Eversource Energy 10-K 2021-12-31

			UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
			FORM			10-K
☒			ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
			For the fiscal year ended			December 31, 2021
			or
☐			TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
			For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Registrant; State of Incorporation; Address; Telephone Number;

Commission File Number; and I.R.S. Employer Identification No.

EVERSOURCE ENERGY

(a Massachusetts voluntary association)

300 Cadwell Drive, Springfield, Massachusetts 01104

Telephone: (800) 286-5000

Commission File Number: 001-05324

I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 04-2147929

THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY

(a Connecticut corporation)

107 Selden Street, Berlin, Connecticut 06037-1616

Telephone: (800) 286-5000

Commission File Number: 000-00404

I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 06-0303850

NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY

(a Massachusetts corporation)

800 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02199

Telephone: (800) 286-5000

Commission File Number: 001-02301

I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 04-1278810

PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

(a New Hampshire corporation)

Energy Park

780 North Commercial Street, Manchester, New Hampshire 03101-1134

Telephone: (800) 286-5000

Commission File Number: 001-06392

I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 02-0181050

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are well-known seasoned issuers, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants (1) have filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to file such reports), and (2) have been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants have submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to submit such files).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are shell companies (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):

The aggregate market value of Eversource Energy's Common Shares, $5.00 par value, held by non-affiliates, computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of Eversource Energy's most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 30, 2021) was $27,528,070,961 based on a closing market price of $80.24 per share for the 343,071,672 common shares outstanding held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2021.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:

Eversource Energy holds all of the 6,035,205 shares, 200 shares, and 301 shares of the outstanding common stock of The Connecticut Light and Power Company, NSTAR Electric Company and Public Service Company of New Hampshire, respectively.

NSTAR Electric Company and Public Service Company of New Hampshire each meet the conditions set forth in General Instruction I(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K, and each is therefore filing this Form 10-K with the reduced disclosure format specified in General Instruction I(2) of Form 10‑K.

Eversource Energy, The Connecticut Light and Power Company, NSTAR Electric Company and Public Service Company of New Hampshire each separately file this combined Form 10-K. Information contained herein relating to any individual registrant is filed by such registrant on its own behalf. Each registrant makes no representation as to information relating to the other registrants.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the Eversource Energy and Subsidiaries 2020 combined Annual Report on Form 10-K and portions of the Proxy Statement relating to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 4, 2022, are incorporated by reference into Parts II and III of this Report.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The following is a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms that are found in this report:

i

ii

EVERSOURCE ENERGY AND SUBSIDIARIES

THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY

NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARY

PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SUBSIDIARIES

2021 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EVERSOURCE ENERGY AND SUBSIDIARIES

THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY

NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARY

PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SUBSIDIARIES

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES

LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to "Eversource," the "Company," "we," "our," and "us" refer to Eversource Energy and its consolidated subsidiaries. CL&P, NSTAR Electric, and PSNH are each doing business as Eversource Energy.

We make statements concerning our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, assumptions of future events, future financial performance or growth and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can generally identify our forward-looking statements through the use of words or phrases such as "estimate," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "project," "believe," "forecast," "should," "could," and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations, estimates, assumptions or projections of management and are not guarantees of future performance. These expectations, estimates, assumptions or projections may vary materially from actual results. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are accompanied by, the following important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to:

• cyberattacks or breaches, including those resulting in the compromise of the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers,

• disruptions in the capital markets or other events that make our access to necessary capital more difficult or costly,

• the negative impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including any new or emerging variants, on our customers, vendors, employees, regulators, and operations,

• changes in economic conditions, including impact on interest rates, tax policies, and customer demand and payment ability,

• ability or inability to commence and complete our major strategic development projects and opportunities,

• acts of war or terrorism, physical attacks or grid disturbances that may damage and disrupt our electric transmission and electric, natural gas, and water distribution systems,

• actions or inaction of local, state and federal regulatory, public policy and taxing bodies,

• substandard performance of third-party suppliers and service providers,

• fluctuations in weather patterns, including extreme weather due to climate change,

• changes in business conditions, which could include disruptive technology or development of alternative energy sources related to our current or future business model,

• contamination of, or disruption in, our water supplies,

• changes in levels or timing of capital expenditures,

• changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policy, including compliance with environmental laws and regulations,

• changes in accounting standards and financial reporting regulations,

• actions of rating agencies, and

• other presently unknown or unforeseen factors.

Other risk factors are detailed in our reports filed with the SEC and updated as necessary, and we encourage you to consult such disclosures.

All such factors are difficult to predict and contain uncertainties that may materially affect our actual results, many of which are beyond our control. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, as each speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all of such factors, nor can we assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For more information, see Item 1A*, Risk Factors,* included in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also describes material contingencies and critical accounting policies in the accompanying Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Combined Notes to Financial Statements. We encourage you to review these items.

EVERSOURCE ENERGY AND SUBSIDIARIES

THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY

NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARY

PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SUBSIDIARIES

PART I

Please refer to the Glossary of Terms for definitions of defined terms and abbreviations used in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Eversource Energy, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut, is a public utility holding company subject to regulation by the FERC under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. We are engaged primarily in the energy delivery business through the following wholly-owned utility subsidiaries:

• The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), a regulated electric utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of Connecticut;

• NSTAR Electric Company (NSTAR Electric), a regulated electric utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of eastern and western Massachusetts and owns solar power facilities;

• Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH), a regulated electric utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of New Hampshire;

• NSTAR Gas Company (NSTAR Gas), a regulated natural gas utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of Massachusetts;

• Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts (EGMA), a regulated natural gas utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of Massachusetts;

• Yankee Gas Services Company (Yankee Gas), a regulated natural gas utility that serves residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of Connecticut; and

• Aquarion Company (Aquarion), a utility holding company that owns four separate regulated water utility subsidiaries and collectively serves residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal and fire protection customers in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH also serve New England customers through Eversource Energy's electric transmission business. Along with NSTAR Gas, EGMA and Yankee Gas, each is doing business as Eversource Energy in its respective service territory.

On October 9, 2020, Eversource acquired certain assets and liabilities that comprised NiSource Inc.’s natural gas distribution business in Massachusetts, which was previously doing business as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (CMA). The natural gas distribution assets acquired from CMA were assigned to EGMA, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Eversource formed in 2020. The LNG assets acquired from CMA were assigned to Hopkinton LNG Corp, also a subsidiary of Eversource.

Eversource Energy, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH each report their financial results separately. We also include information in this report on a segment basis for Eversource Energy. Eversource Energy has four reportable segments: electric distribution, electric transmission, natural gas distribution and water distribution. These segments represent substantially all of Eversource Energy's total consolidated revenues. CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH do not report separate business segments.

Eversource Energy also has an offshore wind business, which includes a 50 percent ownership interest in offshore wind projects that are being developed and constructed through a joint and equal partnership with Ørsted.

ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION SEGMENT

Eversource Energy's electric distribution segment consists of the distribution businesses of CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH, which are engaged in the distribution of electricity to retail customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, respectively, and the solar power facilities of NSTAR Electric.

ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION – CONNECTICUT – THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY

CL&P's distribution business consists primarily of the purchase, delivery and sale of electricity to its residential, commercial and industrial customers. As of December 31, 2021, CL&P furnished retail franchise electric service to approximately 1.27 million customers in 149 cities and towns in Connecticut, covering an area of approximately 4,400 square miles. CL&P does not own any electric generation facilities.

Rates

CL&P is subject to regulation by the PURA, which, among other things, has jurisdiction over rates, certain dispositions of property and plant, mergers and consolidations, issuances of long-term securities, standards of service and construction and operation of facilities. CL&P's present general rate structure consists of various rate and service classifications covering residential, commercial and industrial services. CL&P's retail rates include a delivery service component, which includes distribution, transmission, conservation, renewable energy programs and other charges that are assessed on all customers.

Under Connecticut law, all of CL&P's customers are entitled to choose their energy suppliers, while CL&P remains their electric distribution company. For those customers who do not choose a competitive energy supplier, under SS rates for customers with less than 500 kilowatts of demand (residential customers and small and medium commercial and industrial customers), and LRS rates for customers with 500 kilowatts or more of demand (larger commercial and industrial customers), CL&P purchases power under standard offer contracts and passes the cost of the purchased power to customers through a combined supply charge on customers' bills.

The rates established by the PURA for CL&P are comprised of the following:

• An electric generation service charge, which recovers energy-related costs incurred as a result of providing electric generation service supply to all customers that have not migrated to competitive energy suppliers. The generation service charge is adjusted periodically and reconciled annually in accordance with the policies and procedures of the PURA, with any differences refunded to, or recovered from, customers.

• A distribution charge, which includes a fixed customer charge and a demand and/or energy charge to collect the costs of building and expanding the infrastructure to deliver electricity to customers, as well as ongoing operating costs to maintain the infrastructure.

• A revenue decoupling adjustment that reconciles annual base distribution rate recovery amounts recovered from customers to the pre-established level of baseline distribution delivery service revenue requirement approved by the PURA.

• An Electric System Improvements (ESI) charge, which collects the costs of building and expanding the infrastructure to deliver electricity to customers above the level recovered through the distribution charge. The ESI also recovers costs associated with CL&P’s system resiliency program. The ESI is adjusted periodically and reconciled annually in accordance with the policies and procedures of the PURA, with any differences refunded to, or recovered from, customers.

• An FMCC, which recovers any costs imposed by the FERC as part of the New England Standard Market Design, including locational marginal pricing, locational installed capacity payments, any costs approved by the PURA to reduce these charges, as well as other costs approved by the PURA. The FMCC has both a bypassable component and a non-bypassable component, and is adjusted periodically and reconciled annually in accordance with the policies and procedures of the PURA, with any differences refunded to, or recovered from, customers.

