Eversource is recruiting about 2,800 devices for two new demand response pilots targeting specific substations in the Boston area and southeastern Massachusetts, the utility announced June 25. The ConnectedSolutions+ and Managed Charging+ programs expand the utility's existing demand response efforts by focusing on geographic areas where the grid faces specific challenges: above-average loading during summer heat waves in Greater Boston, and excess midday solar production in southeastern Massachusetts. Both pilots went live as southern New England experienced an intense heat dome, with ISO New England forecasting 478,450 MWh of net load on July 2—among the highest daily readings this decade.
The Greater Boston ConnectedSolutions+ pilot targets residential and business customers in parts of Cambridge, Milton, and south Boston served by Eversource's Alewife, Hyde Park, and Dewar substations. Home battery owners can earn $400 per kilowatt in performance incentives, while residential thermostat customers get $50 to $150 upfront plus $20 annually. Businesses earn an average $250 per kilowatt for battery curtailment and $50 to $150 upfront plus $200 annually for smart thermostats. Eversource expects to call 40 to 60 events annually for residential battery customers and 10 to 20 events for thermostat customers between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. from June through September. In southeastern Massachusetts, Eversource aims to enroll 30 Managed Charging+ and 14 ConnectedSolutions+ customers in areas served by the Industrial Park substation. ConnectedSolutions+ participants there receive $275 per kilowatt from June through September and $100 per kilowatt in shoulder months across as many as 150 events per year. Managed Charging+ enrollees get a $50 sign-up incentive and $30 monthly for completing at least five 15-minute charging sessions during peak solar hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
According to Tilak Subrahmanian, Eversource's vice president for energy efficiency and electric mobility, ConnectedSolutions+ is a "practical way to target demand response where it can deliver the most value for local reliability" at the substation level. The utility said it will test more sophisticated solutions to respond to trends expected to reshape New England's grid: a dramatic increase in electricity demand driven by electrification of buildings and transportation, and a surge in small-scale solar that ISO-New England projects could bring the region's wintertime behind-the-meter production to 6.5 GW by the late 2030s.
The pilots address two grid challenges that emerge at different times and locations. The Greater Boston program tackles peak demand during evening hours when air conditioning strains specific substations during heat waves. The southeastern Massachusetts program confronts the opposite problem: too much power flooding the local grid during midday when rooftop solar panels generate more electricity than the area can immediately use. By paying customers to discharge batteries and reduce thermostat settings during peak hours in Boston, and to charge batteries and EVs during solar glut periods in southeastern Massachusetts, Eversource aims to ease congestion, keep supply costs down, and mitigate the need for certain infrastructure investments as electricity demand grows.
Eversource plans to gather data from the pilots this year and expects to continue—and potentially expand—them through 2029. The utility isn't the first to encourage customers to shift charging to periods of high solar production: Pacific Gas & Electric markets a residential EV charging plan with off-peak hours from midnight to 3 p.m., while TXU in Texas offers free charging for Ford EV drivers from 10 p.m. to 1 p.m. The substation-level targeting represents a refinement of traditional demand response programs, focusing flexibility where local grid constraints create the most urgent need rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach across an entire service territory.