Top Tier — Ohio Battery Sales Reference

Duke Energy Ohio · Cincinnati & Southwest Ohio

Sales reference for reps working Duke Energy Ohio territory. This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. Duke Energy Ohio serves roughly 750,000 electric customers across Cincinnati and southwest Ohio. Ohio's design nets everything at the full retail rate — about 12.4 cents all-in here — within the billing month on a single register: your solar already offsets your usage, and only the net monthly EXCESS credits at the generation rate. So a battery does not reduce a Duke bill; the bill value is approximately zero (provisional — Duke's Rider NM Sheet 48 body is still being pulled, but the Ohio statewide design makes ~0 the safe read). We say that plainly. Two things carry the Duke pitch instead. First, Hurricane Ike's remnants in September 2008 knocked out about 782,000 of Duke's ~900,000 Cincinnati-area customers — ninety percent of the system, from a storm that was born a hurricane and arrived as wind — the single deepest outage anchor in Ohio. Second, and this is the one no other Ohio utility carries: Duke has already rewritten solar compensation once, in North Carolina — approved 2023, upheld on appeal 2024, with the bridge program closing to new enrollees January 1, 2027. That's not a prediction about Ohio; it's this company's documented playbook. One mechanics fact reps must have exactly right: Duke Ohio has NO cash-out — credits roll forward forever and are forfeited if you close the account. The battery here is backup, a rate-trajectory hedge, and the position Duke's own history says to own.

What kind of market this is

Duke Energy Ohio is an exposed net-billing market where the battery bill value is approximately zero (Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly), with no cash-out, the deepest storm anchor in Ohio (Ike, ~90% of the system), and a documented company precedent for rewriting solar terms — the pitch is resilience plus position. Five defining facts:

1. Ohio nets ALL charges at retail within the billing month — the battery bill value is approximately zero. Your solar offsets your usage at the full rate over the month on a single register; imports build to roughly 12.4¢ all-in at 1,000 kWh (about $124/month, buildable from Duke's own sheets). Only the net monthly EXCESS credits at the standard-offer energy component (Rider NM, P.U.C.O. Electric No. 19, Sheet 48). Because the netting already time-shifts your solar for free, a battery does not reduce your Duke bill — the bill impact is approximately zero. Say that plainly.
2. No cash-out — ever. Duke Ohio credits roll forward month to month indefinitely and are forfeited when the account closes. There is no annual refund here (AEP and FirstEnergy customers have one; Duke and AES customers do not). Chronic over-generation builds a credit balance that only future bills can spend — one more reason oversizing for export is a mistake, and a battery that keeps power on your side of the meter isn't.
3. Net metering was just reviewed and KEPT statewide. PUCO's five-year review concluded January 7, 2026 with no changes to residential net metering. Nothing is pending in Ohio. We say so — no manufactured deadlines.
4. But Duke has done this before — in writing, in another state. North Carolina: Duke's net-metering rewrite was approved March 2023 (tariffs effective July 1, 2023), upheld by the NC Court of Appeals September 17, 2024, and its transitional Bridge Rate closes to new enrollees January 1, 2027 — existing enrollees keep it up to 15 years. Bridge terms, from the rider itself: 4.53¢ net-excess credit, a $1.01/kW non-bypassable charge, a $22 minimum bill. This is precedent, not prophecy — we cite it exactly and never pretend an Ohio filing exists.
5. Ike is the anchor. September 14, 2008: Hurricane Ike's remnants crossed Ohio as a windstorm and took out ~782,000 of Duke's ~900,000 Cincinnati-area customers — about 90% of the system — with multi-day restoration. The June 2012 derecho added 177,000; the November 2018 ice storm ~95,000. Grid-tied solar produced nothing through any of them.

Your lead is Ike + the precedent, with the bill case sized honestly. Ninety percent of this system has been dark before, from a storm that started as a hurricane a thousand miles away. And the company holding your netting terms has already rewritten them once, somewhere else, and won in court. There are no battery bill savings here — Duke's monthly netting already offsets your solar, and saying that ~0 up front earns the rest. One qualifying question before any numbers: "Are you on Duke's standard offer, or do you shop your electric supply?" — a shopping customer's export credit is whatever their supplier contract says.

Default configuration: backup-capable is the strong default — this is 90%-of-the-system-dark territory.

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

Confirm pricing, configuration, SSO-vs-shopping status, and the current standard-offer energy rate in the tool before quoting.

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

The spine is multiple beats per section: customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config.

