At a Glance

  • Eversource, an investor-owned utility in New England, announced on June 25 that it will expand its ConnectedSolutions demand response program, launching two targeted pilots in the Boston area and southeastern Massachusetts.
  • The Greater Boston pilot will recruit eligible stationary batteries, electric vehicles, building management systems, and smart thermostats in homes and businesses located in specific geographic areas expected to have above-average load during summer heat waves. The southeastern Massachusetts pilot encourages customers to charge stationary batteries and electric vehicles during midday solar surplus periods.
  • These "ConnectedSolutions+" and "Managed Charging+" pilots will test more complex solutions to address trends that energy system modelers expect will reshape the New England grid in the coming years: significant growth in electricity demand from building and transportation electrification, and a policy-driven surge in small-scale solar—ISO-New England says the region's winter behind-the-meter generation could reach 6.5 gigawatts by the late 2030s.

Deep Dive

All pilots are now live, coinciding with an unusually strong heat dome over southern New England, an Eversource spokesperson told Utility Dive via email. Eversource plans to collect data this year and expects to continue—and potentially expand—the pilots through 2029.

ISO New England forecasted net load of 478,450 MWh for July 2, one of the highest daily readings of the decade.

Eversource hopes to enroll about 2,800 devices in the Greater Boston ConnectedSolutions+ and Managed Charging+ pilots, with the majority under the ConnectedSolutions+ program, the spokesperson said.

The Greater Boston ConnectedSolutions+ pilot is open to eligible residential and business customers in parts of Cambridge, Milton, and South Boston served by Eversource's Alewife, Hyde Park, and Dewar substations.

ConnectedSolutions+ events may be called between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. from June through September. Eversource expects residential battery customers to experience 40 to 60 events per year and residential thermostat customers 10 to 20 per year. Home battery owners can receive performance incentives of $400 per kilowatt, while residential thermostat customers can receive upfront incentives of $50 to $150 plus annual performance incentives of $20. Eligible businesses can receive average performance incentives of $250 per kilowatt for battery reductions, as well as upfront incentives of $50 to $150 plus annual participation incentives of $200 for smart thermostats, Eversource said.

Eversource aims to enroll 30 Managed Charging+ customers and 14 ConnectedSolutions+ customers in southeastern Massachusetts, the spokesperson said.

The southeastern Massachusetts ConnectedSolutions+ pilot is open to residential and business customers in parts of Freetown, Lakeville, New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Acushnet served by Eversource's Industrial Park substation, according to the Eversource website. The Managed Charging+ pilot is open to residential customers in the same area.

Southeastern Massachusetts ConnectedSolutions+ participants can receive performance incentives of $275 per kilowatt from June through September and $100 per kilowatt in April, May, October, and November, with up to 150 events per year, Eversource said.

Eligible Managed Charging+ participants can receive a $50 enrollment incentive and $30 per month if they complete at least five 15-minute charging sessions during solar peak hours each month. Events may be called between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the local grid is most likely to have excess distributed solar.

Tilak Subrahmanian, Eversource's vice president of energy efficiency and electric mobility, said ConnectedSolutions+ is "a practical way to target demand response at the substation level to maximize its value for enhancing local reliability."

"This is an important step in testing how customer-side flexibility can support the grid while relieving congestion, lowering supply costs, and reducing the need for certain infrastructure investments as electricity demand continues to grow," Subrahmanian said in a statement.

Eversource is not the first U.S. utility or electricity retailer to encourage customers to charge during periods of high solar penetration. Pacific Gas & Electric promotes a residential EV charging plan with an off-peak window from midnight to 3 p.m. TXU, Texas's largest electricity retailer, offers free charging for Ford EV drivers from 10 p.m. to 1 p.m.