Electric Sector Modernization Plan Outlines
Key Investments Over Coming Years Critical to Building a
More Reliable and Cleaner Energy Transition for All
WALTHAM,
Mass., Sept. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National
Grid submitted its Electric Sector Modernization Plan (ESMP), the
Future Grid Plan, to the Grid Modernization Advisory Council (GMAC)
today outlining the critical investments needed in the local
electric distribution system over the next five years and beyond to
meet the Commonwealth's nation-leading climate change, clean
energy, and equity goals as established in the 2050 Clean Energy
and Climate Plan (CECP). As part of National Grid's
commitment to delivering a fair, affordable, and clean energy
future for all its customers, the Plan outlines a comprehensive and
flexible path designed to expand and upgrade the current electric
distribution grid, ensure reliability, enable increased
electrification, and empower smart customer choices and the
transition away from a fossil-based economy.
"We are at an inflection point in the Commonwealth's energy
future. We must continue to invest to achieve our shared goal of
accelerating the adoption of climate and clean energy solutions by
all customers and communities across Massachusetts. Today we've submitted a plan
that strives to do just that," said Steve
Woerner, President, National Grid, New England. "With
electric peak demand expected to double over the next 25 years,
driven by substantial growth in the use of electric heating and
transportation, now is the time to build a future grid that is
smarter, stronger and cleaner. We must harness our state's
innovative and collaborative spirit to achieve an energy future
that works for all."
A Focus on Key Smarter, Stronger, Cleaner Energy
Goals
The company's Future Grid Plan details the broad
areas of investment and the key role they will play in building a
smarter, stronger, and cleaner energy future that:
- Empowers customers to make smart, clean energy choices that
work for them;
- Creates a ready, reliable and more resilient grid capable of
withstanding more extreme weather and evolving threats;
- Leverages innovation, drives efficiency, and supports greater
system flexibility; and
- Enables a more just and equitable energy future that benefits
all.
The Future Grid Plan is innovative, customer-centric, and
equity-focused to help ensure that customers and communities across
our diverse service area can participate in and benefit from the
clean and electrified energy future, while maintaining high quality
service and high reliability.
Future Grid Plan: Three Key Areas of Investment
Over
the next five years, the company proposes to invest approximately
$2 billion in three key areas to
build a clean energy future and meet the Commonwealth's
electric-based approach to achieving net zero emissions, which is
estimated to double current peak levels of energy demand:
- Network Infrastructure, such as new and upgraded power
lines, transformers, and substations to make them stronger,
more resilient, and ready to connect more clean and distributed
energy and accommodate substantial growth in electric demand.
- Technology and Platforms, such as new planning tools,
systems, and processes to drive smarter
decision-making. This includes installing state-of- the-art
data and monitoring systems to provide greater visibility into how
the grid and interconnected devices are operating to ensure system
safety and stability, upgrading IT systems and communications
networks to support two-way information flows and control, and
providing greater system flexibility, security, and more timely
information to customers.
- Customer Programs, such as new offerings and pilots to
help customers reduce their carbon footprint, adopt cleaner
energy solutions and drive smart energy use, better manage costs,
and build community resilience and agency.
"By developing and submitting this Future Grid Plan as our
Electric Sector Modernization Plan, National Grid is taking
a critical step towards meeting the energy and climate
challenges of today and the future," said Nicola Medalova, National
Grid New England's Chief Operating Officer. "The Future Grid plan
begins to define the scope and scale of what we collectively must
do over the coming years and decades to combat climate change and
enable a more electrified future, and the policy and regulatory
changes needed to make it happen. This is a holistic plan that
identifies the system investments and changes needed in the local
electric distribution grid, its operations, and how it must perform
to benefit all. Most importantly, it offers an opportunity to
engage broadly, stimulate ideas, and gain input to ensure this
proposal is supportive of and responsive to the needs and
expectations of all our customers and communities."
