There was a mad rush in Wollongong on Wednesday night as people scrambled to sign up for solar panels before the State Government slashed the rate paid to home owners for generating power back into the grid.One Wollongong solar installer, FROG Solutions, reported that 300 people rushed to its Auburn St showroom to get in before the Wednesday midnight deadline.FROG Solutions CEO Peter Martino said about 120 of them signed up to have an electricity-generating system installed.Those who signed up before the deadline will be paid 60? a kilowatt hour for the electricity they return to the grid until 2016. From now on, everyone else will be paid just 20? per kilowatt hour.A $13,000 3kw system generates enough electricity for an average family home; any excess is put back into the grid and the home owner is paid for it.Figtree father of two John Chichkan was one of those who made a late dash to FROG Solutions. With a pool filter and an air- conditioner at his house, Mr Chichkan was keen to save money and reduce his carbon footprint - but he said the rushed decision to change the tariff was a debacle."I think they're taking a short-term view," he said. "I think it's just another indictment on the ineptitude of the state Government."Energy Minister Paul Lynch said the quick action was necessary as costs had reached $1.5 billion and would have hit $4 billion.Much of the cost is passed on to families in their power bills."The changes supported by the Parliament strike a better balance between keeping electricity costs down and supporting renewable energy," Mr Lynch said."The Solar Bonus Scheme has not ground to a halt. There are still months of work ahead to install panels - 100 megawatts has been connected but we know that 193 megawatts have been ordered."The decision sparked an angry reaction from the solar industry. South Coast Solar owner Tim Rogers said the rush would create a backlog of jobs but after that his company would be "scratching around for work".He said the old price would allow solar systems to be paid off in four years but the new price was no more than users are charged by energy companies."It's hardly worth putting one up on your roof," he said.Mr Martino said he would have to cut his solar installation crew from four or five people to one.Marketing director of the family-owned installer SolarSwitch, Alle Tesoriero, said the decision was a "knee-jerk reaction"."Many people have been trying to blame the solar industry for sky-rocketing electricity prices when this could not be further from the truth," he said. "Solar electricity will help reduce the burden on the grid and help keep electricity prices under control."