• A transmission charge that recovers the cost of transporting electricity over high-voltage lines from generating plants to substations, including costs allocated by ISO-NE to maintain the wholesale electric market. The transmission charge is adjusted periodically and reconciled annually to actual costs incurred, and reviewed by the PURA, with any difference refunded to, or recovered from, customers.

• A Competitive Transition Assessment (CTA) charge, assessed to recover stranded costs associated with electric industry restructuring such as various IPP contracts. The CTA is reconciled annually to actual costs incurred and reviewed by

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In addition to the matters set forth under "Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995" included immediately prior to Item 1, Business, above, we are subject to a variety of material risks. Our susceptibility to certain risks, including those discussed in detail below, could exacerbate other risks. These risk factors should be considered carefully in evaluating our risk profile. There may be additional risks and uncertainties (either currently unknown or not currently believed to be material) that could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Risks:

Cyberattacks, including acts of war or terrorism, targeted directly on or indirectly affecting our systems or the systems of third parties on which we rely, could severely impair operations, negatively impact our business, lead to the disclosure of confidential information and adversely affect our reputation.

Cyberattacks that seek to exploit potential vulnerabilities in the utility industry and seek to disrupt electric, natural gas and water transmission and distribution systems are increasing in sophistication, magnitude and frequency. A successful cyberattack on the information technology systems that control our transmission, distribution, natural gas and water systems or other assets could impair or prevent us from managing these systems and facilities, operating our systems effectively, or properly managing our data, networks and programs. The breach of certain information technology systems could adversely affect our ability to correctly record, process and report financial information. A major cyber incident could result in significant expenses to investigate and to repair system damage or security breaches and could lead to litigation, fines, other remedial action, heightened regulatory scrutiny and damage to our reputation.

We have instituted safeguards to protect our information technology systems and assets. We deploy substantial technologies to system and application security, encryption and other measures to protect our computer systems and infrastructure from unauthorized access or misuse. Specifically, regarding vulnerabilities, we patch systems where patches are available to deploy, and have technologies that detect exploits of vulnerabilities and proactively block the exploit when it happens. Although we did not experience any material impacts from the SolarWinds event in 2020 or the Log4j security vulnerability that was widely publicized in December 2021, there can be no assurance that we will not experience future events that may be material. We also interface with numerous external entities to improve our cybersecurity situational awareness. The FERC, through the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), requires certain safeguards to be implemented to deter cyberattacks. These safeguards may not always be effective due to the evolving nature of cyberattacks. We maintain cyber insurance to cover damages and defense costs related to breaches of networks or operational technology, but it may be insufficient in limits and coverage exclusions to cover all losses.

Any such cyberattacks could result in loss of service to customers and a significant decrease in revenues, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

The unauthorized access to, and the misappropriation of, confidential and proprietary customer, employee, financial or system operating information could adversely affect our business operations and adversely impact our reputation.

In the regular course of business, we, and our third-party suppliers, rely on information technology to maintain sensitive customer, employee, financial and system operating information. We are required by various federal and state laws to safeguard this information. Cyber intrusions, security breaches, theft or loss of this information by cybercrime or otherwise could lead to the release of critical operating information or confidential customer or employee information, which could adversely affect our business operations or adversely impact our reputation, and could result in significant costs, fines and litigation. We employ system controls to prevent the dissemination of certain confidential information and periodically train employees on phishing risks. We maintain cyber insurance to cover damages and defense costs arising from unauthorized disclosure of, or failure to protect, private information, as well as costs for notification to, or for credit monitoring of, customers, employees and other persons in the event of a breach of private information. This insurance covers amounts paid to avert, prevent or stop a network attack or the disclosure of personal information, and costs of a qualified forensics firm to determine the cause, source and extent of a network attack or to investigate, examine and analyze our network to find the cause, source and extent of a data breach, but it may be insufficient to cover all losses. While we have implemented measures designed to prevent network attacks and mitigate their effects should they occur, these measures may not be effective due to the continually evolving nature of efforts to access confidential information.

Business and Operational Risks:

Strategic development opportunities associated with offshore wind or investment opportunities in electric transmission or clean-energy opportunities may not be successful, and projects may not commence operation as scheduled or within budget, or be completed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects.

We are pursuing broader strategic development investment opportunities that will benefit the Northeast region related to the development, construction and operation of offshore wind electric generation facilities, and investment opportunities in electric transmission facilities and other clean-energy infrastructure. The states in which we provide service have implemented selection procedures for such new facilities that require the review of competing projects and permit the selection of only those projects that are expected to provide the greatest benefit to customers. Accordingly, our projects may not be selected for construction. The development and construction of projects selected for construction involves numerous significant risks including scheduling delays, increased costs, tax strategies and changes to federal tax laws, federal, state and local permitting and regulatory approval processes, specifically BOEM’s approval processes, new legislation impacting the industry, future legislative or regulatory actions that could result in these projects not being probable of entering the construction phase, economic events or factors,

environmental and community concerns, design and siting issues, difficulties in obtaining required rights of way, competition from incumbent utilities and other entities, actions of our strategic partners, and capacity factors once projects are placed in operation. Our offshore wind partnership’s ability to generate returns from its offshore wind projects will depend on meeting construction schedules, controlling cost overruns, maintaining continuing interconnection arrangements, power purchase agreements, or other market mechanisms as well as interconnecting utility and Regional Transmission Organizations rules, policies, procedures and FERC tariffs that permit future offshore wind project operations. Additionally, scheduling delays in offshore wind projects, any changes to tax laws impacting Eversource’s ability to monetize tax attributes associated with these projects, or the cancellation of any projects, as well as the other risk factors described above, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows, or our future growth opportunities may not be realized as anticipated.

We rely on third-party suppliers for equipment, materials, and services and we outsource certain business functions to third-party suppliers and service providers, and substandard performance or inability to fulfill obligations by those third parties could harm our business, reputation and results of operations.

We outsource certain services to third parties in areas including information technology, transaction processing, human resources, payroll and payroll processing and certain operational areas. As a result of our acquisition of the Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (CMA) assets from NiSource on October 9, 2020, we have entered into a Transition Services Agreement with NiSource whereby NiSource is performing certain services on behalf of Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts in the areas of information technology, transaction processing, human resources, payroll and payroll processing and certain operational areas for periods ranging from 1 to 24 months from the acquisition date. Outsourcing of services to third parties could expose us to substandard quality of service delivery or substandard deliverables, which may result in missed deadlines or other timeliness issues, non-compliance (including with applicable legal requirements and industry standards) or reputational harm, which could negatively impact our results of operations. Our contractual arrangements with these contractors typically include performance standards, progress payments, insurance requirements and security for performance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and current state of the global economy as a whole, we may experience supply chain issues with obtaining key materials, equipment or services timely and at a reasonable price across all business lines. We also continue to pursue enhancements to standardize our systems and processes. If any difficulties in the global supply chain cycle or operation of these systems were to occur, they could adversely affect our results of operations, or adversely affect our ability to work with regulators, unions, customers or employees.

Our transmission and distribution systems may not operate as expected, and could require unplanned expenditures, which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to properly operate our transmission and distribution systems is critical to the financial performance of our business. Our transmission and distribution businesses face several operational risks, including the breakdown, failure of, or damage to operating equipment, information technology systems, or processes, especially due to age; labor disputes; disruptions in the delivery of electricity, natural gas and water; increased capital expenditure requirements, including those due to environmental regulation; catastrophic events such as fires, explosions, a solar event, an electromagnetic event, or other similar occurrences; extreme weather conditions beyond equipment and plant design capacity; human error; global supply chain disruptions; and potential claims for property damage or personal injuries beyond the scope of our insurance coverage. Many of our transmission projects are expected to alleviate identified reliability issues and reduce customers' costs. However, if the in-service date for one or more of these projects is delayed due to economic events or factors, or regulatory or other delays, the risk of failures in the electric transmission system may increase. We also implement new information technology systems from time to time, which may disrupt operations. Any failure of our transmission and distribution systems to operate as planned may result in increased capital costs, reduced earnings or unplanned increases in operation and maintenance costs. The inability to recover a significant amount of such costs could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

New technology and alternative energy sources could adversely affect our operations and financial results.

Advances in technology that reduce the costs of alternative methods of producing electric energy to a level that is competitive with that of current electric production methods, could result in loss of market share and customers, and may require us to make significant expenditures to remain competitive. These changes in technology, including micro-grids and advances in energy or battery storage, could also alter the channels through which electric customers buy or utilize energy, which could reduce our revenues or increase our expenses. Economic downturns or periods of high energy supply costs typically can lead to the development of legislative and regulatory policy designed to promote reductions in energy consumption and increased energy efficiency and self-generation by customers.

The loss of key personnel, the inability to hire and retain qualified employees, or the failure to maintain a positive relationship with our workforce could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

Our operations depend on the continued efforts of our employees. Retaining key employees and maintaining the ability to attract new employees are important to both our operational and financial performance. We cannot guarantee that any member of our management or any key employee at the Eversource parent or subsidiary level will continue to serve in any capacity for any particular period of time. In addition, a significant portion of our workforce in our subsidiaries, including many workers with specialized skills maintaining and servicing the electric, natural gas and water infrastructure, will be eligible to retire over the next five to ten years. Such highly skilled individuals cannot be quickly replaced due to the technically complex work they perform. We have developed strategic workforce plans to identify key functions and proactively implement plans to assure a ready and qualified workforce, but we cannot predict the impact of these plans on our ability to hire and retain key employees. Labor disputes, work stoppages or an inability to negotiate future collective bargaining agreements on commercially reasonable terms, as well as the increased competition for talent or the intentional misconduct of employees or contractors, may also have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

Risks Related to the Environment and Catastrophic Events:

The effects of climate change, including severe storms, could cause significant damage to any of our facilities requiring extensive expenditures, the recovery for which is subject to approval by regulators.

