaching more households and expanding access to the benefits of affordable clean energy for communities across the U.S. with more than 100,000 LMI households receiving savings through community solar projects today.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.