Top Tier — Indiana Battery Sales Reference

AES Indiana (d/b/a Indianapolis Power & Light) · Indianapolis & Central Indiana

Sales reference for reps working AES Indiana territory (Indianapolis and central Indiana — formerly IPL). This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. Indiana moved off retail net metering under SEA 309 (the EDG buyback tariff), and AES is in the middle of a contested rate case and a big utility-scale storage buildout — the facts that shape the AES pitch.

What kind of market this is

AES Indiana is a post-net-metering market under Indiana's SEA 309, in the middle of a contested rate case and a major utility-scale storage buildout. Four defining facts:

1. Indiana ended retail net metering under SEA 309. New solar customers are on EDG (Excess Distributed Generation) — you buy power at full retail but your exports are credited at the utility's EDG rate, far below retail. Grandfather cohorts are statutory and set by install date (see the Cohort Map) — with the biggest cohort's retail netting ending July 1, 2032.
2. The spread is real (~8.6¢) — retail is about 14¢/kWh blended while the EDG credit is about 5.43¢/kWh. Every kWh a battery lets you self-consume instead of export is worth that gap.
3. AES just went through a contested rate case — it asked for a big increase (framed around ~$30/mo) and the IURC approved far less (~$9.36/mo, cutting the ask ~63%) amid Indiana's affordability push. Rates are still climbing, just less than AES wanted.
4. AES is building utility-scale storage — including a headline 820 MW battery project (conditional on landing a large-load customer). It's a useful proof point that storage is real, dispatchable infrastructure the utility itself is investing in.

Your lead is the spread + rate protection + resilience. EDG means exports earn far less than retail, so a battery that self-consumes captures the ~8.6¢ spread; AES's rate case keeps rates climbing (even after the IURC cut); the 2032 grandfather cliff is a real clock; and central Indiana's derecho and tornado exposure makes backup a genuine need.

Default configuration: backup-capable.

• Backup-capable: $18,500 cash / $23,942 financed / ~$228/mo
• Self-consumption-only: $17,000 cash / $22,068 financed / ~$210/mo

Confirm pricing in the tool before quoting.

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The spine is multiple beats per section. Each beat = customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config; beats with Self-consumption:/Backup: branches swap the customer line by config.

The Problem

Why you still have a bill — and why it depends on when you went solar. Under Indiana's SEA 309 rules, most solar customers now export their surplus for less than half of what they pay to buy power back — you send power to the grid at about 5.4 cents and buy it back at about 14. If you went solar before mid-2022 you may still have the old retail netting, but that has an expiration date now. Either way, your solar does nothing when the grid goes down.

Rep layer: This opener splits by cohort (see Cohort Map). EDG customers: the ~8.6¢ spread (~14¢ retail vs ~5.43¢ EDG) is the leak. Grandfathered netting customers (NM II): no current leak, but the 7/1/2032 cliff is coming — lead rate protection + resilience + "lock in before the cliff." Objection — "I get credits for my solar." At the EDG rate, which is well under half of what you pay to buy it back — not full retail. That gap is what the battery closes.

Your system is orphaned. Whoever installed your solar is likely gone, merged, or unreachable — especially after so many installers folded when the federal tax credit expired. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Ask who installed it. Sets up the takeover section. Objection — "My installer's still around." Would they answer a service call within a week — and cover it?

Your inverter is on the clock. Your inverter is several years old. When it fails out of warranty, that's about $3,500 to $5,000 out of pocket — and your system produces nothing until it's replaced, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Rep layer: SolarEdge string inverters ~12-yr warranty, real failure window 8–15 years; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20 years. 70–90% of systems see inverter failure within the panel lifespan. Objection — "Still under warranty." Good — until it isn't, and then it's $3,500–5,000.