Climate change creates physical and financial risks to our operations. Physical risks from climate change may include an increase in sea levels and changes in weather conditions, such as changes in precipitation and extreme weather events. Customers’ energy needs vary with weather conditions, primarily temperature and humidity. For residential customers, heating and cooling represent their largest energy use. For water customers, conservation measures imposed by the communities we serve could impact water usage. To the extent weather conditions are affected by climate change, customers’ energy and water usage could increase or decrease depending on the duration and magnitude of the changes.

Severe weather, such as ice and snow storms, tornadoes, micro-bursts, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and other natural disasters, may cause outages and property damage, which may require us to incur additional costs that may not be recoverable from customers. The cost of repairing damage to our operating subsidiaries' facilities and the potential disruption of their operations due to storms, natural disasters or other catastrophic events could be substantial, particularly as regulators and customers demand better and quicker response times to outages. If, upon review, any of our state regulatory authorities finds that our actions were imprudent, some of those restoration costs may not be recoverable from customers, and could result in penalties or fines. The inability to recover a significant amount of such costs could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We maintain property insurance, but it may be insufficient in limits and coverage exclusions to cover all losses.

Contamination of our water supplies, the failure of dams on reservoirs providing water to our customers, or requirements to repair, upgrade or dismantle any of these dams, may disrupt our ability to distribute water to our customers and result in substantial additional costs, which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our water supplies, including water provided to our customers, are subject to possible contamination from naturally occurring compounds or man-made substances. Our water systems include impounding dams and reservoirs of various sizes. Although we believe our dams are structurally sound and well-maintained, significant damage to these facilities, or a significant decrease in the water in our reservoirs, could adversely affect our ability to provide water to our customers until the facilities and a sufficient amount of water in our reservoirs can be restored. A failure of a dam could result in personal injuries and downstream property damage for which we may be liable. The failure of a dam would also adversely affect our ability to supply water in sufficient quantities to our customers. Any losses or liabilities incurred due to a failure of one of our dams may not be recoverable in rates and may have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We maintain liability insurance, but it may be insufficient in limits and coverage exclusions to cover all losses.

Physical attacks, including acts of war or terrorism, both threatened and actual, could adversely affect our ability to operate our systems and could adversely affect our financial results and liquidity.

Physical attacks, including acts of war or terrorism, both threatened and actual, that damage our transmission and distribution systems or other assets could negatively impact our ability to transmit or distribute energy, water, natural gas, or operate our systems efficiently or at all. Because our electric transmission systems are part of an interconnected regional grid, we face the risk of widespread blackouts due to grid disturbances or disruptions on a neighboring interconnected system. Similarly, our natural gas distribution system is connected to transmission pipelines, not owned by Eversource. If there was an attack on the transmission pipelines, it could impact our ability to deliver natural gas. If our assets were physically damaged and were not recovered in a timely manner, it could result in a loss of service to customers, a significant decrease in revenues, significant expense to repair system damage, costs associated with governmental actions in response to such attacks, and liability claims, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We maintain property and liability insurance, but it may be insufficient in limits and coverage exclusions to cover all losses. In addition, physical attacks against third-party providers could have a similar effect on the operation of our systems.

Regulatory, Legislative and Compliance Risks:

The actions of regulators and legislators could result in outcomes that may adversely affect our earnings and liquidity.

The rates that our electric, natural gas and water companies charge their customers are determined by their state regulatory commissions and by the FERC. These commissions also regulate the companies' accounting, operations, the issuance of certain securities and certain other matters. The FERC also regulates the transmission of electric energy, the sale of electric energy at wholesale, accounting, issuance of certain securities and certain other matters, including reliability standards through the NERC.

Under state and federal law, our electric, natural gas and water companies are entitled to charge rates that are sufficient to allow them an opportunity to recover their prudently incurred operating and capital costs and a reasonable rate of return on invested capital, to attract needed capital and maintain their financial integrity, while also protecting relevant public interests. Our electric, natural gas and water companies are required to engage in regulatory approval proceedings as a part of the process of establishing the terms and rates for their respective services. Each of these companies prepares and submits periodic rate filings with their respective regulatory commissions for review and approval, which allows for various entities to challenge our current or future rates, structures or mechanisms and could alter or limit the rates we are allowed to charge our customers. These proceedings typically involve multiple parties, including governmental bodies and officials, consumer advocacy groups, and various consumers of energy, who have differing concerns. Any change in rates, including changes in allowed rate of return, are subject to regulatory approval proceedings that can be contentious, lengthy, and subject to appeal. This may lead to uncertainty as to the ultimate result of those proceedings. Established rates are also subject to subsequent prudency reviews by state regulators, whereby various portions of rates could

be adjusted, subject to refund or disallowed, including cost recovery mechanisms. The ultimate outcome and timing of regulatory rate proceedings could have a significant effect on our ability to recover costs or earn an adequate return. Adverse decisions in our proceedings could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

There can be no assurance that regulators will approve the recovery of all costs incurred by our electric, natural gas and water companies, including costs for construction, operation and maintenance, and storm restoration. The inability to recover a significant amount of operating costs could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. Changes to rates may occur at times different from when costs are incurred. Additionally, catastrophic events at other utilities could result in our regulators and legislators imposing additional requirements that may lead to additional costs for the companies. In addition to the risk of disallowance of incurred costs, regulators may also impose downward adjustments in a company’s allowed ROE as well as assess penalties and fines. These actions would have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

The FERC has jurisdiction over our transmission costs recovery and our allowed ROEs. Certain outside parties have filed four complaints against all electric companies under the jurisdiction of ISO-NE alleging that our allowed ROEs are unjust and unreasonable. An adverse decision in any of these four complaints could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

FERC's policy has encouraged competition for transmission projects, even within existing service territories of electric companies. Implementation of FERC's goals, including within our service territories, may expose us to competition for construction of transmission projects, additional regulatory considerations, and potential delay with respect to future transmission projects, which may adversely affect our results of operations and lower rate base growth.

Changes in tax laws, as well as the potential tax effects of business decisions could negatively impact our business, results of operations (including our expected project returns from our planned offshore wind facilities), financial condition and cash flows.

We are exposed to significant reputational risks, which make us vulnerable to increased regulatory oversight or other sanctions.

Because utility companies, including our electric, natural gas and water utility subsidiaries, have large customer bases, they are subject to adverse publicity focused on the reliability of their distribution services and the speed with which they are able to respond to electric outages, natural gas leaks and similar interruptions caused by storm damage or other unanticipated events, including those related to climate change. Adverse publicity of this nature could harm our reputation and the reputation of our subsidiaries; may make state legislatures, utility commissions and other regulatory authorities less likely to view us in a favorable light; and may cause us to be subject to less favorable legislative and regulatory outcomes, legal claims or increased regulatory oversight. Unfavorable regulatory outcomes can include more stringent laws and regulations governing our operations, such as reliability and customer service quality standards or vegetation management requirements, as well as fines, penalties or other sanctions or requirements.

Addressing any adverse publicity, regulatory scrutiny or enforcement or other legal proceedings is time consuming and expensive and, regardless of the factual basis for the assertions being made, can have a negative impact on the reputation of our business, on the morale and performance of our employees and on our relationships with respective regulators, customers and counterparties. The direct and indirect effects of negative publicity, and the demands of responding to and addressing it, may have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Costs of compliance with environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change, may increase and have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our subsidiaries' operations are subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental statutes, rules and regulations that govern, among other things, water quality, water discharges, the management of hazardous material and solid waste, and air emissions. Compliance with these requirements requires us to incur significant costs relating to environmental permitting, monitoring, maintenance and upgrading of facilities, and remediation.

The costs of compliance with existing legal requirements or legal requirements not yet adopted may increase in the future. Although we have recorded liabilities for known environmental obligations, these costs can be difficult to estimate due to uncertainties about the extent of contamination, remediation alternatives, the remediation levels required by state and federal agencies, and the financial ability of other potentially responsible parties. An increase in such costs, unless promptly recovered, could have an adverse impact on our business and our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

For further information, see Item 1, Business - Other Regulatory and Environmental Matters, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Pandemic Risks, including COVID-19 Related Risks:

As evidenced by the global pandemic of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), global pandemics result in widespread disruption to the overall economic market and outlook, which could cause various unfavorable impacts to our customers, vendors, employees, regulators, and operations and could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

The COVID-19 pandemic, including any new or emerging variants, continues to evolve, and the extent of the impact to us in the future will vary and depend in large part on the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic and the timing and extent of COVID-19 relief legislation, and the resulting impact on economic, health care and capital market conditions. The continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to an increased risk of cybersecurity attacks, interruptions in the global supply chain that impact us and our vendors, and the loss of key personnel, among other effects. The future impact will also depend on the outcome of future proceedings before our state regulatory commissions to recover our incremental costs associated with COVID-19, which include uncollectible customer receivable expenses, and our financial condition may be adversely affected depending on the outcome of those proceedings. As a result, we are currently unable to estimate the potential impact of COVID-19 to our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. See the accompanying Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for additional information.

Financial, Economic, and Market Risks:

Our goodwill is recorded at an amount that, if impaired and written down, could adversely affect our future operating results and total capitalization.

We have a significant amount of goodwill on our consolidated balance sheet, which, as of December 31, 2021, totaled $4.48 billion. The carrying value of goodwill represents the fair value of an acquired business in excess of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date. We test our goodwill balances for impairment on an annual basis or whenever events occur, or circumstances change that would indicate a potential for impairment. A determination that goodwill is deemed to be impaired would result in a non-cash charge that could materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and total capitalization.

Our counterparties may not meet their obligations to us or may elect to exercise their termination rights, which could adversely affect our earnings.

