The Duck Curve#massachusetts
National Grid's winter heat pump rate clears the DPU at $0.02476 per kWh
The Massachusetts DPU issued two orders on September 30, 2026: D.P.U. 26-84 allowed National Grid's $13,559,331 performance-based ratemaking adjustment for October 1, 2026, and D.P.U. 26-78 allowed the rate summaries carrying a $0.02476 per kWh base distribution charge for November 1 through April 30 for customers enrolled in the optional residential heat pump rate, against $0.06777 on the default R-1 and R-2 rate. National Grid's filing puts the effect for an R-1 heat pump rate customer on Basic Service at a decrease on average of $104.35, or 11.0 percent, compared with the default R-1 rate.
Boston sues DOT over $20M RAISE grant withdrawn for EV charging stations
The City of Boston sued the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, Secretary Sean Duffy and FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill in the District of Massachusetts on September 28, 2026 (case 1:26-cv-14419), asking the court to vacate DOT's September 9, 2025 withdrawal of a $20 million FY2022 RAISE award for three Roxbury street corridors. The complaint says DOT's letter gave the project's EV charging stations, less than 1% of the grant, as its single reason, and that Boston offered on October 8, 2025 to remove them.
Massachusetts awards over $40M for storage at schools, housing and a resort
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources said on September 18, 2026 that its Advancing Massachusetts Power grant program awarded funding to 36 projects: 28 planned resilience batteries at schools, housing and other critical facilities, which DOER says will add roughly 10 megawatts, or 44 megawatt hours; six safety and education grants; and two planned long-duration projects, a 4 MW / 80 MWh Inlyte sodium-iron chloride battery at Berkshire East in Charlemont and a 0.24 MW / 2.4 MWh Eos zinc battery at an apartment complex in Medford. The listed awards sum to $40,315,189.
Massachusetts adds winter transmission discount to two heat pump rates
The Massachusetts DPU stamp-approved National Grid's compliance filing in D.P.U. 26-71 on July 29, 2026 and Unitil's revised heat pump tariffs in D.P.U. 26-72 on July 31, 2026, adding winter transmission charges for the 2026-2027 heating season to the optional residential heat pump rates enrolled customers pay, as directed in D.P.U. 25-08-A on June 1, 2026. National Grid's charge is $0.00477 per kWh for November 2026 through February 2027 against a $0.05464 default; Unitil's is $0.01499 against $0.04201 in summer, a rate Unitil says it plans to replace with revised rates for January 1, 2027.
East Point withdraws 125 MW Tewksbury battery over grid upgrade costs
Hillman Energy Center, East Point Energy's project company, moved on September 1, 2026 to withdraw its 125 MW / 500 MWh Tewksbury, Massachusetts battery from the Energy Facilities Siting Board (docket EFSB 26-02), saying ISO New England's Transitional Cluster Study left the project economically unviable. The study's final report lists $65.3 million of upgrades for the 125 MW queue position at the Tewksbury 115 kV substation; the board had approved the project on June 30, 2026 with what the motion counts as 104 conditions.
Massachusetts swaps surprise solar upgrade charges for a flat $225 fee
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a Common System Modification Fee on August 12, 2026 in docket D.P.U. 26-57: every solar or battery project on the utilities' simplified interconnection path (listed inverter-based systems of 25 kW or less) pays a flat $225 at application, and the pooled fund covers grid upgrades up to $10,000 for Eversource and National Grid customers and up to $1,450 for Unitil customers. The tariffs take effect November 1, 2026, ending the practice of billing whichever customer happened to trigger a transformer upgrade.
