What is the Maine Transactive Energy Pilot?

The Maine Transactive Energy Pilot (MTEP) is a two-year project that uses consumer preferences and market mechanisms to coordinate the production and consumption of electricity among smart electricity consuming and producing devices. Participants in MTEP will receive incentives and help support Maine's grid.

What are MTEP's goals?

MTEP aims to evaluate from a financial, technical and participant perspective the ability of MTEP's technology to reduce energy costs and pollution. In particular, MTEP will assess how well MTEP's technology can reduce peak power consumption while meeting energy consumer's needs.

Why is MTEP needed now?

Due to increased electricity consumption for heating and cooling, Maine's grid is stressed during heat waves and cold spells. AI data centers are increasing consumption nationwide. At the same time, surplus low cost solar and wind power can go unused in the spring and fall due to low demand for air conditioning or heating. Conventional, 20th century solutions to these challenges involve building large infrastructure -- new transmission lines, substations and power plants that are only used at peak times. MTEP offers a lower-cost, 21st century alternative -- a software technology that enables large consuming devices to use the existing grid more efficiently so that large infrastructure investment to meet growing demand can be deferred or avoided, lowering costs for everyone.

How does MTEP's technology work?

MTEP's technology uses market-based principles, in analogy to how the New England wholesale grid and other financial markets operate. MTEP is inspired by prior work on "Transactive Energy" at Pacific Northwest National Lab and Stanford University. See the Resources section for technical reports that describe transactive energy in more detail.

How long will MTEP operate?

Once fully operational, MTEP intends to operate for at least two full years years.

What happens after MTEP is over?

At the conclusion of MTEP, assuming that MTEP demonstrates that MTEP's technology is a benefit to Maine's energy consumers, Post Road will work with Maine stakeholders to scale beyond a pilot.

Who is leading MTEP?

The pilot is a collaborative initiative led by the Post Road Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to helping communities flourish through better broadband access and grid modernizing technologies.

How does MTEP reduce pollution?

MTEP's technology, when deployed at scale, is expected to have three environmental benefits. First, by reducing demand during times of peak events, MTEP will reduce the need for dirty peaker plants, that often burn oil to meet peak demand. Second, by using the existing grid more efficiently, MTEP will reduce the need for new infrastructure, such as transmission lines, substations, and large battery installations, that can disturb significant areas of land. Third, by encouraging consuming of low cost solar and wind power and storing energy for future use, MTEP can reduce the need for electricity produced by polluting sources when solar and wind power is unavailable.

How many participants will MTEP enroll?

MTEP is seeking to enroll at least 100 buildings.

What's the time commitment required of participants?

MTEP is designed to minimize burdens on participants. Enrollment involves a brief conversation with the MTEP team, review of and agreement to enrollment documents, installation of enabling communications equipment, and sharing of participant's responsiveness choices through MTEP's mobile app. After that, MTEP will send three surveys over the two year project, each of which may take 10-15 minutes to complete and may include questions about your household. Participants can use the MTEP app everyday, or never again after initial setup, the choice is theirs. Participants may also be invited to optional group discussions to share their experiences with MTEP and other participants and learn more about the pilot.

Do I need to be a homeowner to participate?

No. Renters can participate provided that the owner of the property consents to your participation.

Why should I participate in MTEP?

Participate in MTEP to help drive innovation in Maine's electricity system and earn modest incentives at the same time.

Can I participate in MTEP and other energy programs?

You can enroll different responsive energy devices in different programs offered by Efficiency Maine Trust or others. Each Responsive Energy Device that you enroll in MTEP, however, can only participate in MTEP and can not participate in other programs.

Who can participate?

MTEP is open to single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, manufactured homes, multi-family buildings, and small commercial buildings in most parts of Maine. Contact us to learn more.

How do I check if I'm eligible?

Fill out our easy to use contact form or email us at mtep@postroadfoundation.org.

What is the enrollment process?

Enrollment involves (1) talking with MTEP to discuss the program and responsive energy devices, (2) completing the research consent and other agreements, (3) installing enabling communication hardware (professionally installed for free through MTEP), and (4) expressing your responsiveness choices for each responsive energy device through MTEP's mobile app.

Can I enroll multiple buildings?

Yes, you can enroll multiple buildings.

Is there a cost to enroll?