We are exposed to the risk that counterparties to various arrangements that owe us money, have contracted to supply us with energy or other commodities or services, or that work with us as strategic partners, including on significant capital projects, will not be able to perform their obligations, will terminate such arrangements or, with respect to our credit facilities, fail to honor their commitments. Should any of these counterparties fail to perform their obligations or terminate such arrangements, we might be forced to replace the underlying commitment at higher market prices and/or have to delay the completion of, or cancel, a capital project. Should any lenders under our credit facilities fail to perform, the level of borrowing capacity under those arrangements could decrease. In any such events, our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be adversely affected.

Limits on our access to, or increases in, the cost of capital may adversely impact our ability to execute our business plan.

We use short-term debt and the long-term capital markets as a significant source of liquidity and funding for capital requirements not obtained from our operating cash flow. If access to these sources of liquidity becomes constrained, our ability to implement our business strategy could be adversely affected. In addition, higher interest rates would increase our cost of borrowing, which could adversely impact our results of operations. A downgrade of our credit ratings or events beyond our control, such as a disruption in global capital and credit markets, could increase our cost of borrowing and cost of capital or restrict our ability to access the capital markets and negatively affect our ability to maintain and to expand our businesses.

Market performance or changes in assumptions may require us to make significant contributions to our pension and other postretirement benefit plans.

We provide a defined benefit pension plan and other postretirement benefits for a substantial number of employees, former employees and retirees. Our future pension obligations, costs and liabilities are highly dependent on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include estimated investment returns, interest rates, discount rates, health care cost trends, benefit changes, salary increases and the demographics of plan participants. If our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, our future costs could increase significantly. In addition, various factors, including underperformance of plan investments and changes in law or regulation, could increase the amount of contributions required to fund our pension plan in the future. Additional large funding requirements, when combined with the financing requirements of our construction program, could impact the timing, amounts, and number of future financings and negatively affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

As a holding company with no revenue-generating operations, Eversource parent's liquidity is dependent on dividends from its subsidiaries, its commercial paper program, and its ability to access the long-term debt and equity capital markets.

Eversource parent is a holding company and as such, has no revenue-generating operations of its own. Its ability to meet its debt service obligations and to pay dividends on its common shares is largely dependent on the ability of its subsidiaries to pay dividends to, or repay borrowings from, Eversource parent, and/or Eversource parent's ability to access its commercial paper program or the long-term debt and equity capital markets. Prior to funding Eversource parent, the subsidiary companies have financial obligations that must be satisfied, including among others, their operating expenses, debt service, preferred dividends of certain subsidiaries, and obligations to trade creditors. Should the subsidiary companies not be able to pay dividends or repay funds due to Eversource parent, or if Eversource parent cannot access its commercial paper programs or the long-term debt and equity capital markets, Eversource parent's ability to pay interest, dividends and its own debt obligations would be restricted.

We do not have any unresolved SEC staff comments.

Transmission and Distribution System

As of December 31, 2021, Eversource and our electric operating subsidiaries owned the following:

Electric Generating Plants

As of December 31, 2021, NSTAR Electric owned the following solar power facilities:

** Claimed capability represents the direct current nameplate capacity of the plants.

CL&P and PSNH do not own any electric generating plants.

Natural Gas Distribution System

As of December 31, 2021, NSTAR Gas owned 22 active gate stations, 148 district regulator stations, and approximately 3,322 miles of natural gas main pipeline. Hopkinton, another subsidiary of Eversource, owns a satellite vaporization plant and above ground storage tanks in Acushnet, Massachusetts (0.5 Bcf of natural gas). In addition, Hopkinton owns a liquefaction and vaporization plant with above ground storage tanks in Hopkinton, Massachusetts (3.0 Bcf of natural gas). Combined, the two plants' tanks have an aggregate storage capacity equivalent to 3.5 Bcf of natural gas that is provided to NSTAR Gas under contract.

As of December 31, 2021, EGMA owned 14 active gate stations, 193 district regulator stations, and approximately 5,014 miles of natural gas main pipeline. Hopkinton, another subsidiary of Eversource, owns liquefaction and vaporization plants and above ground storage tanks at four locations throughout Massachusetts with an aggregate storage capacity equivalent to 1.8 Bcf of natural gas. In addition, Hopkinton owns three propane peak shaving plants at three locations throughout Massachusetts with an aggregate storage capacity equivalent to 0.1 Bcf.

As of December 31, 2021, Yankee Gas owned 28 active gate stations, 207 district regulator stations, and approximately 3,530 miles of natural gas main pipeline. Yankee Gas also owns a liquefaction and vaporization plant and above ground storage tank with a storage capacity equivalent of 1.2 Bcf of natural gas in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Natural Gas Transmission System

As of December 31, 2021, NSTAR Gas and EGMA owned 1.0 and 2.36 miles of intrastate transmission natural gas pipeline, respectively.

Water Distribution System

Aquarion’s properties consist of water transmission and distribution mains and associated valves, hydrants and service lines, water treatment plants, pumping facilities, wells, tanks, meters, dams, reservoirs, buildings, and other facilities and equipment used for the operation of our systems, including the collection, treatment, storage, and distribution of water.

As of December 31, 2021, Aquarion owned and operated sources of water supply with a combined yield of approximately 127 million gallons per day; 3,573 miles of transmission and distribution mains; 9 surface water treatment plants; 29 dams; and 123 wellfields.

Franchises

CL&P Subject to the power of alteration, amendment or repeal by the General Assembly of Connecticut and subject to certain approvals, permits and consents of public authority and others prescribed by statute, CL&P has, subject to certain exceptions not deemed material, valid franchises free from burdensome restrictions to provide electric transmission and distribution services in the respective areas in which it is now supplying such service.

In addition to the right to provide electric transmission and distribution services as set forth above, the franchises of CL&P include, among others, limited rights and powers, as set forth under Connecticut law and the special acts of the General Assembly constituting its charter, to manufacture, generate, purchase and/or sell electricity at retail, including to provide Standard Service, Supplier of Last Resort service and backup service, to sell electricity at wholesale and to erect and maintain certain facilities on public highways and grounds, all subject to such consents and approvals of public authority and others as may be required by law. The franchises of CL&P include the power of eminent domain. Connecticut law prohibits an electric distribution company from owning or operating generation assets. However, under "An Act Concerning Electricity and Energy Efficiency," enacted in 2007, an electric distribution company, such as CL&P, is permitted to purchase an existing electric generating plant located in Connecticut that is offered for sale, subject to prior approval from the PURA and a determination by the PURA that such purchase is in the public interest.

NSTAR Electric Through its charter, which is unlimited in time, NSTAR Electric has the right to engage in the business of delivering and selling electricity within its respective service territory, and has the power incidental thereto and is entitled to all the rights and privileges of and subject to the duties imposed upon electric companies under Massachusetts laws. The locations in public ways for electric transmission and distribution lines are obtained from municipal and other state authorities who, in granting these locations, act as agents for the state. In some cases, the actions of these authorities are subject to appeal to the DPU. The rights to these locations are not limited in time and are subject to the action of these authorities and the legislature. Under Massachusetts law, no other entity may provide electric delivery service to retail customers within NSTAR Electric service territory without the written consent of NSTAR Electric. This consent must be filed with the DPU and the municipality so affected. The franchises of NSTAR Electric include the power of eminent domain, obtained through application to the DPU.

Massachusetts restructuring legislation defines service territories as those territories actually served on July 1, 1997 and following municipal boundaries to the extent possible. The restructuring legislation further provides that until terminated by law or otherwise, distribution companies shall have the exclusive obligation to serve all retail customers within their service territories and no other person shall provide distribution service within such service territories without the written consent of such distribution companies.

PSNH The NHPUC, pursuant to statutory requirements, has issued orders granting PSNH exclusive franchises to distribute electricity in the respective areas in which it is now supplying such service.

In addition to the right to distribute electricity as set forth above, the franchises of PSNH include, among others, rights and powers to manufacture, generate, purchase, and transmit electricity, to sell electricity at wholesale to other utility companies and municipalities and to erect and maintain certain facilities on certain public highways and grounds, all subject to such consents and approvals of public authority and others as may be required by law. PSNH's status as a public utility gives it the ability to petition the NHPUC for the right to exercise eminent domain for distribution services and for transmission eligible for regional cost allocation.

PSNH is also subject to certain regulatory oversight by the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Vermont Public Utility Commission.

NSTAR Gas Through its charter, which is unlimited in time, NSTAR Gas has the right to engage in the business of delivering and selling natural gas within its respective service territory, and has the power incidental thereto and is entitled to all the rights and privileges of and subject to the duties imposed upon natural gas companies under Massachusetts laws. The locations in public ways for natural gas distribution pipelines are obtained from municipal and other state authorities who, in granting these locations, act as agents for the state. In some cases, the actions of these authorities are subject to appeal to the DPU. The rights to these locations are not limited in time and are subject to the action of these authorities and the legislature. Under Massachusetts law, no other entity may provide natural gas delivery service to retail customers within the NSTAR Gas service territory without the written consent of NSTAR Gas. This consent must be filed with the DPU and the municipality so affected.

Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts holds valid franchises to sell natural gas in the areas in which it supplies natural gas service. Generally, Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts holds franchises to serve customers in areas designated by those franchises as well as in most other areas throughout Massachusetts so long as those areas are not occupied and served by another natural gas utility under a valid franchise of its own or are not subject to an exclusive franchise of another natural gas utility or by consent.

Yankee Gas Yankee Gas holds valid franchises to sell natural gas in the areas in which Yankee Gas supplies natural gas service. Generally, Yankee Gas holds franchises to serve customers in areas designated by those franchises as well as in most other areas throughout Connecticut so long as those areas are not occupied and served by another natural gas utility under a valid franchise of its own or are not subject to an exclusive franchise of another natural gas utility or by consent. Yankee Gas' franchises are perpetual but remain subject to the power of alteration, amendment or repeal by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, the power of revocation by the PURA and certain approvals, permits and consents of public authorities and others prescribed by statute. Generally, Yankee Gas' franchises include, among other rights and powers, the right and power to manufacture, generate, purchase, transmit and distribute natural gas and to erect and maintain certain facilities on public highways and grounds, and the right of eminent domain, all subject to such consents and approvals of public authorities and others as may be required by law.

Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut AWC-CT derives its rights and franchises to operate from special acts of the Connecticut General Assembly and subject to certain approvals, permits and consents of public authority and others prescribed by statute and by its charter, AWC-CT has, with minor exceptions, solid franchises free from burdensome restrictions and unlimited as to time, and is authorized to sell potable water in the towns (or parts thereof) in which water is now being supplied by AWC-CT.

In addition to the right to sell water as set forth above, the franchises of AWC-CT include rights and powers to erect and maintain certain facilities on public highways and grounds, all subject to such consents and approvals of public authority and others as may be required by law. Under the Connecticut General Statutes, AWC-CT may, upon payment of compensation, take and use such lands, springs, streams or ponds, or such rights or interests therein as the Connecticut Superior Court, upon application, may determine is necessary to enable AWC-CT to supply potable water for public or domestic use in its franchise areas.

Aquarion Water Company of Massachusetts Through its charters, which are unlimited in time, AWC-MA has the right to engage in the business of distributing and selling water within its service territories, and has the power incidental thereto and is entitled to all the rights and privileges of and subject to the duties imposed upon water companies under Massachusetts laws. AWC-MA has the right to construct and maintain its mains and distribution pipes in and under any public ways and to take and hold water within its respective service territories. Subject to DPU regulation, AWC-MA has the right to establish and fix rates for use of the water distributed and to establish reasonable regulations regarding the same. Certain of the towns within our service area have the right, at any time, to purchase the corporate property and all rights and privileges of AWC-MA according to pricing formulas and procedures specifically described in AWC-MA's respective charters and in compliance with Massachusetts law.

Aquarion Water Company of New Hampshire The NHPUC, pursuant to statutory law, has issued orders granting and affirming AWC-NH’s exclusive franchise to own, operate, and manage plant and equipment and any part of the same, for the conveyance of water for the public located within its franchise territory. That franchise territory encompasses the towns of Hampton, North Hampton and Rye. Abenaki Water Systems territory encompasses the towns of Belmont, Bow, Carroll, and Gilford. Subject to NHPUC’s regulations, AWC-NH has the right to establish and fix rates for use of the water distributed and to establish reasonable regulations regarding the same.

In addition to the right to provide water supply, the franchise also allows AWC-NH to sell water at wholesale to other water utilities and municipalities and to construct plant and equipment and maintain such plant and equipment on certain public highways and grounds, all subject to such consents and approvals of public authority and others as may be required by law.

AWC-NH's status as a regulated public utility gives it the ability to petition the NHPUC for the right to exercise eminent domain for the establishment of plant and equipment. It can also petition the NHPUC for exemption from the operation of any local ordinance when certain utility structures are reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public and the local conditions, and, if the purpose of the structure relates to water supply withdrawal, the exemption is recommended by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

We are involved in legal, tax and regulatory proceedings regarding matters arising in the ordinary course of business. For information regarding material lawsuits and proceedings, see Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the Combined Notes to Financial Statements.

In addition, see Item 1, Business: "– Electric Distribution Segment," "– Electric Transmission Segment," "– Natural Gas Distribution Segment," and "– Water Distribution Segment" for information about various state and federal regulatory and rate proceedings, civil lawsuits related thereto, and information about proceedings relating to power, transmission and pricing issues; "– Nuclear Fuel Storage" for information related to nuclear waste; and "– Other Regulatory and Environmental Matters" for information about toxic substances and hazardous materials, climate change, and other matters. In addition, see Item 1A, Risk Factors, for general information about several significant risks.

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following sets forth the executive officers of Eversource Energy as of February 16, 2022. All of Eversource Energy’s officers serve terms of one year and until their successors elected and qualified.

James J. Judge. Mr. Judge has served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021 and as a Trustee of Eversource Energy since May 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Judge served as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy from May 3, 2017 until May 5, 2021, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy from May 4, 2016 until May 3, 2017. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Judge has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a Trustee of Eversource Energy.

Joseph R. Nolan, Jr. Mr. Nolan has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a Trustee of Eversource Energy. Previously, Mr. Nolan served as Executive Vice President-Strategy, Customer and Corporate Relations of Eversource Energy from February 5, 2020 until May 5, 2021, and as Executive Vice President-Customer and Corporate Relations of Eversource Energy from August 8, 2016 to February 5, 2020. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Nolan has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a Trustee of Eversource Energy.

Philip J. Lembo. Mr. Lembo has served as Chief Financial Officer of Eversource Energy since May 4, 2016. He previously served as Treasurer of Eversource Energy from April 10, 2012 until May 3, 2017. Mr. Lembo has served as Executive Vice President of Eversource Energy since August 8, 2016.

Gregory B. Butler. Mr. Butler has served as General Counsel of Eversource Energy since May 1, 2001. He has served as Executive Vice President of Eversource Energy since August 8, 2016.

Christine M. Carmody. Ms. Carmody has served as Executive Vice President-Human Resources and Information Technology of Eversource Energy since August 8, 2016.

Penelope M. Conner. Ms. Conner has served as Executive Vice President-Customer Experience and Energy Strategy of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021. Previously, Ms. Conner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Eversource Service from March 2, 2013 until May 5, 2021.

James W. Hunt, III. Mr. Hunt has served as Executive Vice President-Corporate Relations and Sustainability of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021 and as Secretary of Eversource Energy since July 9, 2021. Previously Mr. Hunt served as Senior Vice President-Communications, External Affairs and Sustainability of Eversource Service from December 17, 2019 until May 5, 2021 and as Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs and Chief Communications Officer of Eversource Service from October 3, 2016 until December 17, 2019.

Werner J. Schweiger. Mr. Schweiger has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Eversource Energy since September 2, 2014.

Jay S. Buth. Mr. Buth has served as Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Eversource Energy since April 10, 2012.

PART II

(a) Market Information

Our common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The ticker symbol is "ES." There is no established public trading market for the common stock of CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH. All of the common stock of CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH is held solely by Eversource.

(b) Holders

As of January 31, 2022, there were 31,020 registered common shareholders of our company on record. As of the same date, there were a total of 344,439,905 shares outstanding.

(c) Dividends

Information with respect to dividends and dividend restrictions for Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH is contained in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in the Combined Notes to Financial Statements, within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

For information regarding securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans, see Item 12, Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(e) Performance Graph

The performance graph below illustrates a five-year comparison of cumulative total returns based on an initial investment of $100 in 2016 in Eversource Energy common stock, as compared with the S&P 500 Stock Index and the EEI Index for the period 2016 through 2021, assuming all dividends are reinvested.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

The following table discloses purchases of our common shares made by us or on our behalf for the periods shown below. The common shares purchased consist of open market purchases made by the Company or an independent agent. These share transactions related to matching contributions under the Eversource 401k Plan.

EVERSOURCE ENERGY AND SUBSIDIARIES

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related combined notes included in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K. References in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K to "Eversource," the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Eversource Energy and its consolidated subsidiaries. All per-share amounts are reported on a diluted basis. The consolidated financial statements of Eversource, NSTAR Electric and PSNH and the financial statements of CL&P are herein collectively referred to as the "financial statements." Our discussion of fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020 is included herein. Unless expressly stated otherwise, for discussion and analysis of fiscal year 2019 items and of fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019, please refer to Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in our combined 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Refer to the Glossary of Terms included in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for abbreviations and acronyms used throughout this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The only common equity securities that are publicly traded are common shares of Eversource. The earnings and EPS of each business discussed below do not represent a direct legal interest in the assets and liabilities of such business, but rather represent a direct interest in our assets and liabilities as a whole. EPS by business is a financial measure not recognized under GAAP (non-GAAP) that is calculated by dividing the Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders of each business by the weighted average diluted Eversource common shares outstanding for the period. Our earnings discussion also includes non-GAAP financial measures referencing our 2021 earnings and EPS excluding charges at CL&P related to a settlement agreement that included credits to customers and funding of various customer assistance initiatives and a storm performance penalty imposed on CL&P by the PURA and our 2021 and 2020 earnings and EPS excluding certain acquisition and transition costs.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate and provide details of earnings results by business and to more fully compare and explain our 2021 and 2020 results without including these items. This information is among the primary indicators we use as a basis for evaluating performance and planning and forecasting of future periods. We believe the impacts of the CL&P settlement agreement, the storm performance penalty imposed on CL&P by the PURA, and acquisition and transition costs are not indicative of our ongoing costs and performance. We view these charges as not directly related to the ongoing operations of the business and therefore not an indicator of baseline operating performance. Due to the nature and significance of the effect of these items on Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders and EPS, we believe that the non-GAAP presentation is a more meaningful representation of our financial performance and provides additional and useful information to readers of this report in analyzing historical and future performance of our business. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to reported Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders or EPS determined in accordance with GAAP as indicators of operating performance.

Financial Condition and Business Analysis

Executive Summary

Eversource Energy is a public utility holding company primarily engaged, through its wholly-owned regulated utility subsidiaries, in the energy delivery business. Eversource Energy's wholly-owned regulated utility subsidiaries consist of CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH (electric utilities), Yankee Gas, NSTAR Gas and Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts (EGMA) (natural gas utilities) and Aquarion (water utilities). Eversource is organized into the electric distribution, electric transmission, natural gas distribution, and water distribution reportable segments.

The following items in this executive summary are explained in more detail in this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K:

Earnings Overview and Future Outlook:

• We earned $1.22 billion, or $3.54 per share, in 2021, compared with $1.21 billion, or $3.55 per share, in 2020.

