Massachusetts wants to pay EV drivers for their battery power

Photo: The Mobility House Some Massachusetts EV owners will soon be able to earn incentives for sending electricity from their car batteries back to the grid when demand spikes. Utilities Eversource and National Grid are adding residential vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging to ConnectedSolutions, their existing virtual power plant programs in Massachusetts. Qualifying customers with V2G-capable EVs can earn incentives by sending stored electricity back to the grid during high-demand periods. EnergyHub, Sunrun, and The Mobility House are providing the smart-charging and grid-integration tech for the test. There’s a catch, though: The utilities haven’t yet said which EVs and bidirectional chargers will qualify, when enrollment will open, or how much participating drivers will be paid. Massachusetts EVs could help run the grid ConnectedSolutions already pulls together smart thermostats, home batteries, and commercial and industrial equipment to ease pressure on the grid during peak-demand periods. (Disclosure: I participate in this program with my smart thermostat.) Now Eversource and National Grid want to find out how well EV batteries can do the same job. And Massachusetts has a lot of battery capacity sitting in driveways. More than 150,000 EVs are already on the state’s roads, and the number of models capable of bidirectional charging is increasing. When electricity demand spikes, enrolled EVs can send some of their stored energy back to the grid. That could help prevent system strain, reduce reliance on expensive peak power, and potentially lower costs for everyone, not just participating EV owners. “We are excited to bring our dispatching expertise to Massachusetts and help expand our vehicle-to-grid technology to more customers,” said Chip Silverman, Sunrun’s director of grid services. “Vehicle batteries play a critical role in stabilizing the grid, providing backup power to homes, and lowering energy costs for everyone.” National Grid is already putting V2G to work with light- and medium-duty fleets through ConnectedSolutions, starting with electric school buses. Eversource is also in talks with school districts about adding V2G through its ConnectedSolutions+ program. The tech can do the job. The bigger question is whether utilities offer enough money and make enrollment easy enough to persuade Massachusetts EV drivers to hand over some of their battery power when the grid needs it most. Read more: The US’s first residential V2G power plant is running on Ford F-150 Lightning trucks If you’ve ever considered going solar, make it easy by finding a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing by checking out EnergySage. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online, and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.