Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 164, § 146

(a) Electric distribution companies shall file an annual electric distribution system resiliency report with the department, which shall include heat maps that:  (i) show the electric load on the electric distribution system, including electric loads during peak electricity demand time periods;  (ii) highlight the most congested or constrained areas of the electric distribution system;  and (iii) identify areas of the electric distribution system most vulnerable to outages due to high electricity demand, lack of local electric generating resources and extreme weather events.

(b) Electric distribution companies may hold a competitive solicitation for electric distribution system resiliency non-wires alternatives from third party developers.  The non-wires alternatives solicitations shall:  (i) provide non-wires alternatives solutions to areas of the electrical grid that require transmission or distribution updates due to aging infrastructure, increased load or other resiliency issues identified in the resiliency report;  (ii) benefit a stressed or congested area of the electrical grid;  (iii) benefit the electrical grid in areas that are prone to severe weather damage;  or (iv) reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

(c) When determining a winning bid to the competitive solicitation for resiliency non-wires alternatives, the electric distribution companies shall consider monetary and non-monetary factors including, but not limited to:  (i) resiliency improvements;  (ii) reducing greenhouse gas emissions;  (iii) reducing peak demand;  (iv) reducing congestion in stressed areas of the grid;  and (v) benefits to low-income areas.