By Zachary Vasile When the Hartford Business Journal asked Connecticut manufacturers, regulators and researchers about the viability of large-scale energy storage devices, or batteries, in 2017, they agreed that while the technology would one day be useful or even transformative, numerous obstacles, including cost, were making widespread adoption impractical. Four years later, however, the view among industry insiders is much different, with many noting that batteries are, and have been, “ready for prime time,” in the words of Melissa P. Gillett, chairperson of the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Image Melissa P. Gillett PURA last year issued a straw proposal laying out what regulators would hope to achieve through the adoption of energy storage systems, including hardening the grid against disasters like Tropical Storm Isaias, which left around 800,000 customers without power, some for more than a week.