Eversource Energy 10-Q 2021-09-30

			UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
			FORM			10-Q
☒			QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
			For the Quarterly Period Ended			September 30, 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

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 registrants are shell companies (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer'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 Instructions H(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-Q, and each is therefore filing this Form 10-Q with the reduced disclosure format specified in General Instruction H(2) of Form 10‑Q.

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-Q. 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.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

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

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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

Interest Rate Risk Management: We manage our interest rate risk exposure in accordance with our written policies and procedures.

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 September 30, 2021, our regulated companies held collateral (letters of credit or cash) of $108.5 million from counterparties related to our standard service contracts. As of September 30, 2021, Eversource had $34.6 million of cash posted with ISO-NE related to energy transactions.

We have provided additional disclosures regarding interest rate risk management and credit risk management in Part II, Item 7A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk," in Eversource's 2020 Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference. There have been no additional risks identified and no material changes with regard to the items previously disclosed in the Eversource 2020 Form 10-K.

Management, on behalf of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric and PSNH, evaluated the design and operation of the disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. 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 September 30, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, internal controls over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

We are parties to various legal proceedings. We have disclosed certain legal proceedings in Part I, Item 3, "Legal Proceedings," and elsewhere in our 2020 Form 10-K. These disclosures are incorporated herein by reference. There have been no material legal proceedings identified and no material changes with regard to the legal proceedings previously disclosed in our 2020 Form 10-K.

We are subject to a variety of significant risks in addition to the matters set forth under our forward-looking statements section in Item 2, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We have identified a number of these risk factors in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," in our 2020 Form 10-K, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. These risk factors should be considered carefully in evaluating our risk profile. The following risk factor should be read in conjunction

with the risk factors described in the 2020 Form 10-K.

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 North American Electric Reliability Corporation (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 a company’s 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.

Other than as set forth above, there have been no additional risk factors identified and no material changes with regard to the risk factors previously disclosed in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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.

Each document described below is filed herewith, unless designated with an asterisk (*), which exhibits are incorporated by reference by the registrant under whose name the exhibit appears.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.