Top Tier — South Carolina Battery Sales Reference

South Carolina Electric Cooperatives · Aiken & ~19 Member-Owned Co-ops

Sales reference for reps working SC electric cooperative territory (Aiken Electric and the ~19 other member-owned SC co-ops). This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. Co-ops are member-owned and each sets its own rates and rider — so the honest, repeated frame here is VERIFY YOUR CO-OP: confirm the specific co-op's terms before quoting.

What kind of market this is

SC's electric cooperatives are member-owned utilities, each setting its own rates and solar rider — so the honest frame is per-co-op verification. Four defining facts:

1. Each co-op is independent. Aiken Electric and the ~19 other SC co-ops each set their own rates, TOU periods, and solar/DER terms. There's no single statewide co-op tariff — so a rep MUST confirm the specific co-op's current terms before quoting. Many co-ops use a Time-of-Use rate (a representative one: on-peak ~24¢ summer / 20¢ winter, off-peak ~6¢) plus a Schedule DER Rider crediting exports at the "Value of Renewable Generation" (avoided cost, below retail).
2. Co-ops are NOT on the Act 62 IOU cohorts. The Act 62 statutory grandfather dates apply to the IOUs (Duke, Dominion) — not to co-ops, which set their own DG terms. Do not apply Act 62 cliffs to a co-op member.
3. The SC 25% state tax credit (TC-38) is live and has no expiration — applies to co-op members like any SC taxpayer. Covers the solar portion; battery portion unconfirmed (verify with a tax advisor).
4. Many co-ops buy wholesale power from Central Electric Power Cooperative (and some from Santee Cooper), so their rate climbs track wholesale power costs.

Your lead is rate protection + TOU/self-consumption + resilience — verified per co-op. With a big TOU on/off-peak spread (where a co-op uses TOU) and below-retail avoided-cost exports, a battery captures real value — but the exact numbers vary by co-op, so verify. The 25% state credit and post-Helene backup apply across the board.

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 your exports earn less than you pay. Your co-op credits the solar you export at an avoided-cost rate — below retail — while you buy power back at the full retail (or on-peak) rate. So you're sending power to the grid cheap and buying it back at full price, and your solar does nothing when the grid goes down.

Rep layer: Co-ops aren't on Act 62 cohorts — the leak is simpler: exports credited below retail (avoided cost) while buy-back is at retail (or on-peak TOU). Lead spread/TOU capture + rate protection + resilience. Objection — "I get credits for my solar." At the co-op's avoided-cost rate, which is below retail — not the full rate you pay to buy it back. That gap is what the battery closes. (Verify the co-op's exact credit.)

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 after Helene, you know why that matters. 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. Rural co-op context: Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024) hit SC statewide, and rural co-op territory often waits longer for restoration (fewer customers per line-mile, remote areas last). That structurally-longer outage risk makes backup especially valuable for co-op members. Objection — "We don't get many outages." Out here, when one hits, rural lines can take longer to come back — Helene proved it.

The Solution

A battery keeps your power — and captures your co-op's TOU/export spread. Stores your daytime solar and uses it on-peak and at night instead of buying it back at retail — capturing the gap between what your co-op pays for exports (avoided cost, below retail) and what it charges you.

• Self-consumption: "Use your stored solar during expensive on-peak hours instead of buying it back at full price."
• Backup: "Keeps your home running when the grid goes down AND captures the export/on-peak spread the rest of the time."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: First cure beat. Co-op value: self-consumption captures the spread between below-retail exports and retail/on-peak buy-back; where the co-op uses TOU, add TOU arbitrage. NO battery VPP at the co-ops (unlike Duke SC) — don't promise VPP income. Verify the specific co-op's rate + DER rider before quoting numbers.

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. Co-op rates climb with the wholesale power they buy (Central Electric Power Cooperative / Santee Cooper pass-through), plus each co-op's own distribution costs. A battery locks in the cost of your own power against that climb — and there's no Act 62 cliff here (that's an IOU thing), so the pitch is pure rate protection + independence.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: 25-year case: conservative 3%, moderate 5%, aggressive 7%. Co-op drivers: wholesale power pass-through (the big one) + distribution + Helene recovery. Do NOT reference the Act 62 5/31/2029 cliff — co-ops aren't on it. Objection — "Rates might not go up that much." Co-op rates track wholesale power, which keeps climbing — the trend is up.

