Eversource Opens Substation-Targeted Demand Response Pilots in Massachusetts
- Grid Services & Demand Response Policy & Markets Regulatory
Marin Holt
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- 5 minutes read
- Home battery incentive: $400/kW
- Greater Boston target: about 2,800 devices
- Event window: 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., June-September
- SE Mass events: up to 150 per year
Eversource on June 25, 2026 opened two demand response pilots in Massachusetts that recruit distributed batteries, EVs, building controls and smart thermostats tied to specific substations rather than the whole service territory. In Greater Boston, the utility wants about 2,800 devices behind its Alewife, Hyde Park and Dewar substations, paying home battery owners a $400/kW performance incentive to discharge during summer peaks. A second pilot in southeastern Massachusetts, anchored on the Industrial Park substation, calls up to 150 events per year. The pilots test whether customer-side flexibility, aimed at the exact feeders that overload, defers distribution upgrades.
What Changed
Eversource’s existing ConnectedSolutions program dispatches across the territory. The new ConnectedSolutions+ and Managed Charging+ pilots instead target named substations where the utility expects above-average loading. The Greater Boston pilot covers parts of Cambridge, Milton and south Boston, with events called from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., June through September: 40 to 60 events a year for residential battery customers and 10 to 20 for thermostat customers. The southeastern pilot, covering parts of Freetown, Lakeville, New Bedford, Dartmouth and Acushnet, runs up to 150 events per year and pays $275/kW in summer and $100/kW in the shoulder months. A Managed Charging+ track shifts EV charging into an 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. window to absorb midday solar.
Incentives vary by device. Residential batteries in Greater Boston earn the $400/kW performance rate; residential thermostats get $50 to $150 upfront plus $20 a year; business batteries average $250/kW. Managed Charging+ pays a $50 enrollment credit plus $30 a month for five or more charging sessions.
Why It Matters
Territory-wide demand response smooths system peaks but does little for a single congested feeder. By recruiting behind named substations, Eversource is treating flexible load as a distribution-planning tool, a targeted alternative to rebuilding a substation or reconductoring a line. For customers with home batteries, the $400/kW rate sets a concrete number to weigh against the cost of the hardware. For regulators, the pilots produce data on whether enrolled devices actually show up during the 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. window when the local grid is tightest.
“It is an important step in testing how customer-side flexibility can support the grid,” said Tilak Subrahmanian, Eversource’s vice president of energy efficiency and electric mobility.
Critical Perspective
Targeted programs live or die on enrollment density. A $400/kW incentive means little if too few battery owners sit behind the Alewife, Hyde Park and Dewar substations to move the load that matters, and the modest 2,800-device goal reflects how narrow the eligible pool is. Calling up to 150 events a year in southeastern Massachusetts also asks a lot of participants before anyone knows whether the payments beat the cost of the deferred infrastructure. The pilot design is sound; the open question is whether enough of the right customers, on the right feeders, sign up.
