Massachusetts public power utility Chester Municipal Electric Light Department (CMELD) has been selected for a grant award under the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Advancing Massachusetts Power (AMP) Program, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company recently reported.
MMWEC, on behalf of CMELD, applied for funding under the AMP Community Resilience Path Two – Preconstruction Support Feasibility Study program, MMWEC said in the Spring 2026 issue of its Joint Action News newsletter. CMELD is an MMWEC member utility.
The funding and technical support provided by Camelot Energy Group will study the feasibility of installing a battery energy storage system up to 1,000 kilowatts in size located behind the CMELD and Chester Department of Public Works garage.
The study will evaluate the feasibility of utilizing the battery energy storage system for peak load reduction to help mitigate rising capacity and local and regional transmission charges to the municipal light plant, as well as to provide emissions free resilient backup to two key facilities in the town of Chester during a grid outage, MMWEC noted.
If the study indicates a high technical and economic potential for the system, CMELD and MMWEC intend to use the study’s findings to develop a project proposal for funding under a second round of the AMP.
“In addition to the economic benefits of peak load reduction, Chester’s location in a heavily wooded area of the foothills of the Berkshires makes reliability especially challenging,” MMWEC said in the newsletter.
This is compounded by the fact that Chester receives energy from a distribution tie with the local investor-owned utility that is prone to damage during storms and extreme weather, MMWEC said. "In a time of increasing extreme weather, an energy storage system could be the key to reliability in town," MMWEC said.
“This is a first step in considering energy storage as an option for CMELD,” said MMWEC Chief Development Officer Jason Viadero. “Our hope is that, based on the feasibility study, CMELD could pursue a battery and own it outright, or potentially participate in MMWEC’s behind the meter battery program.”
MMWEC is the Commonwealth’s designated joint action agency for municipal utilities in
Massachusetts. Through its enabling state legislation, MMWEC became a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
MMWEC’s enabling legislation gave it the unique power to issue tax-exempt revenue bonds to finance electric generating facilities and other projects. Using this statutory authority, MMWEC has issued more than $7 billion in bonds since 1976. It is the largest provider of asset-owned generation for municipal light departments in New England.