• Our 2021 results include after-tax costs recorded within the electric distribution segment resulting from a PURA-approved CL&P settlement agreement and an after-tax charge at CL&P for a PURA assessment as a result of CL&P’s preparation for and response to Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020. Our 2021 results also include after-tax acquisition and transition costs recorded at Eversource parent. In total, these after-tax costs were $109.7 million, or $0.32 per share in 2021. Our 2020 results include after-tax acquisition and transition costs of $32.1 million, or $0.09 per share, recorded primarily at Eversource parent. Excluding those costs, our non-GAAP earnings were $1.33 billion, or $3.86 per share, in 2021, compared with $1.24 billion, or $3.64 per share, in 2020.

• We currently project 2022 non-GAAP earning guidance of between $4.00 per share and $4.17 per share, which excludes the impact of remaining integration costs as a result of transitioning EGMA onto Eversource’s systems. We also project that our long-term EPS growth rate through 2026 from our regulated utility businesses will be in the upper half of a 5 to 7 percent range.

Liquidity:

• Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $1.96 billion in 2021, compared with $1.68 billion in 2020. Investments in property, plant and equipment totaled $3.18 billion in 2021 and $2.94 billion in 2020.

• Cash totaled $66.8 million as of December 31, 2021, compared with $106.6 million as of December 31, 2020. Our available borrowing capacity under our commercial paper programs totaled $1.14 billion as of December 31, 2021. In 2021, we issued $3.23 billion of new long-term debt and we repaid $1.14 billion of long-term debt.

• In 2021, we issued dividends totaling $2.41 per common share, compared with dividends of $2.27 per common share in 2020. Our quarterly common share dividend payment was $0.6025 per share in 2021, as compared to $0.5675 per share in 2020. On February 2, 2022, our Board of Trustees approved a common share dividend payment of $0.6375 per share, payable on March 31, 2022 to shareholders of record as of March 3, 2022.

• We project to make capital expenditures of $18.14 billion from 2022 through 2026, of which we expect $7.02 billion to be in our electric distribution segment, $4.53 billion to be in our natural gas distribution segment, $4.60 billion to be in our electric transmission segment, and $0.89 billion to be in our water distribution segment. We also project to invest $1.10 billion in information technology and facilities upgrades and enhancements. Additionally, we currently expect to make investments in our offshore wind business between $0.9 billion and $1.0 billion in 2022 and expect to make investments for our three projects in total between $3.0 billion and $3.6 billion from 2023 through 2026. These estimates assume that the three projects are completed and are in-service by the end of 2025, as planned.

Strategic and Regulatory Items:

• On January 18, 2022, South Fork Wind received BOEM’s final approval of its Construction and Operations Plan (COP), following BOEM’s November 2021 issuance of the Record of Decision, which concluded BOEM’s environmental review of the project. The COP approval outlines the project’s one nautical mile turbine spacing, the requirements on the construction methodology for all work occurring in federal ocean waters, and mitigation measures to

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Market Risk Information

Commodity Price Risk Management: Our regulated companies enter into energy contracts to serve our customers, and the economic impacts of those contracts are passed on to our customers. Accordingly, the regulated companies have no exposure to loss of future earnings or fair values due to these market risk-sensitive instruments. Eversource's Energy Supply Risk Committee, comprised of senior officers, reviews and approves all large-scale energy related transactions entered into by its regulated companies.

Other Risk Management Activities

We have an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program for identifying the principal risks of the Company. Our ERM program involves the application of a well-defined, enterprise-wide methodology designed to allow our Risk Committee, comprised of our senior officers of the Company, to identify, categorize, prioritize, and mitigate the principal risks to the Company. The ERM program is integrated with other assurance functions throughout the Company including Compliance, Auditing, and Insurance to ensure appropriate coverage of risks that could impact the Company. In addition to known risks, ERM identifies emerging risks to the Company, through participation in industry groups, discussions with management and in consultation with outside advisers. Our management then analyzes risks to determine materiality, likelihood and impact, and develops mitigation strategies. Management broadly considers our business model, the utility industry, the global economy, climate change, sustainability and the current environment to identify risks. The Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees is responsible for oversight of the Company's ERM program and enterprise-wide risks as well as specific risks associated with insurance, credit, financing, investments, pensions and overall system security including cyber security. The findings of the ERM process are periodically discussed with the Finance Committee of our Board of Trustees, as well as with other Board Committees or the full Board of Trustees, as appropriate, including reporting on how these issues are being measured and managed. However, there can be no assurances that the ERM process will identify or manage every risk or event that could impact our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Interest Rate Risk Management: We manage our interest rate risk exposure in accordance with our written policies and procedures by maintaining a mix of fixed and variable rate long-term debt. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 98 percent of our long-term debt was at a fixed interest rate. The remaining long-term debt is at variable interest rates and is subject to interest rate risk that could result in earnings volatility. Assuming a one percentage point increase in our variable interest rates, annual interest expense would have increased by a pre-tax amount of $3.5 million.

Credit Risk Management: Credit risk relates to the risk of loss that we would incur as a result of non-performance by counterparties pursuant to the terms of our contractual obligations. We serve a wide variety of customers and transact with suppliers that include IPPs, industrial companies, natural gas and electric utilities, oil and natural gas producers, financial institutions, and other energy marketers. Margin accounts exist within this diverse group, and we realize interest receipts and payments related to balances outstanding in these margin accounts. This wide customer and supplier mix generates a need for a variety of contractual structures, products and terms that, in turn, require us to manage the portfolio of market risk inherent in those transactions in a manner consistent with the parameters established by our risk management process.

Our regulated companies are subject to credit risk from certain long-term or high-volume supply contracts with energy marketing companies. Our regulated companies manage the credit risk with these counterparties in accordance with established credit risk practices and monitor contracting risks, including credit risk. As of December 31, 2021, our regulated companies held collateral (letters of credit or cash) of $210.9 million from counterparties related to our standard service contracts. As of December 31, 2021, Eversource had $34.6 million of cash posted with ISO-NE related to energy transactions. For further information on cash collateral deposited and posted with counterparties, see Note 1O, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Supplemental Cash Flow Information," to the financial statements.

If the respective unsecured debt ratings of Eversource or its subsidiaries were reduced to below investment grade by either Moody's or S&P, certain of Eversource's contracts would require additional collateral in the form of cash to be provided to counterparties and independent system operators. Eversource would have been and remains able to provide that collateral.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

Eversource Energy

Management is responsible for the preparation, integrity, and fair presentation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements of Eversource Energy and subsidiaries (Eversource or the Company) and of other sections of this annual report. Eversource's internal controls over financial reporting were audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting. The Company's internal control framework and processes have been designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. There are inherent limitations of internal controls over financial reporting that could allow material misstatements due to error or fraud to occur and not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by employees during the normal course of business. Additionally, internal controls over financial reporting may become inadequate in the future due to changes in the business environment.

Under the supervision and with the participation of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, Eversource conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this evaluation under the framework in COSO, management concluded that internal controls over financial reporting were effective as of December 31, 2021.

February 16, 2022

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of Eversource Energy:

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Eversource Energy and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021, of the Company and our report dated February 16, 2022, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Hartford, Connecticut

February 16, 2022

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of Eversource Energy:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Eversource Energy and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, common shareholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes and the schedules listed in the Index at Item 15 of Part IV (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial positio

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No events that would be described in response to this item have occurred with respect to Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric or PSNH.

Management, on behalf of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH, is responsible for the preparation, integrity, and fair presentation of the accompanying Financial Statements and other sections of this combined Annual Report on Form 10-K. Eversource's internal controls over financial reporting were audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Management, on behalf of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting. The internal control framework and processes have been designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. There are inherent limitations of internal controls over financial reporting that could allow material misstatements due to error or fraud to occur and not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by employees during the normal course of business. Additionally, internal controls over financial reporting may become inadequate in the future due to changes in the business environment. Under the supervision and with the participation of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting was conducted based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this evaluation under the framework in COSO, management concluded that internal controls over financial reporting at Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH were effective as of December 31, 2021.

Management, on behalf of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH, evaluated the design and operation of the disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021 to determine whether they are effective in ensuring that the disclosure of required information is made timely and in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations of the SEC. This evaluation was made under management's supervision and with management's participation, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. There are inherent limitations of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumventing or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. The principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their review, that the disclosure controls and procedures of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (i) is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and regulations and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to management, including the principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

There have been no changes in internal controls over financial reporting for Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, internal controls over financial reporting.

No information is required to be disclosed under this item as of December 31, 2021, as this information has been previously disclosed in applicable reports on Form 8-K during the fourth quarter of 2021.

PART III

The information in Item 10 is provided as of February 16, 2022, except where otherwise indicated.

Certain information required by this Item 10 is omitted for NSTAR Electric and PSNH pursuant to Instruction I(2)(c) to Form 10-K, Omission of Information by Certain Wholly Owned Subsidiaries.

Eversource Energy

In addition to the information provided below concerning the executive officers of Eversource Energy, incorporated herein by reference is the information to be contained in the sections captioned “Election of Trustees,” “Governance of Eversource Energy” and the related subsection, “Selection of Trustees,” of Eversource Energy’s definitive proxy statement for solicitation of proxies, expected to be filed with the SEC on or about March 25, 2022.

Eversource Energy and CL&P

Each member of CL&P’s Board of Directors is an employee of Eversource Service. Directors are elected annually to serve for one year until their successors are elected and qualified. CL&P is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eversource Energy.

Set forth below is certain information concerning CL&P’s directors as well as Eversource Energy’s and CL&P’s executive officers:

James J. Judge. Mr. Judge has served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021 and as a Trustee of Eversource Energy since May 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Judge served as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy from May 3, 2017 until May 5, 2021, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy from May 4, 2016 until May 3, 2017. Mr. Judge previously served as Chairman of CL&P from May 4, 2016 until May 5, 2021, and as a director of CL&P from April 10, 2012 until May 5, 2021. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Judge has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a Trustee of Eversource Energy.

