Electricity company threatening to withdraw feed in tariff on death of 80 year old.

JCeey66

My father is 80years old and a very keen and often grumpy saver.
18 months ago he invested £5000 of his savings in a PV solar power system and was thrilled to receive his electricity feed in tariff cheques paid approx quaterly.
This was a greater pleasure knowing that it would be paid for 25 years and eventually would be inherited to his children via his house.
Unfortnately this week he has received a letter from NPower. Apparently if he dies the feed in tariff will stop and any monies earnt will be feed back to NPower directly.
Has anyone else had this letter? I have scanned though Goverment websites and can't see anything relating to this?

matelodave

The feed in tariff belongs to the owner of the panels - if you transfer the ownership of the house then the new owner becomes the beneficiary of the FIT. So if you sell the house the new owner gets the FIT, not you.

You'd need to get probate & everything sorted out and decide what you are going to do with the house when he's not around - the longer you leave it the more the electricity supplier benefits.

I'm sure if you look at the regs then there is no facility to transfer the benefit on the death of the owner. It would require a new agreement to be constructed with the new owner of the panels.

AFAIK the FIT is available for the period that the panels are installed and working, not just to the original purchaser. I guess that if you decided to sell his house but retain the ownership of the panels then you could benefit from the FIT for the remainder of the period. That's how the rent a roof schemes work - the owner gets the FIT but the consumer gets the benefit of any power that's actually generated and either used or fed back into the grid.

macman

Why the need for probate? Father is still very much alive according to the OP.
I would like to see the text of this letter, as I find it hard to believe that any supplier would write along the lines of 'Hi, just to let you know that when you're dead we'll no longer pay your FIT's payments..."
The new occupier or owner will be able to receive payments as long as they register for them.

matelodave

When he's not around, not now.
I'd assume that the electricity company aren't actually threatening but stating the fact that the agreement gets terminated when he dies. It probably doesn't actually offer any advice or comfort on what happens then.

molerat

From various supplier websites

What happens to my Feed in Tariffs if I die?

Your Feed in Tariff agreement can be inherited in the same way that your property can. The person who is set to inherit your property would, unless stated differently within your will, be entitled to apply for the Feed in Tariff scheme in the event of your death. The beneficiary would be entitled to the same Feed in Tariff rate available when the installation was originally commissioned.
When applying to take over ownership of an existing Feed in Tariff contract, it may be necessary to provide proof of ownership to the Energy supplier to whom you are applying. To make this process easier for your beneficiary Sunraker would advise ownership of the solar installation and the Feed in Tariff contract to be specifically mentioned in any will.

What happens in the result of the death of the generator?
In the event that the generator dies, the FIT can be transferred to a nominated recipient. We will require a copy of the death certificate along with a completed 'Change to FIT Generator or Nominated Recipient Form'

JCeey66

Thank you all for your responses!
It would be our hope to keep the house and we would transfer the FIT when the time comes. The withdrawl, is not a threat, although my father views it as such!
He is very upset and shouty and is convinced that Electricity company will prevent transfer to a nominated recipient.
I will read the responses out to him, but just out of curiosity, is there any legal frame work which an electricity company can employ to stop a transfer?

thenudeone

JCeey66 wrote: »

Unfortnately this week he has received a letter from NPower. Apparently if he dies the feed in tariff will stop and any monies earnt will be feed back to NPower directly.

Is this really what the letter says, or has it been paraphrased and lost in translation? The FIT generally goes to whoever owns the panels. If you sell the house (or it passes to someone else through a will or through administrators if no will) the new owners simply have to register their new ownership and they will get. There is absolutely no way it would simply stop on death.

If that really is what is written in the letter, I'd suggest a formal complaint with a demand for a small amount of compensation for distress and inconvenience.

matelodave

What's all this demanding compensation for everything nowadays.

Cardew

Was the letter from Npower unsolicited?


I suspect the letter points out that the income is tied to the house and is paid to the owner of the house.


When they are notified that the owner dies, the FIT cannot be paid to anyone until the ownership of the property is established. That will result in a delay of payment - but not a loss.

DaveTheMus

thenudeone wrote: »

Is this really what the letter says, or has it been paraphrased and lost in translation? The FIT generally goes to whoever owns the panels. If you sell the house (or it passes to someone else through a will or through administrators if no will) the new owners simply have to register their new ownership and they will get. There is absolutely no way it would simply stop on death.

If that really is what is written in the letter, I'd suggest a formal complaint with a demand for a small amount of compensation for distress and inconvenience.

Get a grip of yourself.....

macman

Post the relevant text of the letter and a proper opinion can be given. So far it's all hearsay.