The Healey-Driscoll Administration has joined the state’s two largest electric utilities — Eversource and National Grid — in announcing Power Forward, a new initiative to get housing connected to the electric grid faster.
Power Forward will support
“We’re cutting red tape to get housing built as quickly as possible and lower costs,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “Through this collaboration with the electric utilities, we’re making it easier and more affordable to get new housing connected to our grid, which means getting people in homes faster. This is how we move at the speed of business.”
“Developers have told us limited grid capacity and long timelines create real challenges for getting the housing we need built,” Driscoll said. “These new initiatives will give developers and municipalities the early information they need to make informed decisions about where to build and how to get needed housing projects online quickly.”
“National Grid’s electric distribution networks play a critical role in supporting housing development across the Commonwealth,” Morgan Steacy, vice president of Connections and Strategic Accounts for National Grid New England said. “Through early-stage coordination and collaboration among the Healey-Driscoll Administration, utilities, municipalities, and developers, Power Forward will help streamline planning and provide greater clarity on the infrastructure costs needed for electrification. We are committed to working with all involved to accelerate affordable, energy-efficient housing development.”
“Eversource is proud to work closely with the Healey-Driscoll
Current Process Is Cumbersome
Housing and real estate developers, municipalities and businesses currently face a complex and evolving process to connect new development projects to the electric grid. It can be challenging and time-
“Layers of process and added costs stand in the way of getting more housing built. We’re grateful to the electric utilities for simplifying the process that should help to reduce costs and result in getting people into new homes faster,” Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said. “This announcement is a significant milestone in our year-long collaboration with the electric utilities and stakeholders to urgently implement solutions to make connecting to the grid simpler, more efficient, and cost-effective. Today’s announcement is only the beginning. We will continue to act with urgency to unlock housing and economic development opportunities in Massachusetts.”
Power Forward
Power Forward will support alignment of Massachusetts’ energy infrastructure with its urgent housing needs by conducting advanced grid studies for municipalities, giving cities and towns a clear pathway to evaluate where new affordable, energy-efficient housing can be built quickly and cost-effectively. Dedicated
“Power Forward will accelerate the process so we can improve available grid capacity and get housing built faster,” Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony said. “Adding high-performance
Healey has made increasing housing production, lowering project development costs, and cutting red tape a top priority of her administration. Since taking office, nearly 100,000 new homes have been built or are in development. She passed the state’s most ambitious housing legislation in history, eliminated forced renter-paid broker’s fees, put hundreds of acres of vacant state-owned land out to bid for housing, launched an office to housing conversion program and tax incentive, increased housing development tax credits to create thousands of homes in Gateway Cities, and cut down on environmental permitting timelines.
“This Administration is using every tool in our toolbox to make it easier and more affordable to build new housing in Massachusetts and to bring down costs for residents,” Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus said. “We’re proud to partner with Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil on Power Forward to get new housing projects across the state hooked up to the grid faster, and I congratulate my colleagues at EEA for leading this essential effort.”
Additional Grid Connection Improvements
The Administration and all three investor-owned utilities – Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil – announced the launch of several other resources and efforts aimed at further streamlining and standardizing the grid connection process.
- Eversource has launched a new, online tool to identify real-time grid capacity at the parcel level within its service territory. National Grid also hosts a real-time grid capacity map online. Eversource and National Grid will hold an event for municipal leaders on February 27, 2026
at 12pm to demonstrate the maps’ capabilities and how municipalities can use them. - All three utilities now have a “Step Zero” offering, which provides customers with detailed information on available grid capacity at a site prior to submitting a new service request.
- All three utilities have processes to enable customers to escalate delays or other pain points in the new service connection process to the correct utility supervisor or leadership team member.
- Eversource and National Grid will hold a webinar for municipal officials to explain the grid connection process and to answer questions on February 6, 2026
at 1pm.
Information on these initiatives and more can now be found on a new one-stop website for information about the customer grid connection process, which provides all Massachusetts residents and businesses with easy-to-understand information on the grid connection process, frequently asked questions, and links to relevant utility websites and tools, including the utilities’ grid capacity maps.
The Administration also
Taken together, these changes aim to speed up the process of connecting to the grid for all new projects, cut down on unnecessary project costs, and streamline timelines to prevent unanticipated delays.
Healey’s Energy Affordability, Independence & Innovation Act would also improve the grid connection processes for new development by creating processes to proactively identify and build utility infrastructure to facilitate economic development and housing, further integrating economic development needs into ongoing grid planning efforts. The legislation also requires
“Unitil is committed to making the interconnection process clearer and more predictable for our customers,” Unitil Director of External Affairs Alec O’Meara said. “By working together with state partners and other utilities to highlight the resources available, we can help customers discover the tools they need to safely and efficiently connect new projects to the grid.”