The Problem

Your exports only offset part of your bill — and the credits can't ever be cashed out. Ohio's net-billing design credits your solar exports against the generation portion of your bill, while you pay the full rate — about twelve and a half cents here — on everything you buy. The gap a battery captures is around four to five cents, and I'll be straight that it's modest. Here's the mechanics fact most Duke solar owners don't know: your credits roll forward forever, but they can never be refunded — and if you ever close the account, they're simply forfeited.

Rep layer: The honest opener — battery bill value stated as ~0 (Ohio nets ALL charges at retail within the month on a single register; only net monthly excess earns the SSO energy component; the current SSO ¢ is a confirm-in-tool placeholder — Duke's consumer pages block automated verification; Sheet 48 body is being pulled, so the ~0 is provisional-conservative). NEVER quote a per-kWh spread, a ~12¢ spread, or "16–18¢" imports — removed July 2026, and Duke's real all-in (~12.4¢) is well below the old claim. Mechanics precision: monthly netting, perpetual rollover, NO cash-out (verbatim: Duke "shall not be required to pay the monetary credit, other than to credit it to future bills"), forfeited at account closure. And one correction that matters because other installers get it wrong: Rider RE on a Duke bill is a charge, not a solar credit — a rep who calls it a credit is wrong in a way the bill itself disproves. Objection — "So the battery barely moves my bill." It doesn't reduce this bill — Duke's netting already does — and that was never the reason to own one here. Keep listening.

The company that sets your terms has rewritten them before. Your net metering is intact — Ohio just reviewed it in January and changed nothing, and I won't invent a deadline. But it's fair for you to know your counterparty: in North Carolina, Duke rewrote solar compensation in 2023, defended it up through the Court of Appeals and won, and the transitional bridge program closes to new enrollees this coming January. Nothing like that is filed in Ohio. It's also exactly how it looked in North Carolina before it was.

Rep layer: The precedent beat — Duke's unique problem-side angle, and it must be told with citations, not vibes: NCUC approved March 23, 2023 (Docket E-100 Sub 180), tariffs effective July 1, 2023; NC Court of Appeals upheld ("MODIFIED AND AFFIRMED") September 17, 2024; Rider NMB (Bridge) closes to NEW enrollees January 1, 2027, existing enrollees keep up to 15 years; Bridge terms verbatim from the rider: 4.53¢/kWh net-excess credit, $1.01/kW non-bypassable charge, $22 minimum bill. TWO DISCIPLINE LINES: (1) never claim an Ohio filing exists — the statewide review just concluded with no changes, and we say both facts together; (2) the old "~30% cut" figure is unpinned — never use it; the rider terms speak for themselves. Objection — "That's North Carolina, not Ohio." Correct — and it's the same company, the same playbook, and a court that said yes. I'm not predicting; I'm showing you the file.

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 at the end of 2025. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Standard orphaned-system beat. Ask who installed it and whether they'd answer a service call.

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: Standard inverter beat. SolarEdge ~12-yr warranty, real failure 8–15 yrs; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20.

(BACKUP ONLY) A hurricane's leftovers once turned off ninety percent of this system — and your solar would have shut off with it. September 2008: Hurricane Ike's remnants crossed Ohio as a windstorm and knocked out about 782,000 of Duke's 900,000 Cincinnati-area customers. Multi-day restoration, no rain to speak of — just wind that started in the Gulf of Mexico. Grid-tied panels produce nothing in an outage; a battery keeps your critical systems running and recharges from the sun through restoration.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. Duke anchors (documented): Ike remnants 9/14/2008 — ~782K of ~900K (~90%, the marquee; the "~2 million statewide Ohio" Ike figure is all-utility — Duke's number is 782K); June 29, 2012 derecho — 177,000; November 15, 2018 ice — ~95,215. Three event types (tropical remnant, derecho, ice) — southwest Ohio catches everything. The Ike hook writes itself: a hurricane doesn't have to reach Ohio to black it out.

The Solution

A battery covers what the tariff doesn't — and we'll be straight about what it doesn't do. It keeps your essentials running when the grid goes down. It does NOT reduce your Duke bill: Ohio's monthly netting already offsets your solar at full retail, so the bill impact is approximately zero — our numbers show your with-battery bill equal to today's. And it converts your solar economics from terms Duke administers into power you own outright — which, given the company's own history, is the position worth holding.

