SMART 3.0 is no longer a draft tariff sitting in a hearing notice. On May 19, 2026 the Department of Public Utilities approved the revised SMART 3.0 model tariff in D.P.U. 25-175 and told the electric companies to file company-specific versions. On July 8, 2026 the Department approved those company-specific tariffs. The Department of Energy Resources says that approval is the gate for Final Statements of Qualification.
The live summary is on Mass.gov’s SMART 3.0 program details page. If your proposal still talks about SMART 2.0 as if 3.0 were theoretical, the July 8 order already passed you.
What July 8 changed for a contractor
A Statement of Qualification is a DOER document. It is not National Grid’s interconnect email and it is not a building permit. Under prior SMART practice you reserved capacity, built, got permission to operate, then filed the final incentive claim. SMART 3.0 keeps that two-agency shape: CLEAResult / SPA for the incentive, the EDC for the interconnection application. The July 8 approval is what lets DOER issue Final SQs under the 3.0 tariff instead of parking projects on a “tariff pending” excuse.
DOER also filed emergency regulations for 225 CMR 28.00 on June 26, 2026. The agency describes clerical fixes, eligibility clarifications, and a narrow carveout for late-stage projects that will use already-upgraded infrastructure and are positioned for the federal Investment Tax Credit before that credit phases out. If you think your job is in that carveout, read the regulation. Do not take a salesperson’s summary of “emergency SMART” as a qualification. The Mass.gov page still notes that 25-175 was a live tariff proceeding while those company-specific filings were under review. After July 8, the operational question is whether your project has a Final SQ path, not whether the model tariff exists.
Interconnection still has its own tariff
National Grid’s SMART materials have said this for years: apply for the incentive with the Solar Program Administrator, apply for interconnection in the utility portal, and do not energize until the company grants permission to operate. Then file the final incentive claim. The utility is notified when that claim is approved. Incentive checks are a billing-cycle problem after that, not a design problem.
M.D.P.U. 1632 (May 1, 2026) is the current National Grid interconnection tariff set. Eversource and Unitil have their own stamped tariffs from the April 27, 2026 approvals. A SMART 3.0 Final SQ does not rewrite those exhibits. If the interconnection application says one inverter and the SMART application says another, you will get a deficiency on one of the two desks. Freeze SKUs.
Production metering is still a SMART drawing problem. The one-line has to show the revenue meter and the production meter the program wants. A clean Simplified interconnection sketch that omits the production meter is not a clean SMART packet. If storage is on the job, say so on both applications. A battery added after the Final SQ path starts is how you earn a new review, not a faster check.
PTO before the final claim
Permission to operate is the EDC’s written authorization. PTO, PPO, and permit to operate mean that document. Do not file a final SMART claim on a passed town inspection alone. Do not tell a homeowner they are “in SMART” because a reservation exists. Final SQ is the DOER close. PTO is the utility close. The town card is the AHJ close. Three stamps, three offices.
If the installed array does not match the reserved equipment list, fix the drawings first. As-builts belong in both the utility closeout and the incentive claim. A module swap that seemed harmless in the field is how final claims stall in September.
What to change in MA packets now
- Label every live Massachusetts job SMART 2.0, SMART 3.0, or incentive-none. Do not mix claim checklists.
- Confirm the company-specific 3.0 tariff that applies to the account’s EDC before you quote an incentive rate.
- Keep the interconnection application, the town permit set, and the SMART application on one equipment list.
- If D.P.U. 26-57’s Common System Modification Fee lands on Simplified jobs this fall, that fee is an interconnection line, not a SMART adder.
- Read the June 26 emergency-regulation carveout before you promise ITC-driven special treatment.
AHJ context: Massachusetts permit guide, MA interconnection checklist, Boston, Worcester. Use permit design and interconnection against the same model. PE stamps when the set needs a Massachusetts PE. NABCEP does not issue a Final SQ and does not sign the drawing.
Athol is treating July 8 as the start of 3.0 Final SQ traffic, not as a reason to reopen every 2.0 reservation. If a job’s paperwork still says 2.0, we will not relabel it for convenience. Statewide: Massachusetts solar design services. More on the blog.
Sources: Mass.gov SMART 3.0 program details, D.P.U. 25-175 (model tariff approved May 19, 2026; company-specific tariffs approved July 8, 2026).