What you actually own. The savings hero — combined value: TOU/spread self-consumption + rate protection + the 25% state credit + resilience + the takeover bundle (all verified per co-op).

• Self-consumption: "Maximizes bill savings via TOU/spread capture. 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: Co-op combined value = spread/TOU + state credit + resilience. NO VPP (Category 3). No-backup disclosure fires ONLY for self-consumption config. All co-op figures verified per co-op.

Urgency

The clocks that make acting now better than waiting.

The verify-and-lock clock. Your co-op's rates and solar terms can change (co-op boards set them, and wholesale costs keep rising). Getting the battery in now locks in your energy independence at today's terms, before rates climb further.

Rep layer: Co-ops have no Act 62 cliff, so the urgency is the rate climb (wholesale pass-through) + locking in today's economics. Honest — don't manufacture a cliff that doesn't exist for co-ops.

The rate clock. Co-op rates are climbing with wholesale power costs (Central Electric / Santee pass-through). Getting the battery in hedges that climb by locking in the cost of your own power.

Rep layer: The wholesale pass-through is the documented co-op rate driver — no VPP clock (co-ops have no battery VPP). Don't manufacture urgency; the rate climb is the honest one.

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 the co-op. Run the credit check. And confirm which co-op the customer is a member of and their current rate/DER terms — those vary by co-op and determine the pitch.
2. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the key disclosures honestly — including that co-op terms vary and were verified for this member, that exports credit below retail (avoided cost), that there is no battery VPP, and that the 25% state credit covers the solar portion (battery portion to be verified with a tax advisor).
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: SC electric cooperatives — Aiken Electric Cooperative + ~19 other member-owned SC distribution co-ops (each independent; regulated by its own member-elected Board, not the SC PSC).
• Territory: rural and suburban SC served by member-owned cooperatives (Aiken Electric and ~19 others), spread across the state — largely rural, longer restoration times.
• Market type: Member-owned co-ops, each with its own rate (often TOU) + DER Rider (avoided-cost exports). NOT on Act 62 IOU cohorts. No battery VPP. Verify per co-op.
• Default config: Backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228). Self-consumption-only optional ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. The Co-op Verification Map (co-ops set their own terms — NOT Act 62)

Co-ops are member-owned and independent — each sets its own rate structure and DER rider. The screen is which co-op + what rate + verify the terms.

THE SORTING QUESTION: "Which co-op are you a member of, and are you on a time-of-use rate?" Then verify that co-op's current DER rider and TOU periods before quoting anything specific.

The honest per-co-op frame. Unlike the IOUs (Duke, Dominion) which share the Act 62 statutory terms, each SC co-op sets its own:

• Rate structure — many use a TOU rate (a representative example: on-peak ~24¢ summer / 20¢ winter, off-peak ~6¢), but the periods and rates vary by co-op.
• DER / solar rider — typically a Schedule DER Rider crediting exports at the "Value of Renewable Generation" (avoided cost, below retail) — but the exact credit varies.
• Wholesale power source — many buy from Central Electric Power Cooperative (some from Santee Cooper), which drives their rate climbs.

What this means for the pitch: the battery value (TOU arbitrage where TOU applies + self-consumption against below-retail exports + resilience) is real, but the exact numbers are co-op-specific. Lead with the structure, then say honestly: "Let me confirm your specific co-op's current rate and solar terms before I put numbers to it." That honesty is a selling point — co-op members value straight talk.

Critical: co-ops are NOT on the Act 62 IOU cohort dates. Do NOT apply the 5/31/2029 cliff or the Duke/Dominion Solar Choice framing to a co-op member — different utility type. (TODO: verify each co-op's specific rate + DER rider — aiken-verify-rate.)

