Commercial battery storage in Massachusetts, paid twice a summer.
Massachusetts has one of the deepest utility programs for commercial storage in New England. ConnectedSolutions pays a per-kW performance incentive every summer for batteries that discharge when the utility calls, on top of some of the highest demand charges outside New York. The two do not line up perfectly, and the program manual is due for a refresh, but a building in Greater Boston on Eversource G-2 has more ways to earn from a battery than almost anywhere else KEEL prices.
Utilities KEEL prices in Massachusetts
Eversource and National Grid serve nearly all commercial load in the state. Eversource's general-service demand charge is not one number: it files four separate G-2 tariffs by legacy service area, and two of them bill in kVA rather than kW.
| Utility | Rate classes | Demand charge as read | What it means for a battery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eversource (NSTAR) | G-2, Greater Boston | $33.95 per kW-month | The highest general-service demand charge KEEL prices in New England. Off-peak demand is discounted 55%, so the battery targets the summer 9 am–6 pm weekday window. |
| Eversource (NSTAR) | G-2, Western Massachusetts | $25.04 per kW-month | Same structure, lower rate. |
| Eversource (NSTAR) | G-2, Cambridge; South Shore, Cape and Islands | $19.29 and $17.46 per kVA-month | Billed in kVA, so power factor matters and the saving per kW of battery is lower. KEEL models these areas separately. |
| Eversource (NSTAR) | G-3 | Time-differentiated; off-peak demand discounted 70% | Larger accounts. The on-peak demand line is what the battery cuts. |
| National Grid | G-2 / G-3 | $15.06 and $10.48 per kW-month (July 2026) | Lower demand charges than Eversource; ConnectedSolutions carries more of the case. National Grid revised this tariff seven times in 2026, so it is re-read at pricing. |
Rates as read from the filed tariffs in August 2026. Utilities re-file often; KEEL re-reads the effective sheet on the day a project is priced.
What a battery earns in Massachusetts
ConnectedSolutions daily dispatch
The C&I program's filed rate is $200 per kW-summer for batteries dispatched in 30 to 60 events between 3 and 8 pm, June through September, with a five-year rate lock for batteries. Performance is the average across every called event, so availability, not nameplate, sets the check.
Demand charges up to $33.95 per kW
Greater Boston G-2 accounts pay one of the steepest general-service demand charges in the country. A battery that clips the on-peak monthly max replaces that line with a fixed payment.
SMART 3.0 for paired solar
Where the building also adds solar, SMART 3.0 compensates the solar generation unit, and storage is compensated only as part of that paired unit, on terms KEEL reads from the tariff at pricing. Standalone storage is not compensated under SMART.
State and utility programs
Massachusetts pays for storage through the utilities' efficiency plan rather than a state rebate. The program that matters is ConnectedSolutions; SMART applies only where solar is part of the project.
| Program | What it pays | Who can claim it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal investment tax credit (§48E) | 30%+ of eligible cost: a 30% base (prevailing-wage rules apply at 1 MW and above) plus a 10-point adder for domestic content | The owner of the equipment; nonprofits and public bodies by direct pay | See the federal guide. |
| ConnectedSolutions, C&I Daily Dispatch (Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Cape Light Compact) | $200 per kW-summer as filed in the 2025–2027 plan; 30–60 events, 2–3 hours, 3–8 pm, June 1–September 30; five-year rate lock for batteries | Any active C&I electric account with a behind-the-meter battery serving on-site load. The manual contains no ownership test, so nothing in it excludes a leased system. Payment can be directed to a curtailment service provider or split at enrollment. | Performance is the average kW across all called events; one missed event drags the season. Exporting sites without an interconnection agreement are capped at 150% of site load. The C&I manual in force is dated 2023 and the plan was trimmed by regulators in 2025, so KEEL confirms the approved rate at pricing. |
| ConnectedSolutions, Targeted Dispatch | $45 per kW-summer ($35 plus a $10 weekend bonus); 1–8 events | Same eligibility | For batteries that need to hold capacity for the building's own peaks and cannot commit to daily dispatch. |
| SMART 3.0 (paired solar and storage) | Per-kWh tariff on solar generation; storage compensated only as part of a paired solar unit | Solar tariff generation units, including third-party-owned systems | Standalone storage receives nothing under SMART. Relevant only when solar is in the project. |
| State standalone storage rebate | None | — | The 2017 ACES demonstration grant is long closed. DOER's storage solicitations are competitive awards; KEEL carries them at zero unless a project holds a signed award. |
Read from program documents and filed tariffs in August 2026. Programs open, fill and change; KEEL confirms each line against the live source before it goes in a proposal. The federal credit applies in every state on top of what is listed here, subject to the conditions in that guide.
What to watch in Massachusetts
- ConnectedSolutions events run 3 to 8 pm; Eversource's demand-peak window ends at 6 pm. The last two event hours fall outside the demand window, so the two values are co-optimized, not simply added.
- The C&I program manual in force is from 2023 and the compliance version of the 2025–2027 plan cut the budget. KEEL prices the rate the utility confirms in writing at enrollment, not the filed figure.
- Whoever receives the incentive is set at enrollment. Under a KEEL lease that is documented before the application goes in, so there is no dispute about who is paid.
- Massachusetts' corporate excise carries a property measure on tangible assets as well as the 8% income measure; it is modeled on the leased equipment.
How KEEL prices a Massachusetts project: identify the service area on the bill, because Eversource's four G-2 tariffs differ by a factor of two and two bill in kVA. It models on-peak demand shaving against the correct rate, then adds ConnectedSolutions at a dispatch availability the battery can hold across the whole season, not at nameplate. SMART appears only when solar is in scope. The approved ConnectedSolutions rate is confirmed with the utility before it is quoted.
What to send
Twelve months of electric bills for the meter you have in mind (interval data if you have it), the service address and the rate class printed on the bill. That is enough for a first read on demand charges, program eligibility and a monthly payment range. See Lease vs. Buy for how the numbers land under each structure, or schedule a property review.
Common questions
How much does ConnectedSolutions pay a commercial battery in Massachusetts?
$200 per kW-summer for Daily Dispatch as filed in the utilities' 2025–2027 plan, paid on the average kW the battery delivers across every called event (30 to 60 per summer, 3 to 8 pm, June through September), with a five-year rate lock for batteries. Targeted Dispatch pays $45 per kW-summer for one to eight events. KEEL confirms the approved rate at enrollment.
Does a leased battery qualify for ConnectedSolutions?
Nothing in the C&I manual excludes one: the eligibility test is an active commercial account and a behind-the-meter battery serving on-site load, and the manual has no ownership clause. Who receives the payment is elected at enrollment and is written into the lease.
Is there a Massachusetts rebate for standalone storage?
No. SMART 3.0 pays only solar generation units (storage only as part of a paired solar unit), and the state's storage solicitations are competitive awards. For a standalone battery the stack is the federal credit, demand charges and ConnectedSolutions.
Have a Massachusetts building in mind?
Send the address and a bill. KEEL returns the demand-charge read, the program lines the site qualifies for and a monthly payment range, with the source for each.