Eversource files plan to modernize electric distribution system in Massachusetts
Eversource today filed a draft of its long-term plan to modernize the electric distribution system and usher in the transition to a clean energy future for its Massachusetts customers.
The firm’s Electric Sector Modernization Plan (ESMP) features significant upgrades to existing equipment as well as the addition of clean energy infrastructure to improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid in Massachusetts. It will also help meet the inevitable increase in electric demand as more customers adopt technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps.
“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,” Eversource Vice President for System Planning Digaunto Chatterjee said. “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 mandates laid out in the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2035 and 2050.
Over the next decade, Eversource system engineers predict an approximately 20 percent increase in electric demand. By 2050, they expect a 150 percent rise in electric demand, driven mostly by electrification of heating systems (50 percent) and transportation (25 percent), as well as normal load growth (25 percent). To meet those trends, the energy company has proposed building new clean energy substations and conducting significant upgrades on existing substations. These are 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.
Over the next decade, these proposed investments will increase grid capacity by 180 percent (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. It will also provide 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. Further, they will enable 2.2 GW of solar.
Also, Eversource 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.
Eversource will host two listening sessions this fall at dates to be announced on the draft ESMP. These sessions will provide an additional opportunity for customers to provide feedback. The final ESMP, including feedback from the public and stakeholders, that will be submitted to the state Department of Public Utilities in January 2024.
