BOSTON, Mass. (June 15, 2023) – As part of an innovative collaboration to improve the reliability of the region’s electric system in advance of the expected retirement of the fossil-fuel fired Mystic Generating Station early next year, Eversource and National Grid today announced the completion ahead of schedule of the Ready Path Solution.

Eversource and National Grid partnered on the project to ensure reliable service for customers across the region.

“Our partnership to complete this project ahead of schedule is an important step forward for upgrading regional transmission infrastructure, which is the backbone of the electric grid and critical to achieving decarbonization and electrification goals in Massachusetts,” said Bill Quinlan, Eversource President of Transmission and Offshore Wind Projects. “Supporting the retirement of the fossil fuel-fired Mystic Generating Station, the Ready Path Solution will save customers millions of dollars each year and facilitate a cleaner and more resilient grid.”

“National Grid and Eversource partnered to build a project that was innovative, cost-effective and completed ahead of-time,” said Stephen Woerner, President of National Grid New England. “We have built a project that will meet the region’s reliability needs and allow the timely closure of the Mystic station. New England’s electric grid must continue to evolve in order to maintain system reliability while ensuring customers have access to new sources of clean, renewable energy. This project helps take that evolution a step further.”

The Ready Path Solution was competitively chosen from several alternatives by ISO New England (ISO-NE), the region’s independent power grid manager. With an installed cost of $49 million, it was selected as the most cost-effective solution to maintain grid reliability following the retirement of the Mystic Generating Station, a 2,000-megawatt fossil fuel-fired power plant in Everett. The Mystic facility is scheduled to retire in 2024 and would cost New England customers an estimated $175 million annually to keep the station available for system reliability purposes. 

According to ISO-NE, without upgrades to the region’s electric grid, the closure of the Mystic Generating Station would create significant reliability risks for customers in the Boston area, including overloaded transmission lines and system instability.

The project was built entirely within existing National Grid and Eversource substations in Cambridge, Haverhill, Amesbury, and Tewksbury. In 2022, National Grid completed control system upgrades at the Amesbury and Haverhill substations that will allow the electric transmission network to respond reliably and avert transmission line overloads.  Eversource also completed installation of equipment at its existing North Cambridge substation to direct power flows more efficiently.

National Grid has now completed work on the final piece of the Ready Path Solution, installing equipment at its substation in Tewksbury. The installation of a Static Synchronous Compensator, also known as a STATCOM, will provide the transmission network with voltage support and reactive power control. With the completion of this work, the full project was put into service on June 7, 2023.

For more information on the Ready Path Solution, visit www.greaterbostonreadypath.com.

Eversource (NYSE: ES), celebrated as a national leader for its corporate citizenship, is the #1 energy company in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2023 and recognized as one of America’s Most JUST Companies. Celebrated as a national leader for its corporate citizenship, Eversource transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas and supplies water to 1.8 million customers throughout Massachusetts, including approximately 1.47 million electric customers in 140 communities, 639,000 gas customers in 117 communities, and 8,900 water customers in five communities. Eversource harnesses the commitment of approximately 9,600 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and water with superior customer service. The #1 energy efficiency provider in the nation, the company is empowering a clean energy future in the Northeast, with nationally recognized energy efficiency solutions and successful programs to integrate new clean energy resources like solar, offshore wind, electric vehicles and battery storage, into the electric system. For more information, please visit eversource.com, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more information on our water services, visit aquarionwater.com.

 

William Hinkle, Eversource                       Chris McKinnon, Eversource       

603-634-2222                                              617-424-2108                                    

william.hinkle@eversource.com              christopher.r.mckinnon@eversource.com

John Lamontagne, National Grid

339-223-6077