Overview
The goal of this project is to analyze the extent to which grid modernization investments authorized by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and made by the state’s electric companies (Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil) occurred in environmental justice (EJ) populations. The DPU created a map to identify grid modernization progress across the 3 electric company service territories. To create the map the DPU used the following data sources:
- 2022 environmental justice data for the geographic coverage of the map, which includes all municipalities within Massachusetts.
- D.P.U. 15‑120 (National Grid), D.P.U. 15‑121 (Unitil), D.P.U. 15‑122 (Eversource), D.P.U. 21‑80 (Eversource), D.P.U. 21‑81 (National Grid), and D.P.U. 21‑82 (Unitil) for grid modernization deployment from 2018 to 2022.
This analysis only includes municipalities within the electric companies' service territories. Grid modernization activity from Municipal Light Plants is not included. The following websites provide only a high-level summary of a limited scope of DPU decisions. Please refer to the above Orders for specific details on the DPU’s findings.
Background
Grid modernization has been underway in Massachusetts for more than a decade. In 2014, the DPU encouraged the electric companies to adopt grid modernization to:
- enhance electric service reliability,
- reduce electricity costs, and
- empower customers to play an active role regarding their electricity. D.P.U. 12-76
In 2018, the DPU approved the first grid modernization plans. D.P.U. 15‑120 (National Grid), D.P.U. 15‑121 (Unitil), and D.P.U. 15‑122 (Eversource). The objectives of these plans were to:
- optimize system performance and system demand, and
- to interconnect distributed energy resources to the grid.
In 2022, the DPU approved the second grid modernization plans and first advanced metering infrastructure plans. D.P.U. 21‑80 (Eversource), D.P.U. 21‑81 (National Grid), and D.P.U. 21‑82 (Unitil). These plans included performance metrics to measure progress in achieving grid modernization objectives.
Grid modernization and environmental justice analyses
Broad overview
The broad overview analysis outlines the key aspects and takeaways of the grid modernization and environmental justice project
- English transcription of video script
- Español - Spanish translation of video script
- Português, Portugal - Portuguese translation of video script
- Kreyòl ayisyen - Haitian Creole translation of video script
- Tiếng Việt - Vietnamese translation of video script
- 简体中文 - Simplified chinese translation of video script
- 繁體中文 - Traditional chinese translation of video script
Technical overview
The technical summary analysis provides an in-depth review of the grid modernization and environmental justice project. This technical summary includes the following key sections:
- Grid modernization technology
- Grid modernization and you
- Grid modernization and environmental justice
- Volt-VAR optimization case study (2023)
- Map navigation and details
- Grid modernization data layers
ArcGIS map updates
Updated ArcGIS maps for each grid modernization technology data layer reflecting 2018 to 2023 cumulative data.