• Self-consumption: "The honest bill savings plus the position — your stored power can't be repriced or forfeited."
• Backup: "All of that — and your house stays on through the next Ike."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: THE core cure beat, honest-register: the battery does NOT reduce the bill here (~$0) — Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly; say it plainly, the tool shows the with-battery bill equal to today's. The stack that carries the sale: resilience (Ike 90%) + position (no-cash-out mechanics + the NC precedent = terms administered by a company that has rewritten terms) + trajectory hedge (the PJM capacity repricing feeds every Ohio standard-offer rate) + takeover. The no-cash-out detail doubles as sizing guidance: over-generation builds credits only future bills can spend — never oversize for export here.

(BACKUP ONLY) It keeps your home running when the grid goes down. Powers your essentials — refrigerator, medical devices, sump pump, connectivity — through an outage, and recharges from solar daily for as long as restoration takes.

Rep layer: The resilience cure beat. Southwest Ohio specifics: ice-storm season means winter outages too — a battery that recharges from winter sun at reduced rates still covers essentials with load management; set expectations honestly.

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. 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."

And whatever the terms do next, your stored power is yours. Ohio just reviewed net metering and kept it — that's real, and we say it plainly. Duke's North Carolina file is also real. Power you store and use yourself doesn't depend on which one describes the future.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: The independence beat, Duke flavor: reviewed-and-kept (PUCO, Jan 7, 2026 — reassurance) held honestly alongside the NC precedent (the reminder). 25-yr scenarios: conservative 4%, moderate 6%, aggressive 8% — anchor near-term to the documented statewide +25% (2021→2024) and the PJM capacity repricing; plus the honest forward note that Duke's ESP order requires a new base distribution rate case filing by June 30, 2027.

Urgency

The honest clocks — no Ohio net-metering deadline exists, and we say so.

The trajectory clock. Ohio residential power rose about 25% in three years, and the capacity price that feeds every standard-offer rate jumped nine-fold in one auction — with the next two years already priced at the federal cap. Duke is also under order to file its next base rate case by mid-2027. Every month without a hedge is a month fully exposed.

Rep layer: Honest urgency — all documented: EIA +25% (12.8¢→16.0¢, 2021→2024); PJM $28.92→$269.92/MW-day clearing price, then $329.17/$333.44 at the FERC cap; ESP Case 24-278-EL-SSO (Order 5/14/2025) requires a base distribution filing by 6/30/2027 — a dated, citable "the next rate case is already scheduled."

The storm clock. Ike season is hurricane season — and this territory learned in 2008 that the storm doesn't have to arrive as one. Derechos in summer, ice in November. A battery installed before the next system-wide event is protection; one ordered after is a backorder behind three-quarters of a million neighbors.

Rep layer: Factual, preparedness-framed — three documented event types across the record.

What is NOT a clock: Ohio net metering. Reviewed January 2026, kept, nothing pending. The North Carolina file is a fact about your counterparty, not a countdown on your calendar — and any installer running an Ohio deadline is inventing one.

Rep layer: The anti-manufacture rule — Duke's version requires the most care in Ohio because the NC precedent makes a fake deadline TEMPTING. The discipline: precedent is character evidence, never a date. Both facts, always together: nothing filed here; already done there.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm supply status and configuration. Run the credit check; ask the qualifying question — standard offer, or shopping with a supplier? — and confirm backup vs self-consumption config.
2. Confirm the current standard-offer energy rate. Duke's current Price to Compare is carried as a confirm-current-figure in the tool (their consumer pages block automated verification) — pull today's figure before quoting the credit side.
3. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the disclosures honestly — the net-billing mechanics and honest savings size, the no-cash-out/forfeiture rule, the NC precedent stated as precedent, and that there's no federal credit or Duke Ohio battery program.
4. 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: Duke Energy Ohio — investor-owned, PUCO-regulated, PJM territory. Ohio has retail choice: SSO or CRES shopping — always ask which.
• Territory: Cincinnati and southwest Ohio — roughly 750,000 electric customers.
• Market type: EXPOSED net billing — Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly on one register, so battery bill value ~0; net monthly excess credits at the SSO energy component (Rider NM, P.U.C.O. Electric No. 19, Sheet 48); NO cash-out (perpetual rollover, forfeited at closure); no cohorts; NC-precedent overlay; no battery programs in Ohio.
• Default config: backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228); self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. How the Duke Ohio Bill Works

