Pilot program offers a $5,000 incentive toward qualifying home battery systems that provide backup power while advancing New Jersey's grid modernization efforts

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PSE&G recently launched the GridSmart Battery Program, a pilot program that helps residential electric customers offset the cost of purchasing and installing qualifying home battery energy storage systems. The program provides a $5,000 incentive toward the purchase and installation of a qualifying home battery system, along with the option for up to $25,000 in interest-free, on-bill repayment for remaining installation costs.

In addition to providing backup power during an outage, participating battery systems may be called upon during scheduled GridSmart Battery Events. These planned events are intended to reduce stress on the electric grid during periods of peak demand by temporarily using the battery to power the customer's home, reducing the amount of electricity it draws from the grid. Customers will be notified in advance of scheduled events.

Through the pilot, PSE&G will evaluate the customer and grid benefits of residential battery storage, including electric system reliability, peak demand reduction, operational insight and customer resiliency.

Supporting New Jersey's battery storage and grid modernization efforts

The program is part of PSE&G's residential Virtual Power Plant (VPP) pilot. A VPP is not a physical power plant, but an aggregation of distributed energy resources that are operated in a coordinated manner to provide grid reliability and flexibility. Benefits to the larger energy system include potentially deferring or avoiding transmission or distribution upgrades or reducing the need for more power at peak times, providing measurable savings to customers.

The GridSmart Battery Program aligns with New Jersey's broader efforts to expand battery storage and modernize the electric grid. In July, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) launched a stakeholder process to develop a statewide VPP framework. PSE&G's pilot will help evaluate how customer-owned battery storage can support the next generation of VPP programs in New Jersey.

"Home battery storage is a great way to make homes more resilient," said Lauren Thomas, Vice President, Clean Energy Solutions – Customer Solutions. "Through the GridSmart Battery Program, we're giving customers another way to invest in their homes by adding reliable backup power while helping us better understand how residential battery storage can support a more reliable electric grid. It's an important step in helping shape the future of energy in New Jersey."

Residential electric customers interested in learning more about the GridSmart Battery Program, including program requirements and qualifying battery systems, can visit https://pseg.com/GridSmart.

PSE&G
Public Service Electric & Gas Co. is New Jersey's oldest and largest gas and electric delivery public utility, as well as one of the nation's largest utilities. PSE&G has won the ReliabilityOne^® Award for superior electric system reliability in the Mid-Atlantic region for 24 consecutive years. In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, J.D. Power named PSE&G number one in customer satisfaction for residential electric service in the East among large utilities. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a predominantly regulated infrastructure company named to the North America Dow Jones Best in Class Index for 18 consecutive years (www.pseg.com).

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SOURCE Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G)