Dive Brief:
- Eversource is expanding its ConnectedSolutions demand response program with two targeted pilots in the Boston area and southeastern Massachusetts, the New England investor-owned utility said on June 25.
- The Greater Boston pilot will recruit eligible stationary batteries, electric vehicles, building management systems and smart thermostats at residences and businesses in specific geographic areas where Eversource expects to see above-average loading during summer heatwaves. The southeastern Massachusetts pilot encourages customers to charge stationary batteries and electric vehicles during midday periods of excess solar production.
- These “ConnectedSolutions+” and “Managed Charging+” pilots will see Eversource test more sophisticated solutions to respond to trends that energy system modelers expect to reshape New England’s grid in the coming years: a dramatic increase in electricity demand driven by electrification of buildings and transportation, and a policy-driven surge in small-scale solar additions that ISO-New England says could bring the region’s wintertime behind-the-meter production to 6.5 GW by the late 2030s.
Dive Insight:
All of the pilots are live now as southern New England bakes under an unusually intense heat dome, an Eversource spokesperson told Utility Dive in an email. Eversource intends to gather data from them this year and anticipates continuing — and potentially expanding — them through 2029, the spokespersony said.
ISO New England forecasts 478,450 MWh of net load on July 2, among the highest daily readings this decade.
Eversource hopes to enroll about 2,800 devices in the ConnectedSolutions+ and Managed Charging+ pilots in Greater Boston, with most in the ConnectedSolutions+ program, the spokesperson said.
The Greater Boston ConnectedSolutions+ pilot is open to eligible residential and business customers in the parts of Cambridge, Milton and south Boston served by Eversource’s Alewife, Hyde Park and Dewar substations.
ConnectedSolutions+ events may be called from June through September between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eversource anticipates 40 to 60 events annually for residential battery customers and 10 to 20 events annually for residential thermostat customers. Home battery owners can earn a $400/kW performance incentive, while residential thermostat customers earn $50 to $150 upfront plus a $20 annual performance incentive. Eligible businesses can earn an average $250/kW performance incentive for battery curtailment and $50 to $150 upfront plus $200 annually for participating smart thermostats, Eversource says.
Eversource aims to enroll 30 Managed Charging+ and 14 ConnectedSolutions+ customers in southeastern Massachusetts, the spokesperson said.
The southeastern Massachusetts ConnectedSolutions+ pilot is open to residential and business customers in the parts of Freetown, Lakeville, New Bedford, Dartmouth and Acushnet served by Eversource’s Industrial Park substation, according to Eversource’s website. The Managed Charging+ pilot is open to residential customers in the same area.
Southeastern Massachusetts ConnectedSolutions+ participants get performance incentives of $275/kW from June through September and $100/kW in April, May, October and November across as many as 150 events per year, Eversource says.
Qualifying Managed Charging+ enrollees may get a $50 enrollment incentive and $30 each month they complete at least five 15-minute charging sessions during peak solar production hours. Events may be called from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the local grid is most likely to have a glut of distributed solar.
Tilak Subrahmanian, Eversource’s vice president for energy efficiency and electric mobility, said ConnectedSolutions+ is a “practical way to target demand response where it can deliver the most value for local reliability” at the substation level.
“It is an important step in testing how customer-side flexibility can support the grid while easing congestion, keeping supply costs down, and mitigating 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 batteries or EVs during periods of high solar penetration. Pacific Gas & Electric markets a residential EV charging plan with off-peak hours running from 12 a.m. to 3 p.m. TXU, the largest electricity retailer in Texas, offers free charging for Ford EV drivers from 10 p.m. to 1 p.m.
