Sunrun’s exclusive deal with Comcast to market and sell rooftop solar services will provide a business boost for both companies, Lynn Jurich, Sunrun’s CEO, said.

In addition to bringing new customers to Sunrun, an earlier year-long pilot test showed that the partnership also drives improved customer metrics at Comcast.

“What Comcast found is that when they marketed Sunrun to their customer base, and customers chose to go solar, it improved their customer satisfaction scores [and] their customer retention,” she said.

Sunrun, whose stock was up almost 10% Thursday afternoon, and Comcast will be trying to expand on those findings as they move ahead on a 40-month program whereby Sunrun will serve as the exclusive residential solar energy provider for the cable operator, which will be marketing Sunrun’s services (in bill inserts and other standard acquisition channels) in selected markets.

RELATED: Comcast to Sell Rooftop Solar Services, Take Possible Stake in Sunrun

Most Sunrun customers are on board for the long-term. Jurich said most customers go with an option that requires no money upfront for the solar energy system (managed and maintained by Sunrun) in exchange for a 20-year contract to buy electricity from Sunrun, with customers typically getting a 20% discount from their current electric bill. That contract transfers to new home owners if and when the original customer moves.  

“They aren’t taking on any operating risk and they’re getting cheaper power,” Jurich said of the customer model, noting that Sunrun has about 150,000 customers. “From our perspective, it’s not a niche product."  

While the initial launch is focused on Comcast’s marketing of Sunrun’s services, the agreement also contemplates the idea of Sunrun marketing Xfinity Home, Comcast’s home security and automation service that has signed on about 1 million subscribers.

Comcast is the first cable operator to partner up with Sunrun.

Sunrun works with several other market verticals and “grid services” business models that extend beyond the baseline production and consumption of home solar energy.  

One such Sunrun partner, National Grid, a U.K.-based company that operates utilities in areas such as New York and Boston, also enables customers store excess power in home batteries and sell it back to the utility for added reliability and capacity, Jurich said. 

Following a one-year pilot program, Comcast and Sunrun have inked a formal agreement under which Comcast will market Sunrun’s rooftop solar services to customers in selected states earlier this year.  

Depending on how the partnership performs, Comcast also stands to acquire a sizable stake in Sunrun, which opened a corporate office in Denver in 2015.

Under the new 40-month program, which aims to accelerate the adoption of solar energy and to reduce the electric bills of Comcast customers, Sunrun will serve as the exclusive residential solar energy provider for Comcast. In turn, Comcast Cable will be a strategic partner of Sunrun via marketing campaigns to be run in those selected markets.

On the financial end, Comcast will receive fees for new customers they bring to Sunrun, and Comcast also stands to earn a warrant of up to up to 9.99% of Sunrun’s outstanding common shares. They said the warrant is earned pro rata after 30,000 customers under the agreement are installed by Sunrun. The warrant is fully earned if Sunrun installs 60,000 customers under the agreement, they said.

UPDATE: Per an SEC filing that sheds more light on the agreement, the warrant enables Comcast to purchase up to 11,793,355 shares of Sunrun’s common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per Warrant Share

Sunrun, headquartered in San Francisco, said it had deployed 76 megawatts by the end of Q2 2017, a 16% year-on-year increase, and a net present value of $74 million, up 56%. For full year 2017, Sunrun expected to deploy 325 MWs, a 15% year-on-year increase.

Shares in Sunrun were up 31 cents (4.52%) to $7.25 each in morning trading Thursday.

Comcast confirmed the original pilot with Sunrun last fall, noting that it began in Comcast’s Northeastern Division (New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut and New York). In addition to energy savings, Comcast also offered qualified customers a $600 discount payable via a reloadable Visa prepaid card in four quarterly installments of $150.

RELATED: Comcast Partners on Solar Power Trial

Regarding other synergies with Sunrun, Comcast noted that it lets customers manage, control and operate key smart home functions, including energy consumption management, with its Xfinity Home service.

Among other energy-facing efforts, Comcast last year relaunched Comcast Energy Rewards, a program offered in select areas, including Pennsylvania and Illinois, that ties energy savings to perks from Comcast that include prepaid Visa cards, three free months of HBO, Showtime or Cinemax and free tickets from Comcast corporate cousin Fandango.

“We believe the residential solar industry will continue to expand over the next decade as consumers look for more cost-efficient, independent and cleaner alternatives for their energy,” Jon Kaplowitz, managing director and GM of new businesses at Comcast Cable, said in a statement. “By working with Sunrun, Comcast can help customers take more control of the price they pay for energy, save them money and help contribute to cleaner communities.”

“At Sunrun, we know homeowners love the savings, backup power and control they get with our solar energy and storage plans,” added Lynn Jurich, Sunrun’s CEO. “Our challenge is making homeowners aware that they can save money with solar today. We are excited to work with Comcast to help their customers go solar and save on their electric bills while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels.”