National Grid rolls out Nantucket-specific incentives to cut peak demand and avoid costly grid upgrades

National Grid outlined a suite of Nantucket-specific incentive programs and a request for proposals for on-island solar and storage at the Select Board meeting on June 25, asking residents and businesses to reduce electricity use on predicted peak days to help avoid or delay major capital work.

The plan matters because Nantucket relies on two undersea cables for most power, National Grid said, and peak demand is rising: "in 02/2004, peak megawatt usage of the island on a peak day was about 40 megawatts. Last year, it was closer to 55," said Steven Hopengarten, a National Grid Energy Transition Solutions representative. "This year, it's predicted to be a little bit higher. I think the highest forecast is, like, 60. And you can see that through 2034, it goes up to 80 megawatts."

National Grid billed the effort as a non-wires alternative — a demand-side strategy to manage peaks rather than immediately widening infrastructure — and described several near-term and longer-term elements. For the rest of this summer (National Grid said enhanced incentives begin July 1…