Tesla's Powerwall home lithium-ion battery storage systems form the core of a new program launched by National Grid in Massachusetts and Rhode Island last week.

Known as ConnectedSolutions, home and business owners can connect their Powerwall systems to National Grid's grid and dispatch and sell energy to the utility so as to help the utility meet peak period demand, according to a news report.

The news comes in the wake of a similar landmark, but larger, front-of-the-meter initiative on the part of Sunrun, which is working with National Grid along the same lines. Earlier this year, Sunrun was awarded a precedent-setting contract to aggregate and manage the energy in home solar-storage systems to participate in ISO-New England's capacity market. More recently, Sunrun has proposed linking solar rooftops in Los Angeles to replace a natural gas power plant that's scheduled for mothballing.

“I like the idea of being part of the clean energy future,” the news report quoted Mike Gingerich, a Powerwall owner in Amesbury, Massachusetts. “Our house will be part of the smart grid. It should help us pay for our system, reduce electric costs, and reduce pollution. What’s not to like?”