The proposed investments in the Future Grid Plan support the
goals set forth in the Commonwealth's CECP of expanding
energy efficiency and demand response, advancing the smart
electrification of heating and transportation, and accelerating the
connection of solar, storage and other clean energy technologies to
the local energy grid. The proposed Future Grid Plan builds upon
investments that are already underway and approved by the
Department of Public Utilities (DPU) in previous proceedings that
have put us on a pathway to reducing emissions and increasing
electrification.
Ensuring All Customers Are Heard, Engaged, and
Benefit
The proposed investments in the Future Grid
Plan align with feedback from customers and communities the company
has received to date as part of an extensive engagement process in
advance of this submission. The scope of this public engagement
included outreach to our National Grid Customer Council, comprised
of both residential and commercial customers, as well as public
officials, local businesses, clean energy groups, nonprofits and
community groups and organizations representing Environmental
Justice Communities (EJCs).
The investments proposed in this Future Grid Plan are currently
projected to have an average annual bill impact of approximately 2%
over the first investment period and result in benefits to
customers and communities across Massachusetts, including:
- Generating incremental economic activity of $1.4 billion and 11,000 full- and part-time jobs
by 2030.
- Enabling an additional 4 gigawatts of capacity by 2035,
enough to support an additional 1.1 million electric vehicles,
750,000 electric heat pumps.
- Upgrading hundreds of feeders to enable the connection of more
clean, distributed energy resources.
- Improving local air quality as more cars, buses and trucks are
electrified.
National Grid has also proposed a new Equity and Environmental
Justice Policy and Stakeholder Engagement Framework and, together
with the state's other electric distribution companies (EDCs), a
joint Community Engagement Stakeholder Advisory Council to empower
communications and give more agency to communities to address
historic inequities. The company has also proposed enhancing its
existing Workforce Development Program to train the next generation
of electric line worker from the diverse communities we serve and
expanding partnerships to ensure we are reaching all members of our
communities to educate and engage them in opportunities that will
come from the clean energy transition.
Engaging with Communities: A Look Ahead
Today's
submission is the first step in a vital public process. Throughout
this public process, customers, community advocates, and any other
interested parties will be able to provide their feedback through
public and technical workshops National Grid will conduct jointly
with the Commonwealth's other electric distribution companies and
on its own.
The company will also continue its engagement with the GMAC,
which will thoroughly review and provide feedback on the proposed
Plan. National Grid will take all feedback and use it to
evolve and better inform the formal filing of the Future Grid Plan
the company will make to the DPU in January 2024. The DPU
will hold a formal process to consider the Plan and direct the
company how to proceed.
Background: National Grid is a foundational partner in
advancing climate and clean energy goals
This Future Grid
plan builds on previous National Grid investments made and actions
taken to deliver clean, reliable, affordable electricity for all
our customers, including maintaining systemwide reliability at
99.9%, connecting 200 MW of distributed energy resources in 2022,
for a total more than 2 GW connected to our system, supporting the
installation of 10,000 heat pumps through Mass Save with a goal of
another 21,000 by 2024, and enabling the installation of more than
1,800 Electric Vehicle chargers, with another 32,000 to
come.
National Grid's efforts to date support Massachusetts' goal to reach net zero
emissions by 2050 – one of the most ambitious climate goals in
the nation. The Commonwealth plans to achieve this goal
through programs and plans as established in the CECP to
transition major systems and sectors of the Commonwealth's economy
that run on fossil fuels to alternatives that run on clean
electricity; for example, transitioning from natural gas for
heating to electric heat pumps, and transitioning from gasoline for
transportation to electric vehicles. The state's EDCs were directed
in An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind to develop
and submit ESMPs detailing the investments needed in the local
electric grid to achieve the CECP goals and maintain a
reliable, resilient, and affordable energy system.
About National Grid
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and
clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people
through our networks in New York
and Massachusetts. National Grid
is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future —
transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy
solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
For more information, please visit our website, follow us
on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like us
on Facebook and find us on Instagram.
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SOURCE National Grid