(BACKUP ONLY) No protection when the grid goes down — and central Indiana saw it in 2023. Your solar shuts off during an outage — anti-islanding, a safety cutoff. A battery keeps your critical systems running, and with sun it recharges through a multi-day outage.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. Central IN context: the June 29, 2023 derecho knocked out ~81,000 AES customers (part of ~200,000 statewide); the March 30, 2025 tornado/wind event took out ~114,000 statewide with 2 deaths. Central Indiana sits in the derecho and tornado belt. Objection — "We don't get many outages." Central Indiana gets derechos and tornadoes — the 2023 derecho took out 81,000 AES homes, and a 2025 tornado outbreak killed two people.

The Solution

A battery keeps your power instead of selling it back cheap. Stores your daytime solar and uses it at night and during peak instead of buying at full retail — capturing the retail-to-export spread.

• Self-consumption: "Use your stored solar in the evening instead of buying it back at more than twice what AES paid you for it."
• Backup: "Keeps your home running when the grid goes down AND captures that spread the rest of the time."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: First cure beat. The AES mechanism: retail ~14¢ vs EDG ~5.43¢ = ~8.6¢ captured per self-consumed kWh. No VPP at AES (or anywhere in IN) — the value is the spread. Useful proof point: AES itself is building utility-scale storage (the 820 MW project, conditional) — storage is real infrastructure the utility is betting on.

We take it over. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact for your entire system — a new 10-year workmanship warranty, the 5-year Align Solar Protection contract ($0 deductible, non-transferable), and manufacturer warranty coordination.

Rep layer: Answers the orphaned-system problem. Be precise on transfers: workmanship with written consent; Align non-transferable; manufacturer per OEM terms.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle — built into the takeover, not sold as extras.

Rep layer: Reframes total cost. "Your payment buys the battery plus warranty plus service plus inverter-replacement coverage — over $11K of value."

The long game. AES rates are climbing — the utility just won a rate increase (about $9.36/mo on a typical bill, though it asked for far more), and it's investing heavily in generation and storage. And if you're on the old retail netting, it expires (7/1/2032 for the NM II cohort). A battery locks in the cost of your own power against that.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: 25-year case: conservative 3%, moderate 5%, aggressive 7%. AES drivers: the rate case (Cause 46258, ~$9.36/mo approved of a much bigger ask) + generation/storage investment (Petersburg coal→gas repower, the 820 MW battery). The affordability push (Braun/IURC) cut the ask ~63% — so frame it honestly: rates are still going up, just less than AES wanted. For NM II customers, the 7/1/2032 cliff is the concrete anchor. Objection — "Rates might not go up that much." AES just got an increase approved and is investing in new gas and storage — the trend is up.

What you actually own. The savings hero — combined value: spread capture (or protected retail netting) + resilience + the takeover bundle.

• Self-consumption: "Maximizes bill savings by capturing the spread. Does not provide backup — ask about the upgrade."
• Backup: "Does everything self-consumption does, plus keeps your critical loads running in an outage."

Rep layer: AES combined value = the ~8.6¢ spread + rate protection + resilience. No VPP, no rebate, no state credit anywhere in Indiana — the spread is the story. No-backup disclosure fires ONLY for self-consumption config.

Urgency

The clocks that make acting now better than waiting.

The grandfather clock (NM II customers). If you're on the old retail netting from installing between 2018 and mid-2022, it expires July 1, 2032 — then you move to EDG and start losing that ~8.6¢ spread on every exported kWh. A battery lets you lock in your energy independence before that transition.

Rep layer: This beat is strongest for the NM II cohort (retail netting until 7/1/2032). Honest — it's a real statutory date, not manufactured. For customers already on EDG, lead the spread instead. (NM I — pre-2018 — runs until 7/1/2047; rare.)

The rate clock. AES just won a rate increase and is investing in new generation and storage. Every month you wait is a month closer to higher rates with no hedge.

Rep layer: The rate case (Cause 46258) is the documented driver. Be honest that the IURC cut the ask — rates are still climbing, just less than AES wanted. Don't manufacture a deadline.

System aging. Your inverter is aging toward its failure window. The longer you wait, the closer you get to an out-of-warranty replacement at $3,500–5,000 out of pocket — with no service relationship to handle it. Installing now means Top Tier covers the inverter coordination from day one.

