Energy company will improve the grid to enable greater use of distributed energy resources like solar while meeting the demand created by electrification of heating and transportation

BOSTON and SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 1, 2023) – As part of its ongoing commitment to help the commonwealth achieve its net-zero and decarbonization goals, Eversource today filed its draft long-term plan to modernize the electric distribution system and usher in an unprecedented transition to a clean energy future. The energy company’s Electric Sector Modernization Plan (ESMP) is an innovative plan to proactively upgrade the electric distribution system over the next decade with a holistic look forward to 2050 to provide direct, equitable benefits to all customers – including those in environmental justice communities. Eversource’s ESMP shows the need for significant upgrades to existing equipment and the addition of strategically placed clean energy infrastructure to improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid in Massachusetts while meeting the inevitable increase in electric demand as more customers adopt technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps. Additionally, this plan identifies specific initiatives to build a more resilient grid.

“We’re excited to lay out our plans to realistically transition to the clean energy future we all desire in lockstep with the commonwealth’s nation-leading decarbonization goals, while also ensuring that we continue delivering safe and reliable service in a cost-effective way for all of our customers in Massachusetts,” said Eversource Vice President for System Planning Digaunto Chatterjee. “Achieving this will take a collective effort from our customers, stakeholders and regulatory agencies as we undertake the important work of siting and building critical clean energy infrastructure – like new substations – to meet growing demand for electricity and allow for the integration of more distributed energy resources like solar.”

Eversource’s ESMP is directly linked to state-specific mandates laid out in the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2035 and 2050. The energy company developed the plan to serve as a fully transparent look at electric infrastructure needs and how those needs will drastically increase over the next two decades as Massachusetts leads efforts toward its net-zero greenhouse gas limit by 2050.

Eversource system engineers predict an approximately 20% increase in electric demand in the next decade driven primarily by imminent economic growth and a 150% electric demand increase by 2050, driven by electrification of heating systems (50%) and transportation (25%), as well as normal load growth (25%). To safely and reliably meet the needs of its customers and the commonwealth’s clean energy goals, the energy company has proposed building new clean energy substations and conducting significant upgrades on existing substations, which are all critical components of the electric delivery system. These investments will be complemented by improvements to the grid to better withstand the impacts of major storms, flooding, and other threats increasing due to climate change.

These proposed investments over the next decade will increase grid capacity by 180% (3.4 GW), enabling full electrification for customers who choose to adopt electric vehicles or heat pumps in Eversource’s Metro-Boston and Western Mass regions, while also providing significant opportunities for customers in the company’s MetroWest and South regions to choose electrification. In all, these clean energy investments will allow for the adoption of 2.5 million electric vehicles and 1 million heat pumps across the Eversource service territory in Massachusetts. Additionally, these investments will enable 2.2 GW of solar.

“Some areas of the electric system have already exceeded their electric capacity limits while others are reaching those limits, and we anticipate that trend will accelerate even more as we look at the next 10-25 years with the push for electrification and more widespread adoption of technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps,” said Eversource Vice President for Grid Modernization Jen Schilling. “As we transition to this cleaner future, proposed clean energy infrastructure investments must achieve both equity and clean energy objectives. We believe energy justice, affordability, and reliability goals can be accomplished simultaneously and that this balance will improve our collective success in achieving our shared clean energy goals.”

As with all of its capital projects, Eversource’s ESMP will directly benefit all customers through long-term investments in the safety and reliability of the electric system. The accompanying decision-making and siting processes for these projects require transparency and must be accessible to communities. The energy company is proposing the establishment of a Community Engagement Advisory Group dedicated to ensuring communities are engaged early and often in project development and have a seat at the table as key decisions are being made over the next two decades. This commitment requires Eversource to build and maintain trusted partnerships through meaningful community engagement and incorporate feedback in the decision-making processes, especially from those who are burdened with existing negative environmental circumstances and justice disparities.

Additionally, Eversource has placed a strategic focus within the ESMP on the integration of more solar, battery storage facilities, and electrification technologies for buildings and transportation, as well as innovative emerging technologies like virtual power plants to drive decarbonization efforts. Moreover, the energy company has proposed policy enhancements to help cost-effectively make the grid upgrades necessary to enable an increase in solar interconnections.  These new clean energy infrastructure investments paired with our already approved and pending projects would enable 2.2 GW of solar, exceeding the commonwealth’s 2040 solar goal and reaching 72% of its 2050 goals.

In addition to allowing for quicker interconnection of distributed energy resource like solar through Capital Investment Projects (CIPs), Eversource is also proposing a low-income ownership program for solar generation.

The ESMP is a critical next step on the path to net-zero, building on Eversource’s existing decarbonization efforts like its Geothermal Pilot Program in Framingham, Battery Energy Storage System in Provincetown, Make Ready Electric Vehicle Charging Program, advanced metering infrastructure, and other system upgrades to facilitate the interconnection of more clean energy to the electric grid.

“We fully embrace an equitable and just transition to a clean energy future and this plan allows us to accelerate our investments into the electric system to meet energy and climate goals in Massachusetts while also ensuring that our stakeholders, customers and environmental justice communities are engaged in the decision-making process,” said Eversource Executive Vice President and Interim Chief Operations Officer Jim Hunt. “We look forward to this important work and consensus-building that will happen in the coming months to make this strategic vision a reality.”

The Grid Mod Advisory Council (GMAC) will host two listening sessions this fall in the consideration of the draft ESMP. These sessions, which will be announced at a later date, will include translation services and additional opportunity for customers to provide public comment and feedback. Eversource will incorporate an extensive amount of feedback received from the GMAC, stakeholders, and customers in its final ESMP that will be submitted to the Department of Public Utilities in January 2024.

For more information on Eversource’s commitment and ongoing efforts to advance a clean energy future, please visit Eversource.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 11,500 water customers in five communities. Eversource harnesses the commitment of approximately 9,900 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.

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