No, there is no cost to enroll in MTEP. Any enabling communications and other equipment will be provided and installed at no cost. Note however, that MTEP is generally unable to fund the installation of the responsive energy devices themselves.

Can participants withdraw from MTEP if they change their mind?

Yes, participants can withdraw from MTEP at any time and without penalty (although withdraw will forgo future incentive payments). To withdraw, please email MTEP at mtep@postroadfoundation.org.

Can I add more responsive energy devices after I've enrolled?

Yes, you can register additional responsive energy devices at any time. Contact us at mtep@postroadfoundation.org.

Do I need to be home for the equipment installation?

Yes, someone 18 years or older needs to be present during the installation process. MTEP installers will coordinate with you for a convenient time.

Do I need special equipment to participate?

You'll need at least one responsive energy device (heat pump or air conditioner, water heater, battery or electric vehicle/EV charger) that is compatible with MTEP. We are continually expanding the makes and models of devices that are compatible. Please reach out to learn more.

You will also need enabling communications equipment, such as a smart thermostat, an MTEP "gateway", and a submeter on your heat pump or air conditioner. MTEP will provide this enabling equipment at no cost.

Who installs the equipment?

MTEP works with trusted local companies to install the enabling communications equipment.

What does it mean for the grid to be stressed?

The grid can be stressed for many reasons. Most commonly, during the summer, the New England grid is stressed during hot and humid afternoons in Boston when electricity consumption is very high for air conditioning. These heat-wave related grid stress events happen about 10 to 20 times each summer. MTEP will also simulate grid stress events through a variety of scenario tests. These scenario tests will enable MTEP to evaluate how well MTEP's technology will perform in the future during all seasons. (The Maine grid is not yet stressed in the winter, but is expected to be so as heating is increasingly electrified). The scenario tests will also enable MTEP to evaluate performance in the summer in the event that 2026 and 2027 summers are cooler than normal.

What happens when the grid is stressed and will I notice it?

MTEP supports the grid when it is stressed by lowering overall consumption among participating devices and encouraging discharge to the grid by participating batteries. What this means for your responsive energy devices depends on the type of device and your responsiveness choice. For some device types, you may notice the change. For others, you will not. Here are some examples of how devices will respond to grid stress during a heat wave and how you may experience this response:

If you choose high responsiveness, during a few hours in the afternoons of a heat wave, your heat pump thermostat may increase the set point temperature by 3 to 5 degrees so that it draws less power when the grid is stressed. This increase in set point likely means that the interior temperature of your building will rise. If you choose low responsiveness, your heat pump thermostat may only increase 1 or 2 degrees, if it adjusts at all. You will earn incentives during these adjustments. Note that you can always change your responsiveness choice or pause participation and restore your preferred thermostat set point during an event.

If you choose high responsiveness, during a few hours in the afternoons of a heat wave, your battery will discharge, maybe down to 20%. If you choose low responsiveness, your battery will discharge down to 80%, if at all. Once the grid stress has passed, the batteries will fully charge. You are unlikely to notice this discharge, except in the very unlikley event that there is a grid outage immediately after the grid stress event. (Most grid outages in Maine occur during storms, not heat waves). You will earn incentives for this discharge. You can also always pause participation and start re-charging the battery during an event if you are worried about an impending storm or other grid outage.

If you choose high responsiveness, during a few hours in the afternoons of a heat wave, your heat pump water heater may heat water at a slower rate, or stop heating water until the grid stress has passed. This doesn't mean that you will not have any hot water, but it does mean that you may only have the hot water in your tank at the time the grid stress event starts. There is a small risk that if you used all the hot water in your tank during the grid stress event, you may run out of hot water. If you choose low responsiveness, your heat pump water heater may heat water at a slower rate, or it may not change at all. You will earn incentives for this change in water heating rate. You can monitor the amount of hot water in your hot water tank using the MTEP app. You can also always pause participation and restore the water heater to its default charging rate.

If you choose high responsiveness, during a few hours in the afternoons of a heat wave, your electric vehicle may charge at a slower rate, or stop charging until the grid stress has passed. This doesn't mean that you will not have power in your EV, just that the amount of energy stored in your EV will not increase during a grid stress event as quickly as you otherwise would expect. If you choose low responsiveness, your EV charging may slow a little, or it may not change at all. You will earn incentives for this change in EV charging rate. You can monitor how much energy is in your EV using the MTEP mobile app. At any time, you can also always pause participation and restore the EV to its default charging rate.

