That's a great example of why this is a bad idea. District heating is a lot more efficient than using individual heat sources. Especially so when the heat being used is heat that would otherwise go to waste (e.g. waste heat from industrial processes).
I think we can have both? I don't think anyone is advocating for one giant battery. In my ideal imaginary world, there are medium sized battery parks near every transformer station. In that same fantasy, the foundations of wind turbines are also batteries, so I shouldn't pretend that this is hard science.
