In a recent Q&A with the American Public Power Association, Barry Tupper, general manager of Massachusetts public power utility Holden Municipal Light Department, detailed how the utility and its customers are expected to benefit from a recently completed battery storage project.
In August 2024, the utility and Lightshift Energy hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a five-megawatt battery storage project in Holden, Massachusetts, which will serve Holden Municipal Light Department and its customers.
“We're really excited about that,” Tupper said in a recent episode of APPA’s Public Power Now podcast.
“This is something new for Holden and it started a little while back. The whole process -- it was very involved, but the battery storage is a crucial solution to mitigating the impact of rising capacity and transmission costs for our community,” he noted.
With the installation of the battery energy storage facility at a substation, “we're projected to save our customers at least $10 million over its life cycle, and that's a conservative number. If you talk to Lightshift, they want it to be closer to $20 million. They're very proud of that,” Tupper said.
“We did a conservative number and we feel like it's going to be a minimum of $10 million if they hit all the peaks. This project is a win for everyone. It not only serves as a significant financial benefit to the community, but also represents an important environmental asset. By reducing peak demand stress, it acts as a pressure release valve for the increasingly strained electric grid, supporting both energy reliability and sustainability...we're one of the first ones around -- Sterling has one. They did it years ago, but... Lightshift has got a bunch that they're putting in in the area. We were the first ones.”
Tupper noted that Holden Municipal Light Department had just rebuilt the Chaffins substation “and we had the thought that we would get something like this eventually, so we added extra infrastructure into it just in case whether it was battery storage or some other generation unit, so it was really turnkey for all the parties.”
With “very little money invested and very little work on our side, they were able to come in. There was plenty of space and they dropped in the batteries and hooked them all up and it went extremely smooth and quick and they're up and running now, so it's something we're really happy about.”
Mutual Aid
Tupper is a member of APPA’s mutual aid committee, as well as a member of the Northeast Public Power Association's Mutual Aid Committee.
Against that backdrop and given his experience with mutual aid events and his roles with those committees, he discussed the ways in which public power utilities leverage the nationwide public power mutual aid network to help each other in times of need.
“Nationwide mutual aid is a crucial resource for public power communities, particularly those within the” American Public Power Association network, he said.
“In times of need such as major weather events, local municipal utilities, MLPs, often rely on surrounding utilities for support. However, when widespread events impact multiple nearby MLPs the APPA’s nationwide mutual aid network steps in, allowing unaffected utilities across the country to mobilize crews to assist those in crisis.”
He noted that one example of a robust mutual aid system is the Northeast Public Power Association.
NEPPA’s mutual aid committee is chaired by Nick Lawler, General Manager, Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments, Massachusetts. Lawler also serves as Chair of APPA’s Board of Directors.
NEPPA’s network spans over six states, “providing a unique advantage. It's a large network of line workers that are all trained at NEPPA’s facility in Littleton, Mass., and it allows for swift and organized responses,” Tupper noted.
In many cases, NEPPA can dispatch over 20 crews, including mechanics, supervisors, to assist affected communities.
“What makes NEPPA’s mutual aid network particularly effective is its ability to respond in ways for long term recovery events. This ensures that even in a prolonged event NEPPA can maintain a steady flow of aid, supporting public power utilities throughout the country,” he said.
Holden has responded to 8 mutual aid events since September of 22, including Florida, New Hampshire, Concord, Mass., Vermont, Boylston, Mass., Princeton, Mass., Wolfeboro, NH, and Wallingford, Connecticut.
“Mutual aid has always been a priority for both Holden and myself. I responded to my first mutual aid event January 9, 1998 -- actually Colebrook, NH -- I was still an apprentice lineman at the time.”
Additionally, in 2008, Holden experienced a devastating ice storm that knocked out power to the entire town for four days and in some areas for over 2 weeks, including Tupper’s own house.
"Thirteen NEPPA mutual aid crews assisted us during that crisis and ever since giving back in times of need has been a core value for us here in Holden. We're committed to repaying the communities that came to our aid. Holden Light has even extended its mutual aid efforts as far as Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma in 2017," he said.
"We had multiple crews there for 2 1/2 months to help with restoration efforts. I personally spent a month on the island celebrating Thanksgiving with fellow responders and the wonderful, grateful people of Saint Thomas, so it's really important to us here at Holden."
Tupper’s Details Role as GM
In his role as general manager, Tupper manages financial performance, “I supervise staff, ensure regulatory compliance and drive initiatives aimed at enhancing system reliability,” he said.
Service quality and customer satisfaction “are also very important," adding that Holden is a community of about 20,000 residents..."We cover 36 square miles and have a peak demand of 24 megawatts. Our annual revenue is approximately $18 million.”
