Utility program deep dive · Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Eversource residential battery and VPP economics
What Connecticut’s Energy Storage Solutions, Massachusetts’ ConnectedSolutions and ConnectedSolutions+, and New Hampshire’s upfront incentive are worth to households: program pay, a capital stack, paybacks and financing.
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by any utility, aggregator, platform, or device maker named here.
The short answer
- In Eversource territory, a home battery earns its keep from grid programs, not from the bill. Connecticut and Massachusetts credit exported solar at or near the retail rate (Eversource, Solar Learning Lab). Most homes pay flat rates, so storing solar for the evening saves little. The value comes from being paid per kW delivered during peak events.
- Connecticut now pays the most. Since April 1, 2026, Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) pays $300 per kW-year for 10 years, up to $550 for low-income homes, plus a $30 per kWh enrollment incentive (ESS program manual). A battery delivering 4 kW earns about $1,200 a year, a 13-year payback at Connecticut’s average installed price.
- Massachusetts pays $275 per kW for summer events. ConnectedSolutions pays for 30–60 events a season (Eversource). At Massachusetts’ higher battery prices, that alone takes about 17 years to repay. A ConnectedSolutions+ pilot pays $400 per kW near three congested Boston-area substations (Solar Learning Lab).
- New Hampshire pays upfront. Eversource pays $230 per kWh, up to $3,000, for three seasons of events (Eversource), then $225 per kW a summer (Eversource).
What each Eversource program is
Connecticut Energy Storage Solutions
Eversource and UI call Active Dispatch events: 30–60 in summer and 1–10 in winter, 1–3 hours each, between noon and 9 p.m. Pay is based on average kW-AC measured by inverter data (ESS program manual). Customers can skip events, but a skipped event counts as 0 kW.
Massachusetts ConnectedSolutions
$275 per average kW for 30–60 summer events of 2–3 hours, 3–8 p.m. (Eversource). Batteries also qualify for a 0% Mass Save HEAT Loan (Mass Save).
ConnectedSolutions+
Opened June 25, 2026. It pays $400 per kW near the Alewife, Hyde Park and Dewar substations, with 40–60 events from 2 to 10 p.m. Southeastern Massachusetts pays $275 plus $100 in shoulder months (Solar Learning Lab).
New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund
$230 per kWh up to $3,000, paid after three summers of enrollment, with no annual pay during those years (Eversource). ConnectedSolutions then pays $225 per kW (Eversource).
Netting and net metering
Connecticut’s netting tariff credits exports at the retail rate for 20 years (Eversource). Massachusetts systems of 25 kW or less net meter at close to retail (Solar Learning Lab).
Few time-varying rates
Connecticut’s optional Rate 7 prices noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays as on-peak (Eversource). Massachusetts’ only residential time-of-use rate is closed, and default TOU is still being designed (DOER).
Program pay for one battery
Annual performance pay by state and tier
One home battery delivering an average of 4 kW per event. Gross program pay, before any manufacturer share.
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Why Connecticut outpays Massachusetts. Connecticut pays for both summer and winter events, split 89% and 11%, and locks the rate for 10 years (ESS program manual). Massachusetts pays only for summer. In 2026, PURA replaced Connecticut’s upfront rebate with performance pay. After four years, the old design had approved only about 15 MW of home batteries, against more than 140 MW of business projects (Connecticut Green Bank).
Why the kW matters more than the kWh. Pay is based on the average power a battery delivers over each event, not its size. A 13.5 kWh battery holding a 20% reserve can sustain about 3.6 kW for three hours or 5.4 kW for two. More storage, or two batteries, raises the kW a household can deliver across longer events.
The capital stack
Ten-year capital stack by state and tier
Upfront incentives plus 10 years of program pay, as a share of installed cost. Past the dashed line, the package more than covers its cost.
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Income-qualified and underserved Connecticut homes clear the 10-year line on program pay alone. A standard Connecticut home recovers about 80% of the battery’s cost in 10 years, and a Massachusetts home about 60%. In both, backup power during outages has to justify the rest. Connecticut’s grid-edge adder, $130 per kWh on the most outage-prone circuits, recognizes that (Connecticut Green Bank).
