The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recently adopted revisions to the state’s Standards for Interconnection of Distributed Energy Resources to improve how clean energy and energy storage projects connect to the grid. The changes, adopted in docket DPU 25-48 on September 15, are based in part on technical assistance from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), which has been supporting related work in Massachusetts since 2019. 

Key changes in Massachusetts’ revised interconnection rules include clarifications that improve how energy storage systems (ESS) and export-limited systems connect to the grid; improvements to the “screens” used to evaluate if a distributed energy resource (DER) can connect to the grid; a requirement that utilities provide details about screens that systems fail; and a path for developers to revise their applications in response to screen failures. 

Massachusetts DPU first opened an investigation into needed improvements to the state’s interconnection procedures to accommodate energy storage in 2019 (docket DPU 19-55). IREC helped lead stakeholders in conversations with the utilities to develop consensus on changes to the procedures. The resulting consensus “redlines,” which incorporated export limitation and modifications in response to screening and study findings, were filed along with non-consensus redlines from the parties in early 2020; however, the DPU did not adopt any changes at that time. When the Massachusetts Interconnection Implementation Review Group (IIRG) later began exploring changes to the interconnection procedures to address energy storage and revise technical screens, the consensus redlines IREC helped develop formed the basis of the recommended revisions IIRG submitted when the DPU opened docket 25-48. 

“Massachusetts has been working toward a more efficient and transparent interconnection process for years, and these changes represent an important step forward. By bringing greater clarity to how energy storage and other distributed energy resources are evaluated, improving the screening process, and giving developers a meaningful opportunity to address fixable issues, the DPU is making it easier for good projects to move forward while maintaining the safety and reliability of the grid,” said Meghan Nutting, IREC Vice President of Regulatory Reform. “IREC is proud to have supported this effort over many years, and we look forward to continuing to work with Massachusetts and other states to bring interconnection practices in line with the technologies and grid needs of today so we can continue to build out critical energy infrastructure to help meet growing demand.”

“These tariff revisions are the result of many hours of hard work and collaboration between industry, utility, and regulatory partners. We are extremely proud of our successful collaboration, building off years of stakeholder work in DPU 19-55, achieving 100% consensus, and the improvements this will bring to DER interconnection in the Commonwealth,” said Kate Tohme, Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Interconnection Implementation Review Group (IIRG) and Director of Interconnection Policy at New Leaf Energy. “This significant accomplishment couldn’t have been achieved without the contributions of IREC’s Brian Lydic as an Advisory Panel member on the IIRG, providing technical expertise and support in marrying the work previously completed in DPU 19-55 with new facts, circumstances, and lessons learned.”

Improving How Energy Storage Projects Connect to the Grid

ESS, such as commercial and home battery systems, have a number of notable differences from other types of DERs that, if not addressed directly in the language of a state’s interconnection rules, can make it harder for these systems to connect to the grid. In particular, energy storage systems can be designed to limit how much power they send to, or pull from, the grid at different times or to prevent export completely. This requires changes to how utilities estimate the systems’ impact on the grid compared to other DERs. Many of the changes in Massachusetts’ revised rules focus on updating the interconnection process for ESS. 

The revisions include enumeration of acceptable methods for controlling how much power an ESS system exports or imports to the grid, such as power control systems (PCS). They also establish allowable response times for PCS and add definitions of key terms that impact how ESS systems are evaluated for interconnection (such as import and export capacity, inadvertent export and import, limited export and import, and power control system). Many of the changes align with national best practices for energy storage interconnection that IREC developed under a three-year U.S. Department of Energy-funded initiative called BATRIES from 2020–2023. 

Improving How DER Interconnection Applications Are Screened

The revised interconnection rules also include improvements to how the state’s utilities evaluate whether a DER can connect to the grid and if any grid upgrades are required to safely accommodate the project. Utilities use a variety of “screens” (formulas) to assess a project’s interconnection application, with failure of initial screens triggering more detailed and time-consuming evaluations before a project can be approved. Under the revised rules, there is now a higher eligibility threshold for the “Simplified” screening process. Additionally, regulators adopted a change to the methodology used in one of the main screens to align with modern best practices. There were several other beneficial screen modifications. 

Pathway to Modifying Projects to Meet Grid Constraints

Finally, the DPU adopted a requirement to ensure that DER customers receive details if their project does not pass (a) screen(s). Specifically, the utility must “provide, in writing, the specific Screen(s) that the Application failed, including information and detail about the specific system threshold or limitation causing the Application to fail the Screen.” In addition to this increased transparency, the new rules establish an option for customers whose projects fail a screen to revise the project design to remedy the failure and resubmit their application. This allows DER customers and developers to resolve fixable issues without losing their spot in the interconnection queue, which could add significant time and cost. 

IREC applauds the DPU’s decision, which will streamline the process of connecting DERs to the grid in the state, while maintaining grid safety and reliability. As Massachusetts grapples with rising energy costs and a constrained electric grid, these process improvements are particularly important. In a constrained grid, enabling the use of export control mechanisms is a valuable way to allow energy projects to use available capacity and proceed without costly grid upgrades. These changes will also help integrate more energy storage on the grid, which can offer important grid flexibility benefits.

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