History of Eversource Energy in Timeline

Eversource Energy is a publicly traded Fortune 500 energy company based in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts. Through its regulated subsidiaries, it provides retail electricity, natural gas, and water services to approximately 4 million customers across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The company operates as a utility provider in the Northeastern United States.

1905: Rocky River Power Company Formed

In 1905, the Rocky River Power Company was formed by J. Henry Roraback.

1917: Formation of Connecticut Light and Power Company

In 1917, the Rocky River Power Company became the Connecticut Light and Power Company.

1926: Formation of Public Service Company of New Hampshire

Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) was formed in 1926.

1935: Enactment of Public Utility Holding Company Act

The Public Utility Holding Company Act was enacted in 1935.

July 1, 1966: Formation of Northeast Utilities

On July 1, 1966, Northeast Utilities (NU) was formed with the merger of Connecticut Light and Power Company, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, and the Hartford Electric Light Company.

1967: Holyoke Water Power Company Joins NU System

In 1967, Holyoke Water Power Company (HWP) joined the Northeast Utilities (NU) System.

January 1988: PSNH Declares Bankruptcy

In January 1988, Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) declared bankruptcy due to issues obtaining a license for the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.

1992: Merger of PSNH into Northeast Utilities

In 1992, Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) was merged into Northeast Utilities.

1999: Merger Negotiations with Con Edison

In 1999, Con Edison and Northeast Utilities began merger negotiations.

1999: Divestment of Generating Assets

In 1999, the company divested all of the generating assets of WMECO and CL&P as required by Massachusetts and Connecticut legislation.

1999: Original Divestiture of generating assets

In 1999, the company divested all of the generating assets of WMECO and CL&P as required by Massachusetts and Connecticut legislation.

2000: Divestment of Nuclear Generating Assets Begins

In 2000, Northeast Utilities (NU) began divesting WMECO, CL&P, and PSNH's nuclear generating assets.

2000: Sale of assets

In 2000, Northeast Utilities (NU) began divesting WMECO, CL&P, and PSNH's nuclear generating assets.

2001: Con Edison Backs Out of Merger

In 2001, Con Edison withdrew from the merger with Northeast Utilities after legal threats from Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

2001: Sale of Holyoke Water Power Company

In 2001, Northeast Utilities (NU) sold the assets and operations of its subsidiary, the Holyoke Water Power Company, to the City of Holyoke.

2002: Divestment of Nuclear Generating Assets Completed

By 2002, Northeast Utilities (NU) had completed the divestment of WMECO, CL&P, and PSNH's nuclear generating assets.

November 2005: Announcement of Sale of Unregulated Businesses

In November 2005, Northeast Utilities announced its intention to sell its unregulated competitive businesses, including generation and energy services.

November 2006: Divestiture of Competitive Businesses Completed

In November 2006, Northeast Utilities essentially completed the divestiture of its competitive businesses.

2006: Decision to Sell Retained Generating Units

In 2006, Northeast Utilities (NU) decided to sell the generating units it had earlier retained and shut down its competitive generation business units.

2009: Energizing of Middletown-Norwalk Transmission Line Upgrade

In 2009, an upgraded 69-mile (112 km), 345 kilovolt Middletown-Norwalk transmission line was energized at a cost of $900 million with United Illuminating.

October 2010: Merger Announcement with NSTAR

In October 2010, Northeast Utilities announced it would merge with NSTAR.

2010: Shareholders received a return of 89 percent

Between 2010 and 2015, Eversource's shareholders of common stock received a cumulative total return (including quarterly dividends and the change in the market price per share) of 89 percent.

2010: Massachusetts gubernatorial election

In 2010, buying hydropower from Hydro-Québec had been an issue during the Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

April 2012: Merger with NSTAR Closed

In April 2012, the merger between Northeast Utilities and NSTAR was finalized after receiving government approvals.

2012: Merger with NSTAR

In 2012, Northeast Utilities merged with Boston-based NSTAR, resulting in a company with extensive electric transmission lines, distribution lines, and natural gas pipelines throughout New England.

November 20, 2013: Completion of GSRP Cutover of 115 kV Lines to Fairmont Switching Station

On November 20, 2013, the cutover of 115 kV lines to the new Fairmont Switching Station was completed, marking substantial completion of the Greater Springfield Reliability Project (GSRP).

2013: Energizing of Greater Springfield Reliability Project

In 2013, the Greater Springfield Reliability Project, part of the New England East-West Solution, was energized at a cost of $795 million.

February 2, 2015: Rebranding as Eversource Energy

On February 2, 2015, Northeast Utilities and its subsidiaries rebranded as "Eversource Energy".