Simple payback by state and tier
Years to repay the installed cost, net of upfront incentives, from program pay alone.
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Assets and combinations
The core case
In Connecticut, the ESS contract runs 10 years at a fixed rate. In Massachusetts, ConnectedSolutions pays every summer, and Tesla locks its rate for five years (Tesla).
Solar recharges, events pay
Because exports earn about retail, the battery adds little bill value. Solar mainly refills the battery after events.
More kW per event
Pay scales with average kW, so a second battery can roughly double program pay, though usually at close to double the cost.
The low-cost entry
Mass Save pays $50 at sign-up ($100 if income-eligible) plus $20 a summer (Mass Save). Thermostats delivered 82 MW in Eversource’s July 2 event (Eversource).
Managed charging
Massachusetts pays $50 plus $10 a month for charging outside 1–9 p.m. (Eversource). Connecticut pays $10 or $25 a month (Connecticut EV program). A vehicle-to-grid test is under way (Business Wire).
A winter rate, not a VPP
Massachusetts heat pump homes can get a lower winter rate (Mass.gov). Connecticut’s winter ESS events reflect growing winter peaks (Connecticut Green Bank).
Behaviors each program needs
Skipped events count as zero
Both states average performance across every event. Opting out of a few hot afternoons lowers the season’s pay.
Be full when events start
Events start as early as noon in Connecticut and 3 p.m. in Massachusetts. A battery that is half empty delivers fewer kW.
Storms pause events
Connecticut cancels events before forecast major storms to preserve backup (ESS program manual); Massachusetts does the same in extreme weather (Eversource).
Financing: buy, borrow or lease
Three ways to pay for one battery
One 13.5 kWh battery at a standard Connecticut home in Energy Storage Solutions. Money in and out of the household, then cumulative cash over 10 years.
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The 10-year contract repays most of it
A standard home pays $15,161 after the enrollment incentive and earns about $1,200 a year back.
Payments exceed pay
At 8% over 10 years, payments are about $184 a month against about $100 a month of ESS pay.
0% for up to seven years
Batteries enrolled in ConnectedSolutions qualify for up to $25,000 at 0% over up to seven years (Mass Save). On $18,252, that is about $217 a month against about $92 a month of program pay.
What ifs
A second revenue stream
If default time-of-use rates arrive, a battery could add bill savings on non-event days. Utilities say they need about 12 months after approval (DOER).
Location-based pay
At $400 per kW, payback drops to about 11 years. It delivered about 2 MW on July 2 (Eversource); wider rollout has not been announced.
Tranches can fill
ESS targets 580 MW of storage by 2030 (Connecticut Green Bank). Rates apply at the time of application.
The biggest lever
At $900 per kWh, a standard Connecticut payback falls to about 10 years.
Bigger inverters, two-hour events
At 5 kW, Eversource’s example, a standard Connecticut home earns $1,500 a year (Eversource).
More winter events
If New England becomes winter-peaking as heat pumps spread, winter pay could rise above 11% of the rate.
Related: how ConnectedSolutions grew into a region-wide VPP in our ConnectedSolutions case study, the capacity event money trail, and the Eversource C&I deep dive.
Method and caveats
An independent, hypothetical analysis for homeowners, renters, program managers, installers and other readers in Eversource’s Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire service areas. Terms checked October 27, 2026.
Assumptions: one 13.5 kWh battery delivering an average of 4 kW per event; every event attended; state-average installed prices; no bill savings; Massachusetts and New Hampshire rates held for 10 years. Connecticut standard, underserved and low-income tiers depend on eligibility at application.
Figures are gross program payments before manufacturer shares, financing, degradation and taxes. Gross payments are not net profit. United Illuminating also administers ESS in its area.
VPP Economics has no affiliation with, sponsorship from, or endorsement by Eversource, the Connecticut Green Bank, Mass Save, Tesla or any company named here.