In the future, your EV may also be able to discharge to the grid, although that is not expected in the first year of MTEP.

Can I pause participation when the grid is stressed?

Yes. At any time you can use the MTEP App to pause participation of all of your responsive energy devices or only a specific one. You can pause participation for up to 72 hrs at a time. You can pause an unlimited number of times. Note that while a device's participation is paused, you will not earn any performance incentives for that device.

Will I be notified when the grid is stressed?

Yes. The MTEP App gives you real time insight into grid conditions, including when the grid is stressed and MTEP is asking devices to respond. In addition, for demand response events called by Efficiency Maine Trust, you'll receive an e-mail notification.

How often should I expect grid stress events to occur?

In the summer, most events will correspond with hot and humid afternoons in Boston. This typically happens 10 to 20 times per summer. In addition, MTEP will perform a series of scenario tests that will simulate grid stress events. We expect that these scenario tests will occur about 10 times per year, depending on whether the 2026 and 2027 summers are hotter or cooler than normal.

Is MTEP a commercial endeavor?

No, MTEP is a pilot project of the Post Road Foundation that is evaluating, from financial, policy, grid and participant perspectives how well MTEP's technology can benefit Maine. Two aspects of MTEP distinguish it from a commercial endeavor. First, MTEP will ask participants to complete three surveys -- one at the start, one at the end of year one, and the final at the end of year two. Second, MTEP will simulate grid stress events. In the spring, fall and winter, these scenario tests don't provide much immediate value to the grid, but will assess how well MTEP's technology could provide value in the future when Maine's grid may be stressed in the winter and when wind and solar power becomes increasingly wasted in the spring and fall. In the summer, these scenario tests will substitute for actual grid stress events in the event that the 2026 and 2027 summers are cooler than normal.

Will appliances other than my enrolled responsive energy devices be affected when the grid is stressed?

No, MTEP only communicates with enrolled devices. Other appliances will behave as they normally do.

What happens if my internet connection goes down?

If your internet connection is disrupted, your responsive energy devices will continue to operate but they will not communicate with MTEP's technology. Once the internet connection is restored, your responsive energy devices will automatically reconnect to MTEP.

Can I monitor my energy use?

Yes, one of the key features of MTEP's mobile app is that it allows you to monitor, in real time, the energy use of responsive energy devices enrolled in MTEP. The mobile app also provides real time insight into key features of some responsive energy devices, such as how much hot water is in a water heater and how much energy is stored in a home storage battery.

How is my data protected?

All data transmission is encrypted using industry-standard protocols. Personal information is stored securely and used only for program operations. For more details, please see MTEP's privacy policy.

What incentives are offered to participate in MTEP?

MTEP offers incentives to compensate for your time and inconvenience and to reflect the value that your Responsive Energy Devices provide to the grid.

The incentives have four components:

• $200 one-time thank you gift for joining the study, setting up your Responsive Energy Devices, answering initial survey questions, and participating in an optional group discussion.
• $100 per year for participating.
• $25 per annual completed survey and attendance at optional annual group discussions.
• A performance incentive that varies based on the type and size of responsive energy device, the participant's responsiveness choice, and grid conditions. As an example, this variable amount is expected to range between $0 and about $1,000 per year for a 10kW/10kWh battery.

See the responsive energy device pages for detail

How often will I receive my incentive payment?

Performance and participation incentives will be paid monthly. The set-up incentive will be paid after all equipment is installed and you have completed the initial survey. Other incentives will be paid on an on-going basis.

How is the variable performance incentive calculated?

The variable incentive is calculated based on the responsiveness of your responsive energy device and the needs of the grid. For example, if the grid is not stressed you will earn minimal variable incentives, even if you choose to be very responsive. On the other hand, if the grid is very stressed, you may earn an incentive even if you chose to be less responsive.

How do I track my incentives?

You can track your incentives on MTEP's mobile app.

Do my incentives decrease if I pause participation?

Yes. Because the variable incentive component is based on the value that your participating devices provide to the grid, pausing participation will reduce your incentives.

Can I receive my incentives as an electric bill credit instead of a payment?

No, incentives are paid directly by Post Road Foundation, not through your utility.

Is there someone I can contact if I have questions?

Fill out our simple contact form or send us an e-mail at mtep@postroadfoundation.org and we will get back to you.