A Nor'easter Is Coming — Here's How to Keep the Power On Without Buying a Battery
There's a nor'easter bearing down on the Connecticut Shoreline this weekend, with forecasts calling for 40–50 mph winds and coastal flooding. If that sentence makes your stomach drop a little, you're not alone — anyone who's lived here through a few storms knows exactly what comes next: trees down, lines snapping, and thousands of homes in the dark, sometimes for days.
It doesn't have to be that way for your house.
The storm risk is real — and it's getting worse
This isn't a one-off. Back in July, a single storm knocked out power to more than 95,000 Eversource customers in our area alone. Our grid runs on above-ground lines through a lot of tree cover, which means every major storm — nor'easter, summer thunderstorm, ice storm — carries the same risk: hours or days without power, spoiled food, no heat, no water if you're on a well.
Most people respond to that risk by shopping for a generator. But there's a better option, and it doesn't come with the price tag people assume.
Whole-home battery backup — without the upfront cost
Through our program with SOLRITE, you can add a whole-house battery to your solar system at no upfront cost. No $15,000 check. No battery loan. No separate monthly payment for the hardware.
Instead, you simply pay a locked-in electricity rate — $0.19 per kWh — for the power you use. That's it. Your battery works quietly in the background, charging from your solar panels and supporting the grid during high-demand periods, and that value gets built directly into your low, fixed rate instead of showing up as a bill.
What that means when the lights go out
When a storm like this weekend's knocks the grid down, your battery takes over automatically — no starting it up, no running to check the fuel level, no exhaust fumes, no generator noise competing with the wind outside. It just keeps your fridge, your heat, your lights, and your well pump running until the grid comes back.
Why now
Storms like this one are exactly the reminder that backup power isn't a luxury — it's peace of mind. And with rates already climbing across the region, locking in a fixed $0.19/kWh rate does double duty: it protects your budget every single month, and it happens to come with a battery that protects your home every time a storm like this rolls through.
The bottom line
You don't have to choose between an expensive battery and going dark during the next storm. With this program, real backup power comes standard with a rate you'd want anyway — no sticker shock required.