Connecticut Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) Program

All new Enphase IQ Battery residential customers (installed after January 1, 2022) in United Illuminating and Eversource (CT) service territories are eligible to enroll in the program. This includes sites with or without pairing to an on-site solar PV system. 

A member of the Enphase Installer Network will help you with your application. The first step is to find an installer to get an accurate quote for your home. Find an installer in your area  here.

The program offers a standard upfront incentive of $250 per kWh of usable battery capacity offered to the first 2,000 customers (Incentive Step 1) capped at $16,000 per project or 50% of the cost of the battery plus installation. Underserved communities and lower-income households may qualify for even larger upfront incentives of between $450 - $600 per kWh of usable battery capacity (Incentive Step 1). As more customers sign up for this program, the incentive decreases according to three incentive steps. 

Table 1 : ESS Program Upfront Incentives ¹ 

The upfront incentive can also be coupled with annual performance incentives for dispatching energy from your battery during “active” demand response events. These annual performance incentives are based on the average power (i.e., kW) contributed during the season based on inverter data, for a maximum annual incentive of up to $225 per kW per year for the first five years of enrollment, and $130 per kW per year for years six to ten.² 

Table 2 : ESS Program Annual Performance Incentives (2022 - 2024)² 

1. Upfront incentives are defined based on battery rated energy capacity and are capped at $16,000 per project or 50% of the cost of the battery plus installation.

2. Performance incentives are based on average AC power (i.e., kW - AC) contribution during the season, determined by actual system performance during events as indicated by inverter data, not nameplate capacity.

Homeowners in underserved communities may qualify for upfront incentives of $450 per kWh of usable battery capacity (Incentive Step 1). To qualify for the ESS program’s Underserved Communities incentive, the Enphase battery must be installed in a municipality on the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) list of distressed municipalities or in a defined census block to be considered under section 22a-20a of the General Statutes and the Environmental Justice Policy. Please see the following webpage for more information: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Environmental-Justice/Environmental-Justice-Communities 

Lower-income households may qualify for upfront incentives of $600 per kWh of usable battery capacity (Incentive Step 1). To qualify for the ESS program’s Low-Income incentive, households must be at or below 60% State Median Income (SMI). Please see the following webpage for more information: https://energystoragect.com/low-income-verification/ 

Grid Edge customers qualify for an upfront incentive adder of 50% for residential customers. For example, the Standard Incentive for a Grid Edge customer under Incentive Step 1 would be $375/kWh instead of $250/kWh. Grid Edge customers are defined as (1) a customer that resides on the top ten percent of circuits with the highest number of outages per customer during major storms since July 1, 2012, and (2) a customer that resides on the top ten percent of circuits with the longest outages due to major storms since July 1, 2012. Please see the following webpage for more information and to see if you qualify: https://energystoragect.com/grid-edge-map-instructions/

To receive the upfront incentive, homeowners must agree to help reduce peak loads by discharging their battery during pre-scheduled periods from 3 - 8 p.m. in June, July, and August, excluding weekends and holidays. To receive the annual performance incentive, homeowners agree to discharge their battery during 1 - 3 hour “active” demand response events that could be called from 12 - 9 p.m. in June through September and November through March. There will be 30 - 60 active events in summer months and 1 - 5 in winter months.⁴ 

These battery discharge events will occur automatically, and will not likely be noticeable to the participating homeowner, because participants keep the functionality of their Enphase IQ Battery, including backup power. Terms and conditions apply.

4. Note that active events will supersede the pre-scheduled discharge events in June, July, and August for that day.

The upfront incentive requires participating customers to discharge 80% of their batteries’ usable capacity during pre-scheduled periods as long as an active demand response event is not called. This means an Enphase IQ Battery 10 or two IQ Battery 5Ps with a usable battery capacity of 10 kWh can discharge up to 8 kWh during those times.

There is no requirement for how much energy or power needs to be discharged during an active demand response event. Participating utility companies anticipate 30-60 active events during the summer months and 1-5 active events during the winter months to help offset peak demand during critical periods. Homeowners can opt out of any active events they wish but doing so will reduce their annual performance incentive.

Enrollment is a ten-year commitment, beginning on the date of acceptance. 

Storage-only systems or storage systems which are not charged by a renewable energy system are eligible to participate. However, only batteries that have an interconnection agreement with the applicable utility, are permitted to export power to the grid. 

The program requires batteries to deliver no more than 80% of the usable battery capacity during the pre-scheduled events, so the remaining battery capacity will be available for backup energy in case of a grid outage. In addition, both pre-scheduled and active events will be cancelled when a known severe weather event is anticipated. This will allow your battery to have more backup energy available prior to a potential grid outage caused by severe weather.

Your electric utility provider is responsible for distribution of your performance incentives within 10 weeks after the end of each season. 

No. Discharging your batteries as part of the program will yield no net increase in your energy costs, and the program does not include any fees, riders, or other charges to participating customers. 

Enphase is committed to the customer experience. Participating customers can email  gridservices@enphase.com for dedicated customer service related to the Connecticut ESS program or any customer service needs.

You can find additional information through the Energy Storage Solutions webpage at: https://energystoragect.com/