Eversource launches targeted load management pilots in Massachusetts
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- Eversource launched two ConnectedSolutions+ and Managed Charging+ pilots on June 25 in Greater Boston and southeastern Massachusetts, targeting areas expected to see above-average loading during summer heatwaves and midday solar surplus, respectively.
- Greater Boston pilot will recruit eligible stationary batteries, EVs, building management systems, and smart thermostats in parts of Cambridge, Milton, and south Boston served by the Alewife, Hyde Park, and Dewar substations.
- Eversource aims to enroll about 2,800 devices across both pilots, including 30 Managed Charging+ and 14 ConnectedSolutions+ customers in southeastern Massachusetts; home battery owners can earn a $400/kW performance incentive.
- ConnectedSolutions+ events may be called June through September between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., with 40 to 60 events annually for residential battery customers and 10 to 20 for residential thermostat customers.
- ISO New England forecasts 478,450 MWh of net load on July 2 — among the highest daily readings this decade — as the pilots go live during an unusually intense heat dome over southern New England.
- Tilak Subrahmanian, Eversource's vice president for energy efficiency and electric mobility, called ConnectedSolutions+ a practical way to deliver demand response where it offers the most value for local reliability at the substation level.
- ISO New England projects that policy-driven small-scale solar additions could push the region's wintertime behind-the-meter production to 6.5 GW by the late 2030s, reshaping when and where grid flexibility will be needed.
Why it matters: Eversource is piloting substation-level demand response in areas where summer heatwave loading and midday solar surplus hit hardest, with home battery owners earning $400/kW to participate. The pilots may continue and expand through 2029 as ISO New England projects 6.5 GW of winter behind-the-meter solar by the late 2030s, reshaping the region's flexibility needs.