Rep layer: Universal urgency beat.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm install date. Run the credit check. And confirm when the solar was installed/interconnected — it determines the SEA 309 cohort (NM I / NM II / EDG), which changes the pitch.
2. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the key disclosures honestly — including the EDG buyback terms (exports credited at ~5.43¢, not retail), the 7/1/2032 grandfather cliff for NM II, and that there's no federal tax credit anymore.
3. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ NEVER quote a REP buyback rate as fixed/guaranteed — plan-dependent, confirm the customer's actual plan.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings, and in Texas real VPP income. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: AES Indiana (d/b/a Indianapolis Power & Light, formerly IPL) — regulated by the IURC, MISO Zone 6.
• Territory: Indianapolis and central Indiana (Marion County and surrounding).
• Market type: Post-net-metering under SEA 309 (EDG buyback), statutory grandfather cohorts, no battery VPP. Contested rate case + utility-scale storage buildout.
• Default config: Backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228). Self-consumption-only optional ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. Cohort Map — SEA 309's statutory cohorts (install-date based)

Three cohorts, set by install date under SEA 309 — statutory and uniform across all five Indiana IOUs. Ask the sorting question first.

THE SORTING QUESTION: "When did you install / interconnect your solar?" The SEA 309 cohort follows the install date, and it determines the netting terms.

Cohort 1 — NM I (installed on/before 12/31/2017). Retail "Monthly Netting" grandfathered until July 1, 2047 (IC 8-1-40-14). Rare — few systems this old. Battery value: spread hedge (post-cliff) + resilience + rate protection.

Cohort 2 — NM II (installed 1/1/2018 through 6/30/2022). Retail Monthly Netting until July 1, 2032 (IC 8-1-40-13), then moves to EDG. This is the headline cohort with the live grandfather + a concrete cliff — the "lock in before 7/1/2032" pitch. Battery value: protect the netting position + resilience + hedge the cliff.

Cohort 3 — EDG (installed on/after 7/1/2022). On the EDG tariff from interconnection — instantaneous netting, imports at retail, exports credited at the EDG rate (far below retail). Battery value: capture the ~8.6¢ spread + resilience + rate protection.

Why this matters — and the framing to get right: SEA 309 closed net metering to new customers on July 1, 2022 by statutory sunset date (IC 8-1-40-11(b)) — NOT because the 1.5%-of-peak aggregate cap "filled" (it generally didn't). Don't tell a customer "the cap ran out." The correct framing: the law set a hard date, and after 6/30/2022 net-metering tariffs expired for new applicants. The cohort dates (7/1/2032 for NM II, 7/1/2047 for NM I) are statutory and firm.

3. Rate Reality + Why Rates Climb

The spread (~8.6¢): you export at ~5.43¢ but buy back at ~14¢ blended — an ~8.6¢ gap. Every kWh the battery lets you self-consume instead of export is worth that spread. The EDG rate updates annually (AES files ~March 1, effective ~July 1, Cause 45504), computed as 1.25× the utility's average marginal price (IC 8-1-40-17) — so quote it as "about 5.4 cents, updated yearly."

What's driving AES's rate increases (named forward drivers):

1. The rate case (Cause 46258) — AES asked for a large increase (framed around ~$30/mo) and the IURC approved ~$9.36/mo on a typical 1,000 kWh bill (~$71.06M, order early 2026), cutting the ask ~63% amid the affordability push. Rates still went up, just less than requested.
2. Generation transition — AES is repowering its last Petersburg coal units to gas (~end 2026) and investing in storage; capital recovered through rates.
3. Grid modernization — reliability and distribution investment recovered through rates.

