New Jersey proposed paying home batteries for grid duty, and says business batteries at critical sites come next
NJBPU straw proposal for Garden State Energy Storage Program Phase 2, Block 1: about 150 MW of distributed storage, performance-based payments over 10 years through the four utilities. Staff expect it to frame a follow-on for commercial and industrial batteries at critical facilities. Comments closed 10 September.
New Jersey wants to rent the batteries in people's garages on the hottest afternoons. Businesses are next in line.
On 19 August 2026, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities released a straw proposal for Phase 2, Block 1 of its Garden State Energy Storage Program: about 150 MW of distributed storage statewide, mainly new home batteries behind the meter. Enrolled customers would get annual payments over a 10-year term based on how their batteries perform during dispatch events such as heatwaves or cold snaps. The four electric utilities would run enrolment and payments.
The board says the payments compensate for grid services and reduce the state's exposure to PJM capacity prices. Staff expect the proposal to serve as a framework for near-term programmes covering commercial and industrial batteries behind the meter at critical facilities, and a separate front-of-meter distribution storage initiative. New Jersey's goal is 2,000 MW of storage by 2030. A stakeholder meeting was held on 3 September and written comments closed on 10 September.
Analogy: it is a city paying owners of rainwater tanks to hold water back during a storm, so the drains do not overflow.
Good: a state regulator naming commercial batteries at critical facilities as the next step, with a payment model already sketched.
Bad: this block is for homes. Business programme details, rates and timing are not out yet.
Ugly: payments depend on performance during events. A battery that is busy covering its own site at the peak may earn less than the brochure suggests.
Source: NJBPU, 19 Aug 2026 - new Garden State Energy Storage proposal.