The Eversource ConnectedSolutions from Eversource Energy - thermostats, batteries and a quiet virtual power plant

Reviewed: ad hoc news Classics & Longseller desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-28, 14:45. Details in the imprint.

ConnectedSolutions from Eversource Energy starts in a very ordinary hallway, with a smart thermostat clicking softly as it nudges the temperature up a notch on a humid August afternoon. You still hear the fan and feel the air moving, but somewhere in the background the grid relaxes and a virtual power plant wakes up.

How ConnectedSolutions works

ConnectedSolutions from Eversource Energy is the utility's long-running demand response program that links smart thermostats, battery systems and other flexible loads into one coordinated resource for the grid in New England.Official ConnectedSolutions page

During a limited number of peak events each summer, Eversource can slightly adjust participating devices for a few hours, shaving demand when the system is most stressed while customers earn incentives or bill credits for their contribution.ISO New England overview of demand resources

Thermostats, batteries and bill credits

The core of ConnectedSolutions is simple: compatible smart thermostats pre-cool or pre-warm homes, then ease off during the event so the grid sees less load without rooms turning into saunas or iceboxes.Eversource battery incentive details

In parallel, residential and commercial battery owners can discharge into the grid or reduce their own draw, with incentive structures that pay per kilowatt or kilowatt-hour delivered, turning behind-the-meter storage into a quiet revenue source as well as a resilience tool.

What customers experience day to day

On the customer side, the experience is deliberately quiet. Sarah Robinson, an energy-efficiency program manager at Eversource, has described the goal as "making demand response something you barely notice but still value when the bill arrives" in regional presentations.

Participants usually receive a notification before an event, see a small change in temperature or battery charge behavior, and later find a line on the statement summarizing the credits earned, which for active homes can reach tens of dollars per summer season.

Why this classic stays relevant

ConnectedSolutions has been running for several years across parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut and other Eversource territories, and it keeps gaining relevance as more devices ship with built-in connectivity and as ISO New England tightens reliability margins.

The program also positions Eversource as a utility capable of turning customer-side flexibility into a tradable market product, an angle that matters when regulators and investors look at how utilities plan to handle electrification and extreme-weather peaks over the next decade.

Context and one stock reference

For Eversource, ConnectedSolutions sits alongside efficiency programs and grid upgrades as part of a broader push to manage peak demand with fewer costly peaker plants and more digital coordination across its service area. Eversource Energy shares (ISIN US30040W1080) trade on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars as a regulated utility equity.

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