Joseph R. Nolan, Jr. Mr. Nolan has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a Trustee of Eversource Energy and as Chairman and a director of CL&P since May 5, 2021. Previously, Mr. Nolan served as Executive Vice President-Strategy, Customer and Corporate Relations of Eversource Energy from February 5, 2020 until May 5, 2021, and as Executive Vice President-Customer and Corporate Relations of Eversource Energy from August 8, 2016 to February 5, 2020. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Nolan has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a Trustee of Eversource Energy and as a director of CL&P.

Philip J. Lembo. Mr. Lembo has served as Chief Financial Officer of Eversource Energy and CL&P since May 4, 2016. He previously served as Treasurer of Eversource Energy from April 10, 2012 until May 3, 2017, and as Treasurer of CL&P from April 10, 2012 until March 31, 2017. Mr. Lembo has served as Executive Vice President of Eversource Energy and CL&P since August 8, 2016. Mr. Lembo has served as a director of CL&P since May 4, 2016. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Lembo has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a director of CL&P.

Gregory B. Butler. Mr. Butler has served as General Counsel of Eversource Energy since May 1, 2001, and of CL&P since March 9, 2006. He has served as Executive Vice President of Eversource Energy and CL&P since August 8, 2016. He has served as a director of CL&P since April 22, 2009. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Butler has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a director of CL&P.

Christine M. Carmody. Ms. Carmody has served as Executive Vice President-Human Resources and Information Technology of Eversource Energy since August 8, 2016.

Penelope M. Conner. Ms. Conner has served as Executive Vice President-Customer Experience and Energy Strategy of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021. Previously, Ms. Conner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Eversource Service from March 2, 2013 until May 5, 2021.

James W. Hunt, III. Mr. Hunt has served as Executive Vice President-Corporate Relations and Sustainability of Eversource Energy since May 5, 2021 and as Secretary of Eversource Energy since July 9, 2021. Previously Mr. Hunt served as Senior Vice President-Communications, External Affairs and Sustainability of Eversource Service from December 17, 2019 until May 5, 2021 and as Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs and Chief Communications Officer of Eversource Service from October 3, 2016 until December 17, 2019.

Werner J. Schweiger. Mr. Schweiger has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Eversource Energy since September 2, 2014, and as Chief Executive Officer of CL&P since August 11, 2014. Mr. Schweiger has served as a director of CL&P since May 28, 2013. Based on his experience described above, Mr. Schweiger has the skills and qualifications necessary to serve as a director of CL&P.

Jay S. Buth. Mr. Buth has served as Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Eversource Energy and CL&P since April 10, 2012.

There are no family relationships between any director or executive officer and any other trustee, director or executive officer of Eversource Energy or CL&P and none of the above executive officers or directors serves as an executive officer or director pursuant to any agreement or understanding with any other person. Our executive officers hold the offices set forth opposite their names until the next annual meeting of the Board of Trustees, in the case of Eversource Energy, and the Board of Directors, in the case of CL&P, and until their successors have been elected and qualified.

CL&P obtains audit services from the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by the Audit Committee of Eversource Energy’s Board of Trustees. CL&P does not have its own audit committee or, accordingly, an audit committee financial expert. CL&P relies on Eversource Energy’s audit committee and the audit committee financial expert.

CODE OF ETHICS AND CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT

Each of Eversource Energy, CL&P, NSTAR Electric, and PSNH has adopted a Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller) and the Code of Business Conduct, which are applicable to all Trustees, directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents of Eversource Energy, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH. The Code of Ethics and the Code of Business Conduct have both been posted on the Eversource Energy web site and are available at www.eversource.com/Content/general/about/investors/corporate-governance on the Internet. Any amendments to or waivers from the Code of Ethics and Code of Business Conduct for executive officers, directors or Trustees will be posted on the website. Any such amendment or waiver would require the prior consent of the Board of Trustees or an applicable committee thereof.

Printed copies of the Code of Ethics and the Code of Business Conduct are also available to any shareholder without charge upon written request mailed to:

James W. Hunt, III

Executive Vice President and Secretary

Eversource Energy

800 Boylston Street, 17th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02199-7050

Eversource Energy

The information required by this Item 11 for Eversource Energy is incorporated herein by reference to certain information contained in Eversource Energy's definitive proxy statement for solicitation of proxies, which is expected to be filed with the SEC on or about March 25, 2022, under the sections captioned “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” plus related subsections, and “Compensation Committee Report,” plus related subsections following such Report.

NSTAR ELECTRIC and PSNH

Certain information required by this Item 11 has been omitted for NSTAR Electric and PSNH pursuant to Instruction I(2)(c) to Form 10-K, Omission of Information by Certain Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries.

CL&P

The information in this Item 11 relates solely to CL&P.

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

CL&P is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eversource Energy. Its board of directors consists entirely of executive officers of Eversource Energy system companies. CL&P does not have a compensation committee, and the Compensation Committee of Eversource Energy's Board of Trustees determines compensation for the executive officers of CL&P, including their salaries, annual incentive awards and long-term incentive awards. All of CL&P's “Named Executive Officers,” as defined below, also serve as officers of Eversource Energy and one or more other subsidiaries of Eversource Energy. Compensation set by the Compensation Committee of Eversource Energy (the “Committee”) and set forth herein is for services rendered to Eversource Energy and its subsidiaries by such officers in all capacities.

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) provides information about Eversource Energy’s compensation principles, objectives, plans, policies and actions for its Named Executive Officers. The discussion describes the specific components used in its compensation programs and approach to executive compensation, how Eversource Energy measures performance, and how Eversource Energy’s compensation principles were applied to compensation awards and decisions that were made by the Compensation Committee for the Named Executive Officers, as presented in the tables and narratives that follow. While this discussion focuses primarily on 2021 information, it also addresses decisions that were made in prior periods to the extent that these decisions are relevant to the full understanding of Eversource Energy’s compensation programs and the decisions that were made regarding 2021 performance. The CD&A also contains an assessment of performance measured against established 2021 goals and additional accomplishments, the compensation awards made by the Compensation Committee, and other information relating to Eversource Energy’s compensation programs, including:

Summary of 2021 Accomplishments

2021 Financial and Operational Accomplishments

In 2021, Eversource Energy continued to outperform its peers in most financial metrics, demonstrated its leadership in ESG, and achieved substantially all of the operational goals as set by the Committee, while keeping its employees and customers safe. The following is a summary of some of the most important accomplishments in 2021:

• FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE**: 2021 earnings per share equaled $3.54 per share, and non-GAAP earnings per share equaled $3.86. Non-GAAP earnings excludes the impact from the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) storm settlement agreement referenced in this CD&A, and the 2021 integration costs relating to the acquisition in 2020 of the assets of Columbia Gas Company of Massachusetts (Columbia Gas). (1)

(1) Non-GAAP EPS presented in this Item 11 excludes $0.25 per share relating to the PURA settlement agreement penalty and the integration costs of $0.07 per share relating to the integration costs of the acquisition in 2020 of the assets of Columbia Gas. Eversource Energy uses this non-GAAP financial measure to more fully compare and explain 2021 results without including the impact of these one-time costs. Due to the effect of such costs on net income attributable to Eversource Energy common shareholders, Eversource’s management believes that the non-GAAP presentation is a more meaningful representation of Eversource Energy’s financial performance and provides additional information to readers in analyzing historical and future performance of the business. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to Eversource Energy’s consolidated net income attributable to common shareholders. For further information, see Exhibit A to this Item 11.

• DIVIDENDS PAID:** The Board of Trustees increased the annual dividend rate by 6.2 percent for 2021 to $2.41 per share, which exceeded the median dividend growth rate of 4.7 percent for the utilities that constitute the Edison Electric Institute Index (EEI Utility Index).

• SHAREHOLDER RETURN:** Eversource Energy’s Total Shareholder Return (TSR) in 2021 was 8.2 percent, compared to 17.1 percent for the EEI Index of 39 companies. Eversource continued to outperform the EEI Utility Index over the last three-, five- and 10-year periods. This long-term performance ranks Eversource among the top-10 companies in the Index. An investment of $1,000 in Eversource’s common shares for the 10-year period beginning January 1, 2012 was worth $3,452 on December 31, 2021. The following chart represents the comparative total shareholder returns for the periods ended December 31, 2021:

• STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND REGULATORY OUTCOMES:** Eversource received the approval of a comprehensive storm settlement agreement with PURA that provided for the resolution of several pending regulatory and legal proceedings and are ahead of plan on the integration of the assets acquired from Columbia Gas Company of Massachusetts. Eversource advanced the progress of Massachusetts Grid Modernization and successfully accelerated the recovery of 2020 investments for NSTAR Gas Company. In addition, Eversource received approval to defer $15.6 million of additional storm related costs and successfully negotiated and completed the acquisition of NESC, a New England water distribution company.

• CREDIT RATING:** Eversource Energy continues to hold an A- Corporate Credit Rating at Standard & Poor’s. There is no other holding company with a higher credit rating in the EEI Utility Index.

• RELIABILITY PERFORMANCE**: Electric System Reliability, measured by months between interruptions, was top decile in the industry in 2021; customer power interruptions were on average 19.2 months apart.

![es-20211231_g5.jpg](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72741/00000727412200

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Eversource Energy

In addition to the information below under "Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans," incorporated herein by reference is the information contained in the sections "Common Share Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners" and "Common Share Ownership of Trustees and Management" of Eversource Energy's definitive proxy statement for solicitation of proxies, expected to be filed with the SEC on or about March 25, 2022.

NSTAR ELECTRIC and PSNH

Certain information required by this Item 12 has been omitted for NSTAR Electric and PSNH pursuant to Instruction I(2)(c) to Form 10-K, Omission of Information by Certain Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries.