1. Imports: full rate on everything you buy — customer charge $8.00/mo (eff. 1/3/2023), distribution energy 3.9693¢, plus the SSO energy charge and riders — ~12.4¢ all-in at 1,000 kWh (~$124), buildable from Duke's own sheets. (Well below the old "16–18¢" claim — corrected.)
2. Exports (Rider NM, P.U.C.O. Electric No. 19, Sheet 48, eff. 1/2/2019): credited monthly at the SSO energy component — generation only, not the full rate. The current ¢ figure is a confirm-in-tool placeholder.
3. No cash-out: credits roll forward indefinitely; Duke "shall not be required to pay the monetary credit, other than to credit it to future bills" — and the balance is forfeited when the account closes. No annual refund exists here.
4. Rider RE is a charge (~7.7¢/kWh cost-recovery rider on the bill) — never described as a solar credit. Reps who confuse it are wrong on the customer's own paper.
5. Sizing: the 120%-of-requirements rule governs; 25 kW is the interconnection Level-1 threshold, not a net-metering cap.

Why this matters for the pitch: Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly, so the battery does not reduce the bill — bill value ~0 — and the pitch weight sits on Ike, the precedent, and the trajectory. And the no-cash-out rule is the anti-oversizing argument in one sentence: exports build credits only future bills can spend; stored power is spent the night you make it.

3. Net Metering at Duke Ohio — Kept in Ohio, Rewritten in Carolina

Ohio's rule survived its January 2026 review unchanged. Duke's North Carolina rewrite is approved, court-tested, and dated. Both files, cited exactly, always together.

• The Ohio design (OAC 4901:1-10-28): exports credit at the SSO energy component; monthly netting; perpetual rollover; no cash-out; forfeited at account closure. No date cohorts — Ohio hasn't closed anything.
• The review: PUCO Docket 25-0349-EL-ORD concluded January 7, 2026 with no changes to residential net metering. Nothing is pending. Say it plainly.
• Transfer at sale: no transferable credit balance — forfeited at closure; a new owner enrolls fresh. (Not a cliff — the program is open — but banked credits die with the account; one more reason not to bank them.)
• THE NC PRECEDENT (cited, never vibed): NCUC approved Duke's NEM rewrite March 23, 2023 (Docket E-100 Sub 180), tariffs effective July 1, 2023; NC Court of Appeals upheld September 17, 2024 (COA23-760, "MODIFIED AND AFFIRMED"). The transitional Rider NMB (Bridge) closes to new enrollees January 1, 2027; existing enrollees keep it up to 15 years. Bridge terms from the rider: 4.53¢/kWh net-excess credit, $1.01/kW non-bypassable charge, $22 minimum bill. Retired claims: "legacy closed Oct 1 2023" (wrong — 7/1/2023 tariff effective date) and "~30% cut" (no primary source — never use it).
• The CRES layer: a shopping customer's export compensation is the supplier contract's — ask before quoting.
• The rep move: "Ohio reviewed your netting in January and kept it — nothing is pending, and I won't pretend otherwise. Here's what I will show you: Duke rewrote solar compensation in North Carolina, won in court, and the bridge program there closes to new people this January. Same company. Nothing filed here. Your call which file describes the next decade — a battery makes the answer matter less."
• See the "Net Metering & Grandfathering Status" section for the cited detail; the flag for Duke Ohio is EXPOSED (generation-rate net billing, no cash-out) with the DUKE_NC_PRECEDENT overlay.

4. Rate Reality + The Netting Mechanics

What drives the Duke pitch (named, honest):

1. Ike. ~782,000 of ~900,000 — ninety percent of the system dark from a hurricane's leftovers. The deepest anchor in Ohio.
2. The precedent. Duke has rewritten solar terms once, won in court, and the bridge there closes January 1, 2027 — character evidence about the counterparty, cited exactly.
3. The trajectory. Statewide +25% behind us, the PJM repricing ahead, and Duke's next rate case already scheduled by order.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Your exports credit at the standard-offer energy rate on net monthly excess — but Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly, so the battery's bill value is ~0" (honest math)
• ✅ "Your credits roll forward forever and can never be cashed out — and they're forfeited if the account closes" (verbatim mechanics)
• ✅ "Ohio reviewed net metering in January and kept it — nothing is pending" (docket record)
• ✅ "In North Carolina, Duke's rewrite was approved in 2023, upheld on appeal in 2024, and the bridge closes to new enrollees January 1, 2027" (cited precedent)
• ❌ Quoting a ~12¢ spread or "16–18¢" imports (Duke's real all-in is ~12.4¢ — corrected out July 2026)
• ❌ Calling Rider RE a solar credit (it's a charge — the bill itself disproves it)
• ❌ "Duke is about to do the NC thing in Ohio" (nothing is filed — precedent, never prophecy)
• ❌ "~30% cut" or "legacy closed Oct 1 2023" (unpinned / wrong — retired claims)
• ❌ Quoting the SSO ¢ from memory (unconfirmed — tool placeholder)

