（Boston Orange綜合編譯）麻州州長奚莉（Maura Healey）和副州長Kim Driscoll 27日宣佈，州政府將和永源（Eversource）、國家電網（National Grid），Unitil等合作，推出「奮力向前（Power Forward）」計畫，以簡化電力併網流程，掃除基建延宕障礙，降低開發隱形成本，加速新屋建設。
為確保政策精準對接業界需求，麻州府將於 2 月 6 日下午 1 點 與 2 月 27 日中午 12 點 舉辦「併網流程研討會」與「即時地圖演示」，協助開發商在購地前就能預判電力風險；並於 3 月 17 日 召開首屆「電力連接改進論壇」，邀集各界研議長期的成本分攤方案。全案預計於 2026 年 4 月 全面受理資助申請。
根據麻州住房與宜居社區廳（EOHLC）在《2024可負擔住家法（Affordable Homes Act）》通過後編制的「全州住房計劃」，麻州須在 2025 到 2035 年間增加 22.2 萬戶 住宅，才能維持經濟競爭力，並緩解因供應不足導致的房價飆漲。
然而，在現實中建商往往「有心無力」。依現行規定，建商必須先向電力公司申請併網研究，確定有電可用後才能推動建案。但開發商常在諮詢過程中發現，必須分攤極其昂貴的電網擴充費——例如每更換一英里地下電纜耗資約 900 萬美元，換算下來，每戶住宅需額外分攤 3 至 6 萬美元 成本。加上等待擴網審核與施工的時間往往超過 12 個月甚至長達 3 年，導致許多開發案被迫撤銷。
此外，麻州 2021 年通過的《氣候藍圖法案（Climate Roadmap Act）》確立了 2050 年淨零排放目標，並制定了「專門能源規範（Specialized Code）」。自 2023 年這項推動「全電化」的建築規範生效後，波士頓、伍斯特（Worcester）等 30 多個主要城市已採納實施。新規定要求新建築若使用瓦斯，必須安裝大量太陽能並預留全電化線路，導致住宅大樓的電力需求比傳統建築暴增約 2.5 倍。面對鉅額的電力升級成本與技術門檻，建商放棄建案的比率隨之陡升。
根據麻州住宅研究機構（Boston Indicators）2025 年 10 月發表的最新報告，麻州新屋施工許可證從 2021 年的高峰約 19,800 戶，跌至 2024 年的 14,300 戶，平均下滑 28%；在以多戶型建案為主的波士頓市，跌幅更高達 44%。在伍斯特和羅爾（Lowell）等門戶城市，更因地方電網老舊且負載達極限，擴充電力供應需等待 3 年，已有三成建案因此告吹。
麻州政府因此推出「奮力向前」計畫。由麻州能源資源署（DOER）資助，在 2026 至 2027 兩年內，針對永源、國家電網及 Unitil 服務範圍內的市鎮，提供 60 個「先進電網研究（Advanced Grid Studies）」資助名額，進行深度的電力供應量建模分析。
換言之，有意開發的建商或市鎮在申請建築許可、甚至買地之前，可先向電力公司申辦「零步驟（Step Zero）」服務。這相當於一份「電力體檢」，由電力公司針對該地塊做初步評估。若結果顯示電力不足，市鎮即可據此向州政府申請補助；一旦獲批，州政府將直接撥款給電力公司做昂貴的「先進電網研究」，除去建商自行負擔的壓力。
Healey-Driscoll Administration and Electric Utilities Launch the Power Forward Initiative to Build Housing Faster and Lower Costs
The Administration and utilities announce several additional measures aimed at bringing new housing and other projects online more quickly and efficiently, reducing project development costs
BOSTON – 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 municipalities in evaluating electric grid capacity in areas that are primed for development with the goal of bringing more housing online as quickly, efficiently and affordably as possible. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced Power Forward at Connect 351, Massachusetts Municipal Association’s annual conference on Saturday.
Power Forward is one of several collaborative efforts between state agencies, local officials, utilities, and developers to meet the state’s urgent housing needs.
“We're cutting red tape to get housing built as quickly as possible and lower costs,” said Governor Maura Healey. “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,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “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,” said Morgan Steacy, Vice President of Connections and Strategic Accounts for National Grid New England. “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 Administration, developers and organizations such as the Home Builders and Remodelers Association to streamline the electric connection process,” said Warren Boutin, Vice President of Customer Grid Electrification Solutions at Eversource. “Listening to our developers and prioritizing their needs, we’ve developed and launched an enhanced self-serve capacity map that enables housing developers to determine if the existing infrastructure has the available capacity to serve their project before expending time and money on a study that may only determine the existing electrical infrastructure would require significant investment and pose a barrier to potential development.”
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-consuming for developers to understand where there is grid capacity and how much it will cost to connect to the grid. Developers must pay for studies to determine precisely how much electricity is available at a site and what grid upgrades – such as new transformers, distribution lines, substation upgrades – are needed to safely connect their project. This process can take anywhere from several weeks to multiple years depending on the project scope and can add significant time and potentially costs to much needed housing developments.
“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,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “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 project managers at the utilities will support municipalities in understanding grid readiness and what upgrades are needed to advance projects submitted through Power Forward. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will also support up to 60 advanced grid studies over the next two years for designated municipalities. Both utilities and DOER will provide additional information and resources on Power Forward, including holding a webinar for municipal officials, in Spring 2026 in advance of accepting applications in April.
“Power Forward will accelerate the process so we can improve available grid capacity and get housing built faster,” said Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. “Adding high-performance energy-efficient housing provides healthy, resilient living spaces with lower monthly energy costs. Initiatives like this are how we address our housing and energy challenges.”
Governor 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,” said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus. “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 established the “Electric Connections Improvements Forum”, which will bring the utilities, developers, state agencies, and other stakeholders together semi-annually to identify additional pain points in the grid connection process and to develop solutions. The first two Electric Connections Improvements Forums will be held on March 17, 2026, and September 15, 2026, at 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts. More information on these Forums can be found on the Administration’s new grid connection website.
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.
Governor 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 electric utilities to provide flexible interconnection solutions to reduce customer costs and timelines for interconnection, at no cost to other customers.
“Unitil is committed to making the interconnection process clearer and more predictable for our customers,” said Unitil Director of External Affairs Alec O’Meara. “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.”
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