February 19, 2015: Stock Symbol Change

On February 19, 2015, Eversource Energy changed its stock symbol from "NU" to "ES".

November 2015: Sierra Club of New Hampshire Expresses Opposition

In November 2015, the Sierra Club of New Hampshire voiced opposition to the proposed new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line.

2015: Opposition to Rooftop Solar

In 2015, Eversource fought the rooftop solar industry and supported anti-solar policies in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

2015: NSTAR Return of more than 13 percent

In 2015, NSTAR return of more than 13 percent, according to Attorney General Healey "[l]ast year, no state public utility commission in the country allowed a return that high."

2015: FERC Investigates Eversource

In 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began investigating Eversource for potential unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential transmission rates.

2015: Agreement to Sell New Hampshire Generation Assets

In 2015, the company (now known as Eversource) agreed to sell all of its New Hampshire generation assets in the same manner it sold its assets in Massachusetts and Connecticut between 2000 and 2006.

2016: Disclosure of Political Expenditures

In 2016, Eversource disclosed politically related organization expenditures of $110,000 to the Democratic Governors Association and payments exceeding $135,000 to trade associations for lobbying or other political activities.

2016: Joint Ventures for Wind Farm Developments

In 2016, Eversource started joint ventures for wind farm developments with Ørsted.

2016: 2016 Law permits utilities to levy new minimum monthly charge

In 2016, a law was written that permits utilities to levy a new minimum monthly charge, and Rep. Golden told Eversource executives they were making it "extremely, extremely difficult" for him to continue to support them in the policy.

June 2017: Announcement of Merger with Aquarion Water Company

In June 2017, Eversource announced its merger with Aquarion Water Company for $1.675 billion.

November 14, 2017: Class-action lawsuit filed against Avangrid and Eversource Energy

On November 14, 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Avangrid, Inc. and Eversource Energy, claiming the companies caused electricity consumers to incur overcharges of $3.6 billion.

November 29, 2017: Approval of Sale of New Hampshire Generation Assets

On November 29, 2017, the state's Public Utilities Commission approved the sale of Eversource's New Hampshire generation fleet.

November 30, 2017: Approval of Reduced Rate Hike

On November 30, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a reduced rate hike for Eversource Energy.

December 2017: Merger with Aquarion Completed

In December 2017, the merger between Eversource and Aquarion Water Company was completed.

December 20, 2017: Appeal of DPU Ruling in Rate Case

On December 20, 2017, Attorney General Maura Healey appealed the DPU ruling in the Eversource rate case.

2017: Environmental group accuses Eversource and Avangrid of inflating rates

In 2017, Eversource and Avangrid were accused by an environmental group of increasing electric and gas rates by buying up shipment capacity on a major pipeline that they ultimately did not use. The Environmental Defense Fund alleged the utilities reserved large natural gas deliveries but reduced orders too late for others to use the capacity, driving up wholesale prices.

2017: Attorney General Healey Testifies Against Rate Increase

In March 2017, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey testified against Eversource's proposed $300 million rate increase, challenging its necessity.

January 10, 2018: Completion of Sale of New Hampshire Generation Assets

On January 10, 2018, the sale of Eversource's New Hampshire generation fleet was completed.

January 25, 2018: Selection of Northern Pass Transmission Project

On January 25, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Baker selected the "Northern Pass Transmission" (NPT) project as the winner for a clean energy procurement RFP.

January 30, 2018: Oversight Hearing on Demand Charge

On January 30, 2018, an Oversight Hearing was held on the DPU's decision to approve Eversource's proposal to include a demand charge on net metering customers.

February 1, 2018: Denial of Permit for Northern Pass Project

On February 1, 2018, the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee unanimously voted to deny Eversource's Northern Pass project a permit.

2018: FERC investigation finds no evidence of anticompetitive practices

On Feb. 27, 2018, FERC announced that their investigation found no evidence of anticompetitive withholding of natural gas pipeline capacity on Algonquin Gas Transmission by New England shippers.

2018: Electric Vehicle Charging Station Project

Starting in 2018, Eversource began a five-year project to spend $45 million to install over 400 electric vehicle charging stations in Massachusetts.

June 10, 2019: Class-action lawsuit against Eversource Energy thrown out of court

On June 10, 2019, the class-action lawsuit against Eversource Energy and Avangrid was dismissed in court.

July 26, 2019: Eversource Gives Up on Northern Pass

On July 26, 2019, Eversource Energy announced that it was giving up on the Northern Pass project after the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected its appeal.