Newton, Massachusetts
Home Battery Backup in Newton
Newton Power Choice fixes what you pay for supply. Eversource still delivers the power and restores it after a storm. A battery's backup job sits on the Eversource side — and Mass Save pays for its summer contribution.
ConnectedSolutions: $275 per kW of average summer-event contribution, 3–8 p.m., June through September.
The short answer
Newton is Eversource territory. Basic Service accounts are automatically enrolled in Newton Power Choice unless they opt out; it fixes the supply price at 13.990¢ per kWh through January 2028 — but delivery, billing and outage restoration stay with Eversource, so backup is planned the same way either way.
Through Mass Save's ConnectedSolutions, an enrolled battery earns $275 per kW of its average contribution during up to 60 summer events. We size to a critical load panel for winter outages, set the event reserve deliberately and confirm enrollment terms with the program for your account.
Find out what a battery would run in your house
Tell us your Newton address, how the house is heated and whether you already have solar. We confirm coverage first, then size to a critical load panel — and handle the interconnection paperwork rather than leaving it with you.
Three things that are specific to here
Who supplies the power, who delivers it, and when Mass Save calls on a battery.
Your supplier is not your utility
Newton accounts on Eversource Basic Service are eligible for automatic enrollment in Newton Power Choice, the City's group electricity buying program, unless they opt out. Direct Energy supplies the power at a fixed price, but Eversource still delivers it, sends the bill and restores it after a storm.
A fixed supply price through January 2028
Newton Power Choice's price is 13.990¢ per kWh from January 2026 to January 2028. Eversource's residential Basic Service supply price is 17.323¢ for August 2026 through January 2027. Neither number is the delivery charge, which Eversource sets for everyone.
Summer events, 3 to 8 p.m.
Mass Save's ConnectedSolutions program signals enrolled batteries no more than 60 times a summer, for up to three hours each, between 3 and 8 p.m. on non-holidays from June 1 to September 30.
What a Newton battery actually does
Winter storms produce the critical-load list. The summer program decides what the battery does on a July afternoon.
What the aggregation does not change
Outage restoration, delivery, billing and any solar credits stay with Eversource. The program's own page says participation does not change how solar credits or incentive payments are calculated. A battery's backup role is the same whichever supplier is on the bill.
Where a Newton battery can earn
ConnectedSolutions pays $275 per kilowatt of a battery's average contribution during summer events. The battery can be added to new solar, existing solar or installed on its own, with an inverter under 50 kW and a qualifying manufacturer.
Paying for it
Mass Save's 0% HEAT Loan lists batteries as eligible for up to $25,000 in financing. Eligibility and terms are confirmed with the program, not assumed — we do not quote a monthly payment.
Winter is still the backup season
The program pays in summer, but the ConnectedSolutions program materials themselves note that most outages in the region happen in winter. Whether the boiler or heat-pump controls, sump pump and refrigeration are on the backed-up panel decides the size of everything else — and the reserve held back during summer events.
Supply, delivery and the battery
Newton Power Choice is a single fixed price per kWh, with no time-of-day schedule on the program's page — so, unlike a time-of-use plan, shifting usage with a battery does not change the supply rate under it. In Newton the battery's value is backup plus the summer program, not rate arbitrage.
Nearby, Boston covers Eversource's urban panels and harbour storms, Cambridge covers dense-lot siting under IRC R328, and Lowell covers the ConnectedSolutions season on National Grid and the SMART 3.0 change. A battery that will run on Eversource's grid is an interconnection like solar — adding a battery to an existing array is its own application — and the home battery siting checker walks the locations the residential code permits. The state licenses Seamless Home works under are on the licenses page.
Where these facts come from
- Newton Power Choice — the fixed supply price and term, the supplier, Eversource's continuing role and the current Basic Service comparison.
- Newton Power Choice — Frequently asked questions — program history, the 2026–2028 contract and opting out.
- Mass Save — Battery Storage (ConnectedSolutions) — the per-kW incentive, event limits and hours, eligibility, participating manufacturers and HEAT Loan financing.
What a home battery job with us covers
Installation of storage and the backup circuits behind it, with the siting and utility paperwork handled.
Battery installation
Wall or floor-mounted storage installed to the listing and to the residential code sections that govern where it may go.
Backup and critical load panel
Deciding and wiring which circuits stay live, and which must never be on backup — the choice that defines what an outage feels like.
Integration with existing PV solar
Connecting storage to an array that is already on the roof, including whether the existing inverter supports it.
Transfer switch and disconnection
The equipment that separates the house from the grid during an outage, which is what makes backup legal as well as possible.
Siting to code
Location, clearances, separation and impact protection assessed against the adopted code before anything is mounted.
Permit, inspection and utility approval
The electrical permit, the inspection, and the utility's own approval step where storage touches the service.
This is installation work. No runtime, capacity or incentive figure is quoted before your loads and your utility are confirmed. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What the work actually looks like
A battery job is an electrical job. The panel, the circuits and the disconnection are most of it.
Battery backup in Newton, answered plainly
Who is the electric utility in Newton?+
Eversource. Newton Power Choice changes who supplies your electricity — Direct Energy, under the City's contract — but Eversource remains Newton's electric utility and continues to deliver electricity, send the bill and handle power outages.
What is Newton Power Choice?+
A municipal electricity aggregation: the City buys electricity supply as a group for residents and businesses. Approved by City Council in March 2017, it launched with March 2019 meter reads. The current price is 13.990¢ per kWh, fixed from January 2026 to January 2028. Participants can leave at any time with no fee or penalty.
Does Newton Power Choice affect my solar or battery incentives?+
The program's site says you continue to receive bill credits or incentive payments from solar panels and that participation does not affect their calculation. ConnectedSolutions is a Mass Save program for Eversource, National Grid and Cape Light Compact customers, so enrollment runs through your utility account and battery manufacturer, not your supplier.
How does ConnectedSolutions pay for a battery?+
Mass Save lists $275 per kilowatt (kW) for a battery's average contribution during summer events. Events happen no more than 60 times a summer, last up to three hours, and fall between 3 and 8 p.m. on non-holidays from June 1 to September 30. What a given battery earns depends on what it actually delivers in those events, so we do not quote an annual figure.
Why does my solar shut off during an outage?+
A grid-tied inverter is required to disconnect when it loses the utility, so it is not energising lines crews believe are dead. That is anti-islanding, a safety requirement. Powering the house in an outage takes a battery and a transfer switch or backup interface.
Who installs it, and who is responsible afterwards?+
Seamless Home is the licensed contractor of record on the work it runs. Installation is performed by vetted installing partners engaged as our subcontractors, so the permit, the inspection and any correction notice carry one name. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
Related resources
Home battery backup installation
The national service page: essential-circuit, whole-home and managed-load backup compared.
Learn more →Home battery backup in Boston, MA
Eversource's urban territory and harbour storms.
Learn more →Home battery backup in Cambridge, MA
Dense lots where siting is the binding constraint.
Learn more →Home battery backup in Lowell, MA
The ConnectedSolutions season on National Grid, and SMART 3.0.
Learn more →Does adding a battery need a new interconnection application?
Storage is its own application, even on an existing array.
Learn more →All home services
Battery backup, water treatment, HVAC and solar under one licensed contractor of record.
Learn more →Find out what a battery would actually run in your house
A panel-level look at your service, your existing solar, your heating system and the circuits you want kept up through a nor'easter — at no cost, and with no savings, runtime or incentive total promised before anyone has seen the house.
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