The affordability backdrop (say this honestly): Indiana has an active affordability push — Gov. Mike Braun (R) campaigned on it, there was a March 2026 IURC affordability hearing, and the IURC cut AES's ask ~63% (and Duke's from ~28%→~14%); Braun replaced the IURC chair after the AES vote. So be honest: AES's increase was real but much smaller than it wanted. Don't overclaim doom.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "AES got a rate increase approved — about $9.36/mo, though it asked for far more" (documented)
• ✅ "AES is repowering coal to gas and investing in storage, recovered through rates" (documented)
• ✅ "AES is building utility-scale battery storage (the 820 MW project, conditional)" (documented)
• ❌ "AES got the $30/mo it asked for" (false — the IURC cut it ~63%)
• ❌ "Your bill will be $X by 2032" (speculation)

4. Bill Anatomy — Reading an AES Bill

Why an EDG customer still has a bill even with solar. An EDG (post-2022) AES bill has:

1. The monthly customer charge — every month, solar or not.
2. Energy bought from AES at the ~14¢/kWh blended retail rate — nighttime, cloudy, and evening hours when solar is fading.
3. An EDG export credit at ~5.43¢/kWh — your exported surplus credited at well under half of retail, netted instantaneously (not monthly).

The leak: you export surplus at ~5.43¢ but buy back at ~14¢ — losing ~8.6¢ on every kWh. The battery fixes this by storing surplus for self-use (worth the full ~14¢ avoided) instead of exporting it cheap. For grandfathered NM II customers (until 7/1/2032): no current leak — the battery's value is resilience + protecting the netting position before the cliff.

How to read the customer's bill (the page-2 skill):

• Confirm the cohort — install date sets it; check whether they're on retail netting (grandfathered) or EDG.
• Find the EDG credit line — if exports are credited at ~5.43¢, they're on EDG (spread pitch applies).
• Note there's no residential TOU — the battery's job is spread capture, not time arbitrage.

Seasonal shape (central IN): hot, humid summers (AC load, the highest bills) and cold winters. A solar customer's bill is highest in summer. The battery's self-consumption value runs year-round, and its resilience value concentrates in the spring/summer derecho and tornado season.

5. The Savings Story — Worked 25-Year Analysis

The savings story is spread capture — AES's ~8.6¢ spread (~14¢ retail vs ~5.43¢ EDG) is a solid, straightforward self-consumption case.

Representative EDG customer: ~1,100 kWh/mo, ~14¢ blended retail, ~5.43¢ EDG exports.

Without battery — annual bill, three rate-growth scenarios:

With battery — annual net cost (spread self-consumption; no VPP income in Indiana):

Cumulative 25-year comparison (bill only; no VPP or rebates in Indiana):

Indiana has no VPP income, no battery rebate, and no state tax credit — the savings are pure spread capture at AES's ~8.6¢ spread. Rates flagged; the tool computes the customer's actual figure.

Break-even calendar (approximate; the wide spread accelerates it):

The Year-1 honesty script (AES version):

"Here's the honest math. Under Indiana's rules, you export your extra solar at about 5.4 cents but buy it back at about 14 — a battery that keeps your power instead of selling it back saves you that spread. Indiana doesn't have the battery credit programs some states do, so this is straight bill savings. Your total with the loan may be roughly flat the first year, then pulls ahead as AES's rates climb — they just got an increase approved and they're building new gas and storage. Plus you've got backup after that 2023 derecho took out 81,000 homes here."

6. Pitch Framework — Archetypes

Archetype A — EDG customer (installed after mid-2022).

• On EDG, feeling the ~8.6¢ export-vs-retail spread.
• Fit: strong — a clean self-consumption case.
• Opening: "You're exporting your extra solar at about 5.4 cents and buying it back at 14. A battery keeps that power instead of selling it back cheap — that's the spread it saves you."

Archetype B — NM II grandfathered (installed 2018–mid-2022).

• On retail netting until 7/1/2032, worried about the coming transition.
• Fit: strong — protect + hedge the cliff.
• Opening: "You've got the old retail netting, but it expires July 1, 2032 — then you're on the same 5-cent export rate everyone else fights. A battery lets you lock in your independence before that, plus backup now."

Archetype C — Reliability-motivated (post-2023 derecho).

• Lived through the 2023 derecho or the 2025 tornado outbreak; values backup.
• Fit: strong.
• Opening: "That 2023 derecho knocked out 81,000 AES homes, and a tornado outbreak in 2025 killed two people in the state. A battery keeps your essentials running through the next one."

