Eversource CT Solar + Battery
Time-of-Use Rate Guide

Yes. Eversource CT offers Rate 7 (Time-of-Day), with peak hours from noon to 8 PM on weekdays. The generation supply rate is 15.246¢/kWh peak vs 11.746¢/kWh off-peak (Jan–Jun 2026). You must commit for one year, and Eversource installs a TOU meter at no cost.

UI offers Rate RT with the same peak window (noon–8 PM weekdays). Supply rates are 16.262¢/kWh peak and 12.762¢/kWh off-peak (Jan–Jun 2026). The TOU spread is approximately 3.5¢/kWh on the generation component.

The TOU spread alone (~3.5¢/kWh) is modest. But CT batteries earn most of their value from the ESS Active Dispatch performance incentive ($300/kW/year at the standard tier, paid every year for ten years) and from self-consumption savings. The TOU arbitrage is a bonus on top of that much larger value — a 10 kW battery earns $3,000/year from the performance incentive alone at the standard rate, and more in an underserved community or an income-qualified household.

Connecticut transitioned from ConnectedSolutions (closed December 1, 2023) to the Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) program, administered by EnergizeCT and CT Green Bank. PURA then restructured ESS effective April 1, 2026: it now pays a one-time Enrollment Incentive ($30/kWh, or $130/kWh on a Grid Edge circuit) plus an Active Dispatch performance incentive of $300–$550/kW/year depending on income tier, paid every year of a 10-year term.

Two separate payments. The Enrollment Incentive is paid once at installation: $30/kWh on a standard circuit or $130/kWh on a Grid Edge circuit, so $405 or $1,755 for a 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall. The performance incentive is then paid every year for ten years at $300/kW standard, $450/kW in underserved communities, and $550/kW for income-qualified households. The declining-block upfront incentive that ran through March 31, 2026 is closed to new applicants.

No. The ESS program does not require solar pairing — standalone battery systems qualify. However, pairing with solar maximizes value because you can charge from solar (free) rather than the grid, and the self-consumption savings add significantly to your total return.

New 2026 solar enrollees pay $0.0402/kWh on ALL production (up from $0.005/kWh for legacy customers). A battery helps offset this by increasing self-consumption — solar energy used directly in your home avoids being exported and re-imported, reducing your exposure to this charge. For an 11 kW system, this can save $150–$250/year.

Your battery automatically switches to backup mode during outages, powering your home from stored energy. ESS dispatch events only occur when the grid is operating normally. Your backup reserve (typically 20–30% of capacity) is never touched by demand response events.

No. The Section 25D residential ITC expired December 31, 2025. There is $0 federal tax credit for homeowner-purchased batteries in 2026. However, if you lease or PPA your solar+battery system, the third-party owner may still claim the Section 48E commercial ITC (30%) — savings that get passed to you through lower monthly payments. Energy storage technology is its own qualifying category under Section 48E(c)(2). There is no requirement that a commercial battery be paired with solar or charged from a renewable source to claim the credit. Energy storage technology is not subject to the December 31, 2027 placed-in-service deadline or the July 4, 2026 begin-construction trigger — both apply to applicable wind and solar facilities only, and Section 48E(e)(4)(C) expressly excepts energy storage technology (IRS Notice 2025-42, section 2.02). A standalone commercial battery remains eligible for the statutory 6% Section 48E credit, increased to 30% when the applicable wage and apprenticeship requirements are met, under the standard clean-electricity phase-out that starts at the later of 2032 or when U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from electricity are 25% of 2022 emissions or lower.

Yes. CT Green Bank's Smart-E Loan covers both solar and battery installations up to $50,000. For solar and battery projects the rate is the standard Smart-E APR (6.99% for 5-10 year terms, 7.49% for 12 years, 7.99% for 15 years). The widely-promoted 1.99% APR rate is a heat-pump-only special — it does NOT apply to solar or battery financing.