(a) On or before January 1, 2022, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall initiate a proceeding to develop and implement one or more programs, and associated funding mechanisms, for electric energy storage resources connected to the electric distribution system. The authority shall establish (1) one or more programs for the residential class of electric customers, (2) one or more programs for commercial and industrial classes of electric customers, and (3) a program for energy storage systems connected to the distribution system in front of the meter and not located at a customer premises. The authority shall solicit input from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Green Bank, the electric distribution companies and the Office of Consumer Counsel in developing such programs.

(b) On or before January 1, 2022, the authority shall report the status of the proceeding described in subsection (a) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of § 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy.

(c) In undertaking the proceeding described in subsection (a) of this section, the authority shall consider one or more programs and rate designs to incentivize the deployment of electric energy storage technologies connected to the electric distribution system that most effectively leverage the value of such technologies to achieve objectives including, but not limited to, (1) providing positive net present value to all ratepayers, or a subset of ratepayers paying for the benefits that accrue to that subset of ratepayers; (2) providing multiple types of benefits to the electric grid, including, but not limited to, customer, local, or community resilience, ancillary services, leveling out peaks in electricity use or that support the deployment of other distributed energy resources; (3) fostering the sustained, orderly development of a state-based electric energy storage industry; and (4) maximizing the value from the participation of energy storage systems in capacity markets. The authority shall include consideration of all energy storage configurations that are connected to the distribution system, including systems connected in front of the meter and not located at a customer premises. The authority shall also consider programs and rate designs to incentivize uses of electric energy storage technologies connected to the electric distribution system that avoid or defer investment in traditional electric distribution system capacity upgrades.

(d) The authority may select the Connecticut Green Bank, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the electric distribution companies, a third party it deems appropriate or any combination thereof, to implement one or more programs for electric energy storage resources connected to the electric distribution system, as directed by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.