7. Market-Specific Plays — the AES edge

PLAY 1 — The spread (the core AES sale). AES's ~8.6¢ retail-to-EDG spread (~14¢ retail vs ~5.43¢ export) is the everyday self-consumption case. Frame it: "Your export rate is well under half of what you pay to buy power back — so keeping your own power instead of selling it cheap saves you that gap on every kWh."

PLAY 2 — "Storage is real infrastructure" (the 820 MW proof point). AES itself is building utility-scale battery storage — including a headline 820 MW project (conditional on landing a large-load customer, and its firm near-term commitment is smaller). Use it as a credibility anchor: "AES is putting utility-scale batteries on the grid because storage works — you're doing the same thing at your house." Don't overstate the 820 MW as a done deal (it's conditional), but the point stands: the utility is betting on storage.

PLAY 3 — The 2032 grandfather cliff (for NM II). NM II customers keep retail netting until 7/1/2032, then drop to EDG. That's the concrete "lock in before the cliff" anchor — a real statutory date, honestly framed.

PLAY 4 — The rate-case story (honestly told). AES asked for a big increase (~$30/mo framing) and the IURC approved far less (~$9.36/mo, cutting ~63%) amid Indiana's affordability push. The honest version: rates are still going up, just less than AES wanted — and it's still investing in gas repowering and storage. Rate protection is real, but don't overclaim the increase.

8. Incentives & Programs

• Battery VPP — none (Category 3): AES has no residential battery VPP or storage incentive (nor does any Indiana utility). AES's 820 MW is grid-side utility-scale storage, not a residential program — the value for the customer is spread capture + resilience, no VPP income to promise. Frame honestly.
• No Indiana state tax credit and no utility battery rebate anywhere in Indiana.
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Do not quote 30%.

9. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not TX-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many Texas solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

10. Outage Reality — Resilience in Central Indiana

Why outages happen here. Central Indiana's grid faces:

• The June 29, 2023 derecho — knocked out ~81,000 AES customers (part of ~200,000 statewide); the recent, concrete resilience anchor.
• The March 30, 2025 tornado/wind outbreak — ~114,000 out statewide with 2 deaths; central Indiana sits in the tornado and derecho belt.
• Severe thunderstorms + straight-line wind — summer wind events bring down lines across the Indianapolis metro.
• Ice + winter storms — occasional but real; short winter daylight means solar-only customers have no power in a daytime outage.

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. When the grid goes down, grid-tied solar shuts off automatically (anti-islanding — a safety requirement). So a solar-only customer has no power in an outage even in daylight. A battery with backup keeps essential loads — heat/furnace fan, refrigerator, well pump, medical devices, connectivity — running, and with solar recharges through a multi-day event.

How to pitch it honestly: don't promise whole-home indefinite backup unless sized for it. The honest pitch: "A battery keeps your essentials running through an outage, and with your solar it can carry you through a multi-day event. After that 2023 derecho took out 81,000 homes around Indianapolis, you know that's not hypothetical." Derecho and tornado season is the key framing in central Indiana — the 2023 derecho and the 2025 tornado outbreak are both recent, concrete events.

11. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

• What you rent: grid power on AES's climbing rates (rate case + gas repowering + storage investment), with exports credited at ~5.43¢ (well under half of retail), and no protection when the grid fails.
• What you own (with the battery): your production, stored and used at today's locked cost, capturing the ~8.6¢ spread — plus backup, plus (grandfathered) your protected retail netting until the cliff.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + exposure to the rate climb + the ~8.6¢ spread on every kWh you'd otherwise keep exporting cheap.

12. Battery Products

• Backup config (AES default — resilience + self-consumption): Tesla Powerwall 3 (11.5 kW), FranklinWH aPower 2 (10 kW).
• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training).
• No VPP eligibility to match — Indiana has no battery VPP, so config choice is about backup + self-consumption capacity, not program enrollment. Confirm config in the tool.

13. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in AES figures) + Indiana-specific objections.

"I have net metering — why would I add a battery?" (IN-specific — cohort-dependent)

"It depends when you went solar. If you installed after mid-2022, you're on EDG — exporting at about 5.4 cents, buying back at 14. A battery keeps that power instead. If you're on the old netting from before mid-2022, it expires July 1, 2032, so a battery locks in your independence before that. Either way you get backup after that 2023 derecho."

"Does the battery earn me money through a program?" (IN-specific — honest no-VPP)

"Not through a utility program — Indiana doesn't have the battery credit programs some states do. Your savings come from using your own stored power instead of buying it back at more than twice the price. Funny enough, AES is putting big utility-scale batteries on the grid themselves — storage works, they're just not paying you a credit for yours. I'm not going to tell you there's a monthly check that isn't there."

"Why is the loan more than the system price?"

"The cash price is $17,000–18,500 depending on config. Service Finance adds dealer fees bringing the financed amount to about $22,068–23,942. Cash or a HELOC is cheaper if that's an option — Indiana doesn't have a state credit or rebate to offset it, so the savings come from the spread and the rate protection."

"What if I sell the house?"

"Resale asset — your closing equity pays off the loan, and the new owner inherits a fully-owned system with backup. Your netting cohort stays with the system, so a grandfathered NM II position can transfer. Top Tier's 10-year workmanship warranty transfers with written consent; the Align contract is non-transferable."

"What if my inverter fails after you install the battery?"

"If it fails within its manufacturer warranty, we handle the claim and the labor — you pay nothing for the work. If it's out of warranty, you'd pay for equipment, but we still handle the labor under our 10-year workmanship coverage. Either way you're not scrambling."

14. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

15. Reading the Bill — cohort → pitch

16. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; AES rates + the EDG credit should be verified against current tariffs (EDG updates annually ~July 1).
2. ☐ 25-year projections are scenarios, not guarantees; depend on IURC rate cases.
3. ☐ Indiana net metering closed to new customers 7/1/2022 by statute (SEA 309); retail netting is grandfathered by cohort (NM I until 7/1/2047; NM II until 7/1/2032), then moves to EDG.
4. ☐ EDG credits exports below retail (~5.43¢ vs ~14¢ retail at AES), netted instantaneously, updated annually.
5. ☐ Indiana has no residential battery VPP, no utility battery rebate, and no state tax credit. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025.
6. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms; netting cohort transfers with the system.
7. ☐ Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr); one of three coverage layers, not full coverage.
8. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home indefinite backup is not implied.
9. ☐ Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

17. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• Net metering: closed 7/1/2022 (SEA 309, EDG for new installs)
• Grandfather cohorts: NM I → 7/1/2047; NM II → 7/1/2032 (statutory)
• EDG export credit: ~5.43¢/kWh (eff 7/1/26, Cause 45504, updated annually)
• Retail rate: ~14¢/kWh blended
• Retail−EDG spread: ~8.6¢
• Recent rate case: ~$9.36/mo approved (of a much larger ask, Cause 46258)
• Battery VPP: none (Cat 3); state credit: none; utility rebate: none
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025
• AES 820 MW utility-scale battery: conditional (proof point, not a residential program)
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000
• System takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000

18. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• Never coach tenure disqualification. The battery is a resale value-add; on sale the loan pays off, the buyer inherits a fully-owned system, and the netting cohort transfers with the system.
• Never claim all warranties transfer. Align is non-transferable; workmanship needs written consent; manufacturer per OEM terms.
• Never say "the net-metering cap filled" — Indiana closed it by statutory date (7/1/2022), not because a cap ran out.
• Never imply Indiana has a battery VPP or rebate — there's none; the value is the spread + resilience.
• Never say AES got the $30/mo it asked for — the IURC cut it ~63% to ~$9.36/mo; be honest about the increase.
• Never present the 820 MW battery as a done deal or a residential program — it's conditional, utility-scale, grid-side.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired).
• Always confirm the install date — it sets the SEA 309 cohort and the pitch.