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 and run through October), customers already signed up for load-management programs will receive higher payments and new enrollees will get larger enrollment bonuses. The company also said it will run an open-market RFP to attract developers of larger storage and generation projects for the island.

"A non-wires alternative is effectively a nontraditional solution to make sure that the grid is reliable by not building or deferring or maybe changing the scope of capital infrastructure," Hopengarten said. He described measures residents can join passively (for example, enrolling a smart thermostat that adjusts on a peak day) and active measures for large commercial accounts. "Most of the time, for residents, this or small businesses, this is gonna be passive. It's gonna be done by a smart device in your home. You do nothing. You get more money. It's great."

National Grid provided example incentive levels for the pilot: higher enrollment bonuses for devices (from the usual $50 to about $100 and additional year-end gift-card bonuses), increased per-thermostat payouts, EV-owner bonuses of roughly $100 to $150 for participation, and residential battery incentives National Grid estimated could average about $2,000 per year depending on battery performance. The company also listed larger potential payouts for big C&I participants (tens of thousands of dollars for large facilities that curtail load).

The utility said it will use forecasting tools to predict island-specific peak days — which often occur on weekends, the presentation noted — and activate enrolled load-reduction resources only on those days. The company also said it will provide outreach including emails, mailers, a Nantucket landing page tied to the statewide Connected Solutions program, and in-person office hours at the Chamber of Commerce to answer questions.

National Grid emphasized the pilot is funded through statewide mechanisms it cited as the Electric Sector Modernization Plan and the Grid Services Compensation Fund and that the Department of Public Utilities has already authorized related programs. The utility said it will evaluate outcomes at the end of the season to decide whether and how to expand the offerings and refine pricing.

A few Select Board members and residents asked technical questions about how solar and batteries would participate and how long incentives would be guaranteed; Hopengarten said the company expects to sustain incentive payments for about five years and that solar paired with storage can be eligible to provide the needed flexible capacity. "If someone does have solar on their roof and they pair it with storage, they can charge the battery for free from that solar and then discharge the battery during the distant peak or move their home onto the battery and help with this program," he said.

National Grid said the pilot is meant to inform longer-term planning and reduce the scale or delay the cost of new cable and substation work. The company will run a developer RFP for utility-scale and aggregated resources on island and said it will coordinate outreach with the town energy office.

The presentation closed with information on how residents can enroll and a commitment to report back after the season.