5. Incentives & Programs

• Duke Ohio battery programs: none. Ohio demand-side programs ended September 30, 2020 under HB6. PowerPair is North Carolina-only. EnergyWise Home Battery Control is Florida and the Carolinas. Neither exists in Ohio — never attribute them here, and correct customers who've read about them.
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Never quote 30%.
• Ohio tax treatment: property-tax exemption YES (ORC 5709.53(B)); sales-tax exemption NO.
• The value is resilience + position + the trajectory hedge + the honest bill savings + the takeover.

6. 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.

7. Outage Reality — Ike, and the Territory That Catches Everything

Why outages happen here. Southwest Ohio's documented record covers three different threat types:

• Hurricane Ike remnants (September 14, 2008): ~782,000 of ~900,000 Duke Cincinnati-area customers out — about 90% of the system. A storm that made landfall in Texas crossed the country and arrived as a windstorm; multi-day restoration. The marquee — and the honest reminder that Ohio's worst grid day came from a hurricane that never touched it.
• June 29, 2012 derecho: 177,000 Duke customers out — the straight-line windstorm that blacked out the Midwest.
• November 15, 2018 ice storm: ~95,215 out — winter's version.
• Tropical remnant, derecho, ice — this footprint catches all three. Grid-tied solar produced nothing through any of them.

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. Grid-tied solar shuts off automatically in an outage (anti-islanding). A battery with backup keeps essential loads running — refrigerator, medical devices, sump pump, connectivity — and recharges from solar daily through restoration.

How to pitch it honestly: "Ninety percent of this system went dark in 2008 — from the leftovers of a hurricane that made landfall in Texas. Every solar roof in Cincinnati was off the whole time. A battery is the part of the system that would have been on."

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

• What you rent: full-rate power riding a curve with a 9x capacity repricing feeding it and the next rate case already on the calendar — netting terms administered by a company with a documented rewrite in its file — credits that can be forfeited but never refunded — and darkness when the next Ike-class event lands.
• What you own (with the battery): your surplus at its honest stored value, spent the night you make it instead of banked into forfeitable credits, plus a house that stays on.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + the unhedged trajectory + every restoration's real costs.

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (default — 90%-dark territory): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• Duke takeaway: size for essential loads through a multi-day event; the bill math (~4–5¢) doesn't reward oversizing, and the no-cash-out rule actively punishes over-generation (credits that only future bills can spend, forfeited at closure). Self-consumption/backup is the play. Confirm config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in Duke figures) + Duke-specific objections.

"The savings look small. Is this even worth it?" (Duke-specific — the honest-size answer)

"Ohio nets everything at retail within the month, so your solar already offsets your usage — the battery's bill impact is about zero, and I showed you that on purpose. If bill savings were the whole case, I'd tell you to pass. Here's the actual case: ninety percent of this system went dark in 2008 from a hurricane's leftovers, and your solar would have been off the entire time. Ohio power rose twenty-five percent in three years with a nine-fold capacity repricing feeding the next leg. And your netting terms are administered by a company that has already rewritten them once, in another state, and won in court. Backup, hedge, position — not a bill play."

"Is Duke going to cut my net metering like they did in North Carolina?" (Duke-specific — the precedent answer, disciplined)

"Honest answer in two parts. Nothing is filed in Ohio — the state reviewed net metering in January and kept it, and I won't invent a deadline. And: in North Carolina, Duke's rewrite was approved in 2023, upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2024, and the bridge program there closes to new enrollees this January first. I can't tell you which file describes Ohio's next decade — nobody can. What I can tell you is that power you store and use yourself reads the same under either one."

"What happens to my banked credits if I move?" (Duke-specific — the forfeiture answer)

"They're forfeited — that's the tariff, and it's worth knowing before you bank them. Duke Ohio credits roll forward forever but can never be cashed out, and they die with the account. Which is actually the cleanest argument for the battery: instead of exporting power into a credit balance you might never spend, you store it and spend it yourself that night, at full value, every day you own the home. Nothing to forfeit, because nothing left your house."

