Program questions
Eligible customers must have a UI or Eversource electric service account located in Connecticut. In addition, the battery energy storage system must be at the same location as the electric service account location.
Residential, commercial and industrial buildings must be connected to the grid by agreement with Eversource or UI and the battery must be new to the customer (systems installed prior to January 1, 2022, are not eligible for the upfront incentive but may apply to participate in the active dispatch portion of Energy Storage Solutions).
Specific customer classes, such as low income, underserved and grid edge customers, are encouraged to learn more about the program as PURA has prioritized delivering increased incentives and greater resilience to these customers.
Installing a battery system can make your home or business more resilient. The battery systems installed through this program will provide additional benefits to all ratepayers by shaving peak energy demand. It also provides incentives to critical facilities and commercial properties that are essential during outages or extreme weather events.
To support our most vulnerable neighbors and communities, the program provides additional incentives for:
- Low-income customers and
- Underserved communities
As well as opportunities to access other revenue streams for:
- Customers who historically experience the most frequent and longest duration outages in the grid edge,
- Small businesses,
- Critical facilities, and
- Commercial customers who replace an on-site fossil fuel generator
Energy Storage Solutions offers an upfront incentive administered by the Connecticut Green Bank and a performance-based incentive structure managed by Eversource and UI. The upfront incentive requires eligible storage systems to automatically store and dispatch power during passive dispatch periods (the batteries will charge, and discharge as needed by the grid). The performance-based incentive compensates participants for battery energy dispatched over the summer and winter dispatch seasons.
Passive dispatch will discharge up to 80% of your battery automatically during the season, on non-holiday weekdays in June, July and August from 3PM to 8PM. You are required to opt-in to passive dispatch to receive the up-front incentives on your home battery.
Active dispatch events can also be called during the summer, but you will have the option to opt in or decline to have your battery discharged. On days when Eversource or UI calls an active dispatch event, passive dispatch will be canceled so your battery will be called on to contribute to the grid no more than once per day.
No, this program is designed for grid-tied use.
If you already have solar on your home, we suggest you contact the company that installed that system to discuss adding batteries. If you don’t have solar, or just want to compare options, you can consult our list of eligible contractors to begin the conversation, or reach out to the Green Bank or your local utility provider. You can find our list of eligible contractors on our webpage here.
Technology questions
Batteries store electricity from the grid or a source of energy (e.g., solar system). During an outage, that stored energy can be accessed to keep lights and appliances functional. If your home has a solar photovoltaic system, the battery can store or be recharged from the energy generated by that system. This can provide even more resiliency in the event of an outage.
Installing a battery in your home or business can help you prepare for power outages or extreme weather events. Batteries can provide backup power when the electricity goes out, keeping your lights, small appliances, and medical equipment running. A battery system can replace a fossil fuel emergency generator with a quieter, cleaner alternative. For commercial properties, batteries can help reduce peak demand charges, which can save money for building owners.
No, you do not need to have solar installed to install a battery storage system. However, there are several benefits to pairing these systems with a solar system. Yes, you may install a battery that isn’t charged from a solar system. Your battery would charge from the grid and could provide power in the event of an outage.
A contractor can help you figure out the best way to incorporate batteries into your home, including how to size your system and determine the number of batteries needed. You’ll want to consider what you want to power during an outage, and a contractor will look at those appliances, lighting, or priority equipment to decide your power needs.
Depending on the type, batteries may need to be located inside or outside of your home. A contractor can help you determine where the battery system will be installed to accommodate your available space and system needs.
You can find a list of the pre-approved technologies eligible for this program on the program website, here. This list will be updated on a rolling basis as new technologies are approved.
If you wish to use a technology not on this list, you can ask your contractor or the battery manufacturer to submit a New Technologies application through our website, here.
A home battery needs to be installed and connected by an eligible contractor. They will handle all the technical details. Even if you’re not enrolling in Energy Storage Solutions, we do ask that you or your contractor contact your utility provider when installing your battery, so they can make sure the electrical grid in your area is ready to accept your battery.
Yes, a battery storage system needs to be installed in a location with an Internet service.
There are environmental benefits to making the switch from a fossil fuel generator. Instead of buying, and storing fossil fuels, your grid-tied battery could run more quietly, and from cleaner fuel sources.
The benefits of a standby generator include that they have high output, can be connected to your natural gas or propane and are on standby. The drawbacks of a standby fossil-fuel generator include that they have a higher lifetime cost, require professional installation with fuel, involve permitting, require maintenance and are not portable.
The benefits of a battery include that they are silent, emit no fuel, enable you to store and use your solar PV energy, are on standby, and have incentives available through Energy Storage Solutions. The drawbacks of a battery include that they have a high upfront cost, require professional installation, interconnection, and permitting.
Additionally, commercial and industrial customers with existing fossil fuel generators will be permitted to request capacity rights in order to monetize storage assets into ISO-NE market programs (if they take existing fossil fuel generators offline).
The benefits of a portable generator include that they have a low upfront cost and are portable. The drawbacks of a portable generator include buying and transporting fuel, they are loud, high in emission, require maintenance and are not on standby.