CL&P

COMMON SHARE OWNERSHIP OF DIRECTORS AND MANAGEMENT

Eversource Energy owns 100 percent of the outstanding common stock of CL&P. The table below shows the number of Eversource Energy common shares beneficially owned as of February 3, 2022, by each of CL&P's directors and each Named Executive Officer of CL&P, as well as the number of Eversource Energy common shares beneficially owned by all of CL&P's directors and executive officers as a group. The table also includes information about restricted share units and deferred shares credited to the accounts of CL&P's directors and executive officers under certain compensation and benefit plans. No equity securities of CL&P are owned by any of the Trustees, directors or executive officers of Eversource Energy or CL&P. The address for the shareholders listed below is c/o Eversource Energy, Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02199 for Messrs. Judge, Lembo, Nolan and Schweiger; c/o Eversource Energy, 56 Prospect Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-2818 for Mr. Butler.

• Less than 1 percent of Eversource Energy common shares outstanding.

1. The persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned by each of them, except as noted below.

2. Includes restricted share units, deferred restricted share units and/or deferred shares, including dividend equivalents, as to which none of the individuals has voting or investment power, and phantom shares held by executive officers who participate in a deferred compensation plan as follows: Mr. Nolan: 93,053 shares; Mr. Lembo: 19,049 shares; Mr. Schweiger: 103,276 shares; Mr. Butler: 14,985 shares; and Ms. Carmody: 12,103 shares.

3. Includes shares held as units in the 401(k) Plan invested in the Eversource Energy Common Shares Fund over which the holder has sole voting and investment power as follows: Mr. Nolan: 20,647 shares; Mr. Lembo: 292 shares; Mr. Schweiger: 409 shares; Mr. Butler: 6,771 shares; and Ms. Carmody: 5,209 shares.

4. Includes 573 shares held by Mr. Lembo in a custodial account and 125 shares held in a charitable trust over which Mr. Lembo has sole voting and investment power.

5. Includes 2,321 shares held in a trust of which Mr. Schweiger is the trustee and beneficiary; 437 shares in a trust of which Mr. Schweiger’s spouse is the trustee and beneficiary; 992 shares held by Mr. Schweiger’s spouse in a custodial account for grandchild #1; and 175 shares held by Mr. Schweiger’s spouse in a custodial account for grandchild #2.

6. Includes 276,219 unissued shares (see Note 2) and 35,007 shares held as units in the 401(k) Plan (see Note 3).

SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS

The following table sets forth the number of Eversource Energy common shares issuable under Eversource Energy equity compensation plans, as well as their weighted exercise price, as of December 31, 2021, in accordance with the rules of the SEC:

(1) Includes 594,623 common shares for distribution in respect of restricted share units, and 464,507 performance shares issuable at target, all pursuant to the terms of our Incentive Plan.

(2) The weighted-average exercise price does not take into account restricted share units or performance shares, which have no exercise price.

(3) Securities set forth in this table are authorized for issuance under compensation plans that have been approved by shareholders of Eversource Energy or the former shareholders of NSTAR.

Eversource Energy

Incorporated herein by reference is the information contained in the sections captioned "Trustee Independence" and "Related Person Transactions" of Eversource Energy's definitive proxy statement for solicitation of proxies, expected to be filed with the SEC on or about March 25, 2022.

NSTAR ELECTRIC and PSNH

Certain information required by this Item 13 has been omitted for NSTAR Electric and PSNH pursuant to Instruction I(2)(c) to Form 10-K, Omission of Information by Certain Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries**.**

CL&P

Eversource Energy's Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers applies to the Senior Financial Officers (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller) of Eversource Energy, CL&P and certain other Eversource Energy subsidiaries. Under the Code, one's position as a Senior Financial Officer in the company may not be used to improperly benefit such officer or his or her family or friends. Under the Code, specific activities that may be considered conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to, directly or indirectly acquiring or retaining a significant financial interest in an organization that is a customer, vendor or competitor, or that seeks to do business with the company; serving, without proper safeguards, as an officer or director of, or working or rendering services for an organization that is a customer, vendor or competitor, or that seeks to do business with the company. Waivers of the provisions of the Code of Ethics for Trustees, executive officers or directors must be approved by Eversource Energy's Board of Trustees. Any such waivers will be disclosed pursuant to legal requirements.

Eversource Energy's Code of Conduct, which applies to all Trustees, directors, officers and employees of Eversource Energy and its subsidiaries, including CL&P, contains a Conflict of Interest Policy that requires all such individuals to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Such individuals are expected to discuss their particular situations with management to ensure appropriate steps are in place to avoid a conflict of interest. All disclosures must be reviewed and approved by management to ensure a particular situation does not adversely impact the individual's primary job and role.

Eversource Energy's Related Persons Transactions Policy is administered by the Corporate Governance Committee of Eversource Energy's Board of Trustees. The Policy generally defines a "Related Persons Transaction" as any transaction or series of transactions in which (i) Eversource Energy or a subsidiary is a participant, (ii) the aggregate amount involved exceeds $120,000 and (iii) any "Related Persons" has a direct or indirect material interest. A "Related Persons" is defined as any Trustee or nominee for Trustee, any executive officer, any shareholder owning more than 5 percent of Eversource Energy's total outstanding shares, and any immediate family member of any such person. Management submits to the Corporate Governance Committee for consideration any Related Persons Transaction into which Eversource Energy or a subsidiary proposes to enter. The Corporate Governance Committee recommends to the Eversource Energy Board of Trustees for approval only those transactions that are in Eversource Energy's best interests. If management causes the company to enter into a Related Persons Transaction prior to approval by the Corporate Governance Committee, the transaction will be subject to ratification by the Eversource Energy Board of Trustees. If the Eversource Energy Board of Trustees determines not to ratify the transaction, then management will make all reasonable efforts to cancel or annul such transaction.

The directors of CL&P are employees of CL&P and/or other subsidiaries of Eversource Energy, and thus are not considered independent.

Eversource Energy

Incorporated herein by reference is the information contained in the section "Relationship with Independent Auditors" of Eversource Energy's definitive proxy statement for solicitation of proxies, expected to be filed with the SEC on or about March 25, 2022.

CL&P, NSTAR ELECTRIC and PSNH

Pre-Approval of Services Provided by Principal Auditors

None of CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH is subject to the audit committee requirements of the SEC, the national securities exchanges or the national securities associations. CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH obtain audit services from the independent auditor engaged by the Audit Committee of Eversource Energy's Board of Trustees. Eversource Energy's Audit Committee has established policies and procedures regarding the pre-approval of services provided by the principal auditors. Those policies and procedures delegate pre-approval of services to the Eversource Energy Audit Committee Chair provided that such offices are held by Trustees who are "independent" within the meaning of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and that all such pre-approvals are presented to the Eversource Energy Audit Committee at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee.

The following relates to fees and services for the entire Eversource Energy system, including Eversource Energy, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH.

Fees Billed By Principal Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The aggregate fees billed to the Company and its subsidiaries by Deloitte & Touche LLP, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and their respective affiliates (collectively, the Deloitte Entities), for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 totaled $6,013,205 and $5,296,414, respectively. In addition, affiliates of Deloitte & Touche LLP as noted below provide other accounting services to the Company.

(1) Audit fees in 2021 and 2020 consisted of fees related to the audits of financial statements of Eversource Energy and its subsidiaries in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, reviews of financial statements in the Combined Quarterly reports on Form 10-Q of Eversource Energy and its subsidiaries, consultations with management, regulatory and compliance filings, out of pocket expense reimbursements, and audits of internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. Audit fees in 2021 also related to the audits of pension plan financial statements in connection with the acquisition of CMA.

(2) Audit Related Fees were incurred for procedures performed in the ordinary course of business in support of certain regulatory filings, comfort letters, consents, and other costs related to registration statements and financials for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

(3) The tax service fees for the period ended December 31, 2021 were incurred for procedures performed in the ordinary course of business in support of certain federal rules in 2021. There were no tax fees rendered and no tax fees billed for the year ended December 31, 2020.

(4) All Other Fees for the periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were for an annual license for access to an accounting standards research tool. All Other Fees for the period ended December 31, 2021 also included an advisory benchmarking project related to operations at a newly acquired business.

The Audit Committee pre-approves all auditing services and permitted audit-related or other services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for us by our independent registered public accounting firm, subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are approved by the Audit Committee prior to the completion of the audit. The Audit Committee may form and delegate its authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members when appropriate, including the authority to grant pre-approvals of audit and permitted non-audit services, provided that decisions of such subcommittees to grant pre-approvals are presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. During 2021, all services described above were pre-approved by the Audit Committee or its Chair.

The Audit Committee has considered whether the provision by the Deloitte Entities of the non-audit services described above was allowed under Rule 2-01(c)(4) of Regulation S-X and was compatible with maintaining the independence of the registered public accountants and has concluded that the Deloitte Entities were and are independent of us in all respects.

PART IV

Not applicable.

SCHEDULE I

EVERSOURCE ENERGY (PARENT)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT

BALANCE SHEETS

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020

(Thousands of Dollars)

See the Combined Notes to Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of significant accounting matters related to Eversource parent, including Eversource common shares information as described in Note 18, "Common Shares," material obligations and guarantees as described in Note 13, "Commitments and Contingencies," and debt agreements as described in Note 8, "Short-Term Debt," and Note 9, "Long-Term Debt."

S-1

SCHEDULE I

EVERSOURCE ENERGY (PARENT)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT

STATEMENTS OF INCOME

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 AND 2019

(Thousands of Dollars, Except Share Information)

STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

See the Combined Notes to Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of significant accounting matters related to Eversource parent, including Eversource common shares information as described in Note 18, "Common Shares," material obligations and guarantees as described in Note 13, "Commitments and Contingencies," and debt agreements as described in Note 8, "Short-Term Debt," and Note 9, "Long-Term Debt."

S-2

SCHEDULE I

EVERSOURCE ENERGY (PARENT)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019

(Thousands of Dollars)

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