Three ordinary ways a payment rises
Not every increase is the same clause. Naming the mechanism is the whole point of this guide.
What the page often calls it
- An escalator: a scheduled increase, often once a year, written as a percent or a dollars-per-kWh bump. Common on leases and power-purchase agreements.
- An introductory or promotional payment: a lower amount for a stated number of months, then a higher amount. The second number is usually in the same file.
- A payment that assumed a tax credit: some loans show a lower payment that lasts only if a credit is applied on a stated timeline. If that assumption is in the file, the later payment is also in the file.
What this is not
This guide does not say the increase was hidden, illegal, or a surprise the salesperson was required to prevent. Memory of the pitch and the signed page are two different things.
It also does not tell you to stop the payment. Keep doing what you are doing now.
How to find the sentence
Search the PDF or flip the paper for “escalat,” “increase,” “each anniversary,” “per year,” “introductory,” “promotional,” “step-up,” and “tax credit.” Photograph that page and the payment schedule next to it.
Two bills are a different stack
A utility bill that stayed high is not the same event as a solar payment that stepped up. If both happened, bring both statements. The situation page “Two payments. Still high?” is the pairing. This guide is the solar-payment mechanism.