The benefits of a battery include that they are silent, emit no fuel, enable you to store and use your solar PV energy, are on standby and have incentives available through Energy Storage Solutions. The drawbacks of a battery include that they have a high upfront cost, require professional installation, interconnection and permitting, and are not portable.
This depends on the size and number of batteries in your system, and the items you are powering with the batteries. The larger the battery, the longer it will be able to power your appliances and lights without being re-charged by solar PV or the grid. Your contractor will help you decide on a battery size that works for the goals of your household. For a 13.5 kWh battery, during an outage, your refrigerator could continue to run for approximately 33 hours.
No, it is your contractor’s responsibility to implement the storage system controls. The Program Administrators will require that the battery settings be implemented through the utility and not at the device level, so that the settings can be easily monitored and updated remotely by the utility without the need for your contractor to come back to reprogram your system.
Yes, your battery can provide power to your home anytime the grid goes down using the energy it has stored.
No, your battery will not discharge two days before any storms are predicted to cause outages in your area.
Batteries should sense a loss of power automatically and will start powering your home immediately. No extra work required.
Residential questions
Upfront incentives are provided as upfront discounts or reflected in the customer’s purchase or lease agreement with their contractor or third-party owner (TPO). The calculation of the upfront incentive is primarily based on the usable energy capacity (kWh) of the battery energy storage system (BESS), with some limiting factors. The upfront residential incentive is calculated based on the minimum of the following three formulas:
- Residential Formula 1: BESS energy capacity (kWh) * Step Rate in $/kWh
- Residential Formula 2: 50% of BESS total project cost
- Residential Formula 3: Maximum per project incentive of $16,000
Your incentive is also based on what customer class you qualify for and how much storage has already been installed through the program. The program is currently at Incentive Step 1.
| Incentive Step | Estimated # of Participants | Capacity Block (MW) | Non-LMI (low to moderate income) Upfront Incentive ($/kWh) | Underserved Communities Effective Upfront Incentive ($/kWh) | Low Income Household Effective Upfront Incentive ($/kWh) |
| 1 | 1,400 | 10.0 | $250 | $450 | $600 |
| 2 | 2,800 | 15.0 | $212.50 | $450 | $600 |
| 3 | 5,800 | 25.0 | $162.50 | $450 | $600 |
| Total | 10,000 | 50.0 |
Participating customers are eligible to receive performance-based incentives for the same battery energy storage system for up to 10 years. To receive ongoing performance incentives, the battery energy storage system must perform during the active dispatch events triggered by the utility company. The utilities will draw power from the energy stored in your home battery during set times, usually when demand for electricity is at its highest. This allows the utilities to avoid paying for extra electricity generation, and the savings are passed along to you.
An active dispatch event takes stored energy from the battery and puts it into the grid. Active events may occur any day during the summer season (June – September) and winter season (December – March) within the dispatch window of 12:00 PM and 9:00 PM. The standard event duration is expected to last 3 hours. Performance incentives are based on average kW-AC your battery contributes per event for the summer and winter seasons.
The customer normally does not need to take any action for their battery system to respond to an active discharge event. In most cases the utility will give 24-hour notification of an active dispatch. The utility companies will not call events for the two days preceding predicted severe outage events and during emergency conditions.
Additionally, some manufacturers may collect a portion of the incentive payment. Please contact your battery manufacturer or installer for more information about your battery’s expected contribution and what, if any, portion of the incentive they collect.
| Years
1-5 |
Years
6-10 |
|||
| Summer | Winter | Summer | Winter | |
| Maximum Season Incentive ($/kW) | $200 | $25 | $115 | $15 |
| Maximum Annual Incentive ($/kW) | $225 | $130 | ||
Not necessarily. Unless your home is specifically wired to do so, when a grid outage occurs, your home will not run on your solar system. With a battery backup system installed, however, your solar system will charge the battery and provide power until the outage ends.
A battery can provide backup power in the event of an outage. This can keep your essential equipment running. Talk with your contractor and the supplier of your medical equipment to determine what will work best for you.
A low-income customer is one who earns less than 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). For more information on who qualifies as a low-income customer, please visit our website.
Underserved Community are customers that reside in an economically distressed municipality, as defined by the most recent list developed by the Connecticut DECD.
Customers on the Grid Edge are defined as (1) the top ten percent of circuits with the highest number of outages per customer during major storms since July 1, 2012, and (2) the top ten percent of circuits with the longest outages due to major storms since July 1, 2012. A map of circuits that meet grid edge criteria can be found on the Program’s website under Customer Class Resources.
The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and local property tax exemptions might be possible to access when you are installing batteries with qualifying renewable energy systems. Consult a tax professional to learn about these programs.
Aside from paying out of pocket for the remainder of the installation costs, there are financing options available. For example, the Green Bank offers the Smart-E loan which is designed for energy-related improvements and offered through a network for local financial institutions. Home equity loans and lines of credit could also be options.
We recommend consulting your specific battery system manufacturer for this information. Energy Storage Solutions does require all batteries and workmanship to have a minimum 10-year warranty.
No. As of December 2, 2023, ConnectedSolutions will no longer accept new enrollments. If you are already enrolled in ConnectedSolution and interested in transferring to Energy Storage Solutions, please contact us.