3. Rate Reality + Why Rates Climb

Everything here is flagged for per-co-op verification: each co-op sets its own rate, TOU periods, and DER-rider export credit. The representative figures (TOU ~24¢/6¢, avoided-cost exports) are illustrative of the pattern, NOT a specific co-op's tariff. Always confirm the member's actual co-op terms before quoting. (TODO: verify each co-op's rate + DER rider — aiken-verify-rate.)

What's driving co-op rate increases (named forward drivers):

1. Wholesale power costs — most SC co-ops buy power from Central Electric Power Cooperative (some from Santee Cooper); when wholesale costs rise, they pass through to members. This is the biggest co-op driver.
2. Central/Santee generation costs — including the Canadys gas plant and other generation the wholesale suppliers are building.
3. Distribution investment — each co-op's own grid maintenance + hardening, recovered from members.
4. Hurricane Helene recovery — Sept 2024 damage recovery, co-op-specific.
5. Load growth — rural SC growth driving local capacity needs.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Most SC co-ops buy wholesale power that passes through to rates" (documented mechanism)
• ✅ "Co-ops set their own DER rider and rates" (documented)
• ⚠️ Always verify the specific co-op's current figures (they differ)
• ❌ "Your bill will be $X by 2030" (speculation)

4. Bill Anatomy — Reading a Co-op Bill

Why a co-op solar customer still has a bill even with solar. A co-op bill (structure varies, but typically) has:

1. The fixed monthly customer/facilities charge — every month, solar or not.
2. Energy bought from the co-op — on a TOU rate (where used), most expensive on-peak; the specific periods/rates are co-op-specific.
3. A below-retail export credit — surplus credited at the DER Rider's "Value of Renewable Generation" (avoided cost, below retail).

The leak: you export surplus below retail but buy back at retail (or on-peak TOU) — losing the spread. The battery fixes this by storing surplus for self-use (worth full retail/on-peak avoided) instead of exporting it cheap. Where the co-op uses a big TOU spread (e.g. ~24¢ on-peak vs ~6¢ off-peak), the battery also does TOU arbitrage.

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

• Identify the co-op — first thing; it determines everything, and you'll verify its terms.
• Check for a TOU rate — if the co-op uses TOU, look at on-peak usage (what the battery displaces).
• Find the DER Rider export credit — below retail; that's the spread the battery captures.

Seasonal shape (rural SC): hot, humid summers (heavy AC) and cool winters. A solar customer's bill is highest in summer. Where the co-op has TOU, the battery's value concentrates in the on-peak windows; its resilience value covers summer storms, the Helene-style event, and rural restoration (co-op lines can take longer to restore in remote areas).

5. The Savings Story — Worked 25-Year Analysis

The savings story is TOU/spread self-consumption + rate protection + the 25% state credit — with all figures verified per co-op. No battery VPP at the co-ops.

Representative co-op TOU customer: ~1,100 kWh/mo, below-retail avoided-cost exports. (Illustrative — verify the member's actual co-op rate.)

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

With battery — annual net cost (TOU/spread self-consumption; figures illustrative pending co-op verification):

No VPP income at the co-ops (Category 3) — unlike Duke SC's EnergyWise. The value is the TOU/spread self-consumption + rate protection + the 25% state credit, not VPP earnings.

Cumulative 25-year comparison (bill only; 25% state credit additional; illustrative pending co-op verification):

Plus the 25% SC state credit on the solar portion. ALL figures here are illustrative of the co-op pattern — verify the member's actual co-op rate + DER rider before quoting. The tool computes the customer's actual figure once the co-op is confirmed.

Break-even calendar (approximate; state credit accelerates it; verify per co-op):

The Year-1 honesty script (co-op version):

"Here's the honest math — and the honest part is that I'll verify your exact co-op's numbers before I promise anything. In general, your co-op credits your exported solar below retail but charges you retail (or on-peak) to buy it back, so a battery that keeps your power saves you that spread. If you're on a time-of-use rate, the battery also lets you run your expensive on-peak hours off cheap stored power. South Carolina's 25% state tax credit offsets the solar. Let me confirm your co-op's current rate and solar rider, then I'll show you real numbers — I'm not going to quote you someone else's co-op."