"I shop my electric supply — I'm not on Duke's standard offer." (Duke-specific — the CRES layer)

"Glad you said so before we ran numbers. When you shop, your export credit comes from your supplier's contract, not Duke's tariff — some match the standard-offer credit, some do better, some don't offer one, and none are required to. Let's pull your supplier agreement so the numbers are YOUR numbers. And notice the pattern: your solar economics currently reprice every contract renewal. Stored power doesn't. That's the battery's argument in one sentence."

"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. There's no Duke Ohio rebate and the federal credit expired — the value is the backup, the position, the hedge, and the takeover, with the bill savings as the honest bonus."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; Duke Ohio rates and the standard-offer energy rate (the export-credit basis) change through PUCO proceedings and auctions — verify current figures in the tool (the current SSO figure is confirmed at proposal time).
2. ☐ Ohio nets all charges at the full retail rate within the billing month on a single register; a battery does not reduce the monthly bill, and projections show the with-battery bill equal to the current bill. Net monthly excess is credited at the energy component of the standard service offer, not full retail.
3. ☐ Duke Ohio net-metering credits roll forward indefinitely, are not refundable in cash, and are forfeited when the account closes; they do not transfer to a new owner or address.
4. ☐ Ohio's PUCO concluded its five-year net-metering review on January 7, 2026 with no changes to residential net metering; no Ohio proceeding to change it is pending. Duke's North Carolina net-metering revisions (approved 2023, upheld 2024, bridge closing to new enrollees January 1, 2027) are presented solely as out-of-state precedent.
5. ☐ For customers shopping generation with a CRES supplier: export compensation is governed by the supplier contract and may differ from or omit the utility-tariff credit; projections assume standard-service-offer terms unless the supplier contract is confirmed.
6. ☐ Duke offers no battery rebate, VPP, or demand-response program in Ohio; no program income is quoted. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025; Ohio provides a property-tax exemption but no sales-tax exemption for residential solar/battery.
7. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms. Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr).
8. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home coverage through a multi-day outage is not implied. Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

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

• Export credit: SSO energy component — current ¢ UNCONFIRMED, confirm in tool (net monthly excess only)
• BATTERY BILL VALUE: ~$0 — Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly on one register; say it first
• Imports: ~12.4¢ all-in @1,000 kWh (~$124, buildable) | Customer charge: $8.00/mo | Distribution energy: 3.9693¢
• Cash-out: NONE — perpetual rollover; FORFEITED at account closure (annual refund exists at AEP/FE only)
• Rider RE: a CHARGE (~7.7¢ cost recovery) — never a solar credit
• Ohio review: PUCO 25-0349 concluded 1/7/2026 — NO changes, nothing pending
• NC precedent: approved 3/23/2023 (tariffs eff. 7/1/2023); upheld 9/17/2024; Bridge CLOSES TO NEW ENROLLEES 1/1/2027 (existing keep up to 15 yrs); Bridge terms 4.53¢ / $1.01/kW / $22 min — precedent, never prophecy; "~30%" and "Oct 1 2023" retired
• Next Duke rate case: base distribution filing ordered by 6/30/2027 (ESP order)
• Sizing: 120% of requirements (25 kW = interconnection L1, not a NEM cap) | Interconnection: OAC fee caps L1 ≤$50 / L2 $50+$1/kW / L3 $100+$2/kW; no insurance minimum; posted specifics unconfirmed
• Programs: NONE in Ohio (PowerPair = NC; EnergyWise = FL/Carolinas) | Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025 | Taxes: property exempt YES / sales exempt NO
• CRES rule: ask "standard offer or shopping?" before any export number
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000 | Takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000
• Storm anchors: Ike 9/14/2008 — ~782K of ~900K (~90%, the marquee); June 2012 derecho — 177K; Nov 2018 ice — ~95K

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• Say the ~0 first. The battery doesn't reduce the bill here — Ohio nets all charges at retail monthly — and stating that up front earns the Ike and precedent pitch.
• Precedent, never prophecy. The NC file is cited exactly — approved, upheld, bridge closing 1/1/2027 — and always paired with "nothing is filed in Ohio, reviewed and kept in January." A fake Ohio deadline is the tempting lie here; we don't tell it.
• No cash-out, said plainly — rollover forever, refund never, forfeited at closure. It's the anti-oversizing argument and the honesty play in one.
• Rider RE is a charge. The single most consequential mechanics correction at Duke — the customer's own bill settles it.
• Ike framing — 782K of 900K, Duke's own number; the ~2M figure is statewide all-utility.
• Ask the CRES question before any number.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired). Never claim an Ohio sales-tax exemption (property only).