6. Pitch Framework — Archetypes

Archetype A — Co-op solar owner on a TOU rate.

• On a co-op TOU rate, feels the on-peak cost + below-retail exports.
• Fit: strong — TOU/spread self-consumption (verify the co-op).
• Opening: "Your co-op credits your exported solar below retail but charges you full price to buy it back — and if you're on time-of-use, your on-peak hours are expensive. A battery keeps your power instead. Let me confirm your co-op's exact rates and show you the numbers."

Archetype B — Co-op member frustrated by rising wholesale-driven rates.

• Watching rates climb (wholesale power pass-through).
• Fit: strong — rate protection.
• Opening: "Your co-op's rates track the wholesale power they buy, and those keep climbing. A battery locks in the cost of your own power against that."

Archetype C — Reliability-motivated (rural + post-Helene).

• Rural member; Helene + longer rural restoration.
• Fit: strong.
• Opening: "Out here, when a storm hits, rural lines can take longer to restore — and Helene proved it. A battery keeps your essentials running through a multi-day outage."

7. Market-Specific Plays — the co-op edge

PLAY 1 — Verify the co-op (honesty as the pitch). Each co-op sets its own rate + DER rider, so the honest move — confirming the member's specific co-op terms before quoting — is itself a selling point. Co-op members are community-minded and value straight talk; a rep who says "let me confirm your co-op's exact numbers rather than guess" builds more trust than one who rattles off generic figures. Verify, then quote.

PLAY 2 — Co-ops are NOT on Act 62 (don't misapply the IOU rules). The Act 62 statutory cohorts (the 5/31/2029 cliff, Solar Choice) apply to Duke and Dominion — NOT to co-ops, which set their own DG terms. Applying the IOU framing to a co-op member misstates their situation. Screen for co-op vs IOU first.

PLAY 3 — The 25% SC state tax credit (the only tax incentive left). Now that the federal ITC has expired, SC's TC-38 25% state credit is the only tax incentive for SC buyers — and it has no expiration. It covers the solar portion (confirmed). Frame it as a real, current cost offset. (Battery-portion eligibility isn't confirmed — see Incentives.)

PLAY 4 — Helene + rural restoration resilience. Helene (Sept 2024) hit SC statewide, and rural co-op territory can take longer to restore than dense metro areas (more line-miles per customer, remote areas last). That makes backup especially valuable for co-op members — a recent, proven, and structurally-longer-outage risk.

8. Incentives & Programs

• Battery VPP — none (Category 3): SC co-ops have no residential battery VPP (unlike Duke SC's EnergyWise). Some co-ops may run load-management/DR programs — verify per co-op — but no battery VPP income to promise. The value is TOU/spread self-consumption + resilience.
• SC 25% state tax credit (TC-38) — LIVE, no expiration: 25% of cost, $3,500/yr cap, $35,000 lifetime, limited to 50% of annual tax liability, non-refundable (carries forward). Covers the solar portion (confirmed). ⚠️ Battery/storage eligibility is NOT confirmed — TC-38 describes a "solar energy system"; whether a standalone battery qualifies isn't pinned. Do NOT tell a customer the battery gets 25% back. Frame: "the solar qualifies for SC's 25% credit; whether the battery portion qualifies isn't confirmed — verify with SC DOR or your tax advisor." (TODO: pin TC-38 battery eligibility.)
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Do not quote 30%.
• Utility battery rebate: none confirmed at the co-ops (PowerPair is NC-only). Some co-ops may have their own small programs — verify per co-op, don't assume.

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 Rural Co-op Territory

Why outages happen here — and why rural makes it worse. SC co-op territory (largely rural) faces:

• Hurricane Helene (September 2024) — hit SC statewide; rural areas often waited longer for restoration (crews prioritize by customer density, and remote lines come last).
• Longer rural restoration — co-ops serve fewer customers per line-mile across larger areas, so restoration after any major event tends to take longer than in a dense metro — which makes backup structurally more valuable.
• Severe thunderstorms, wind, ice — rural lines through trees and open country take weather hits, and tree-fall on long rural spans is common.
• Hurricane Hugo (1989) — the generational SC hurricane memory; rural areas were slow to restore.

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 — AC or heat, 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. Out here, rural lines can take longer to restore — Helene proved that — so backup matters even more." Rural restoration times make backup structurally more valuable for co-op members.

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

• What you rent: grid power on your co-op's rates (climbing with wholesale power costs), with exports credited below retail (avoided cost), and no protection when the grid fails — with potentially longer rural restoration.
• What you own (with the battery): your production, stored and used at today's locked cost — plus backup through longer rural outages.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + exposure to the rate climb + the spread on the power you'd otherwise keep buying.

12. Battery Products

• Backup config (co-op default — resilience + self-consumption): Tesla Powerwall 3 (11.5 kW), FranklinWH aPower 2 (10 kW). Rural restoration times make backup especially valuable.
• 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 at the co-ops — so config choice is about backup + self-consumption, not VPP eligibility. Confirm config in the tool.

13. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in the co-op's verified figures) + co-op-specific objections.

"What are my co-op's exact solar terms?" (co-op-specific — the honest verify)

"That's exactly what I'll confirm before I quote you anything — each co-op sets its own rates and solar rider, so I'm not going to guess with someone else's numbers. In general your co-op credits your exports below retail and charges you retail to buy back, and a battery keeps that power instead. Let me pull your co-op's current terms and show you real figures."

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

"Not through a utility program — the co-ops don't have the battery VPP that Duke does. Your savings come from using your own stored power instead of buying it back, plus backup when the grid's down. I won't 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 — and South Carolina's 25% state tax credit offsets the solar portion."

"Is there a tax credit?" (SC-specific)

"South Carolina has a 25% state tax credit — that's the one still around now that the federal credit expired. It covers your solar, up to $3,500 a year with a lifetime cap. Whether it covers the battery portion isn't something I can promise — check with your tax advisor — but the solar part qualifies."

"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. 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 — situation → pitch

16. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; the specific co-op's rates + DER-rider export credit must be verified before quoting (they vary by co-op).
2. ☐ 25-year projections are scenarios, not guarantees; depend on the co-op's Board rate decisions and wholesale power costs.
3. ☐ Electric cooperatives set their own rates and DER riders and are NOT on the Act 62 IOU cohort structure; each co-op's terms must be verified before quoting.
4. ☐ Co-op solar exports are credited below retail (avoided cost / Value of Renewable Generation); the specific credit varies by co-op.
5. ☐ SC co-ops have no residential battery VPP; do not promise VPP income.
6. ☐ The SC 25% state tax credit (TC-38) covers the solar portion; battery/storage eligibility is not confirmed — verify with SC DOR or a tax advisor. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025.
7. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms; the system transfers on sale.
8. ☐ Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr); one of three coverage layers, not full coverage.
9. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home indefinite backup is not implied.
10. ☐ Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

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

• Rate structure: varies by co-op (many TOU ~24¢/6¢ — VERIFY)
• Act 62 cohorts: N/A (co-ops set own DG terms)
• Export credit: avoided cost / below retail (DER Rider — VERIFY per co-op)
• Battery VPP: none (Cat 3)
• Wholesale source: Central Electric Power Coop (many) / Santee (some)
• SC state credit: 25%, $3,500/yr, $35K lifetime (solar confirmed; battery unconfirmed)
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025
• Recent increase: wholesale-cost pass-through (co-op-specific — VERIFY)
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000
• System takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Rescue value: $4,000–7,500+
• 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.
• Never claim all warranties transfer. Align is non-transferable; workmanship needs written consent; manufacturer per OEM terms.
• Never apply the Act 62 IOU cohort dates to a co-op — co-ops set their own DG terms; screen co-op vs IOU first.
• Never quote generic co-op figures as the member's actual terms — verify the specific co-op's rate + DER rider first.
• Never imply the co-op pays a battery VPP — none do; the value is spread/TOU + resilience.
• Never tell a customer the 25% state credit covers the battery — only the solar portion is confirmed; battery eligibility must be verified.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired).
• Always confirm which co-op the member belongs to — it sets the rate, DER rider, and the pitch.