History of Eversource Energy in Timeline

Eversource Energy is a 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 around 4 million customers across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. As a publicly traded company, Eversource operates within the utilities sector, delivering essential services to a significant portion of the New England region.

1905: Formation of Rocky River Power Company

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

1917: Rocky River Power Company becomes 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

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

1935: Enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act

Northeast Utilities (NU) was formed on July 1, 1966, creating the first new multi-state public utility holding company since the enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.

July 1, 1966: Formation of Northeast Utilities

On July 1, 1966, Northeast Utilities (NU) was formed under CEO Lelan Sillin, with the merger of the Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO), and the Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO).

1967: Holyoke Water Power Company Joins NU System

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

1988: Public Service Company of New Hampshire Declares Bankruptcy

In January 1988, Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) declared bankruptcy.

1992: Merger of PSNH into Northeast Utilities

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

1999: Con Edison and Northeast Utilities Negotiations

In 1999, Con Edison and Northeast Utilities entered negotiations that would have created one of the largest utilities in the United States.

1999: Divestment of Generating Assets

In 1999, Northeast Utilities divested all of the generating assets of WMECO and CL&P per requirements of the Massachusetts and Connecticut legislation, retaining some by transferring them to Northeast Generation.

1999: Divestiture as Competitive Suppliers

In 2006, Northeast Utilities decided to sell the generating units it had earlier retained in the 1999 divestiture as competitive suppliers and shut down its competitive generation business units.

2000: Divestment of Nuclear Generating Assets

Between 2000 and 2002, Northeast Utilities divested WMECO, CL&P, and PSNH's nuclear generating assets.

2000: Agreement to Sell New Hampshire Generation Assets

In 2015, 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.

2001: Con Edison Backs Out of Merger

In 2001, Con Edison backed out of the merger with Northeast Utilities after Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal threatened lawsuits to block it.

2001: Sale of Holyoke Water Power Company

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

2002: Divestment of Nuclear Generating Assets

Between 2000 and 2002, Northeast Utilities divested WMECO, CL&P, and PSNH's nuclear generating assets.

November 2005: Announcement to Sell Competitive Businesses

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

November 2006: Completion of Divestiture of Competitive Businesses

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

2006: Decision to Sell Generating Units

In 2006, Northeast Utilities decided to sell the generating units it had earlier retained in the 1999 divestiture as competitive suppliers and shut down its competitive generation business units.

2006: Agreement to Sell New Hampshire Generation Assets

In 2015, 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.

2009: Upgrade to Middletown-Norwalk Transmission Line

In 2009, the upgrade to the 69-mile (112 km), 345 kilovolt Middletown-Norwalk transmission line was energized at a cost of $900 million.

October 2010: Merger Announcement with NSTAR

In October 2010, Northeast Utilities announced that it would merge with NSTAR, the major electric and gas provider in Greater Boston.

2010: Joint Venture with Hydro-Québec and NSTAR

As Northeast Utilities, the company signed on a joint venture with Hydro-Québec and NSTAR in 2010 to build a new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line from Windsor, Quebec, to a location in Franklin, New Hampshire.

2010: Shareholder Returns

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.

April 2012: Merger with NSTAR Closes

In April 2012, the deal between Northeast Utilities and NSTAR closed after government approvals.

2012: Merger with NSTAR

In 2012, following Northeast Utilities' merger with Boston-based NSTAR, the company had more than 4,270 circuit miles of electric transmission lines, 72,000 pole miles of distribution lines, and 6,459 miles of natural gas pipeline in New England.

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

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

2013: Start of the "unique monopoly" period according to lawsuit

According to a class-action lawsuit, 2013 was the beginning of Eversource and Avangrid's “unique monopoly” that impacted 7.1 million retail electricity customers and an overall population of 14.7 million people.

2013: Energizing the Greater Springfield Reliability Project

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

February 2, 2015: Company Rebrands as Eversource Energy

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

February 19, 2015: Stock Symbol Change

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

November 2015: Sierra Club Opposition to HVDC Line

In November 2015, the Sierra Club of New Hampshire expressed opposition to the new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line project with Hydro-Québec.

2015: Agreement to Sell New Hampshire Generation Assets

In 2015, 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.

2015: Opposition to Rooftop Solar

In 2015, Eversource fought the rooftop solar industry and supported anti-solar policies, including opposing an increase to New Hampshire's solar net metering cap.

2015: Investigation by FERC

In 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) began investigating Eversource for having transmission rates that appeared to be “unjust, unreasonable and unduly discriminatory or preferential”.

2015: Testimony Against Rate Increase

In March 2017, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey testified before the DPU urging it to deny Eversource's proposed $300 million rate increase, noting NSTAR's 2015 return of more than 13 percent.

2016: End of the "unique monopoly" period according to lawsuit

According to a class-action lawsuit, 2016 was the end of Eversource and Avangrid's “unique monopoly” that impacted 7.1 million retail electricity customers and an overall population of 14.7 million people.

2016: Political Expenditures Disclosure

In 2016, Eversource disclosed on its website politically related organization expenditures of $110,000 to the Democratic Governors Association.

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 a new minimum monthly charge

In 2016, a law was written which permits utilities to levy a new minimum monthly charge. Rep. Golden, co-chairman of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, helped write the 2016 law.

June 2017: Merger Announcement 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, Inc. and Eversource Energy

On November 14, 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Avangrid, Inc. and Eversource Energy. The lawsuit claims the two companies caused electricity consumers to incur overcharges of $3.6 billion in a years-long scheme that impacted six states and affected 14.7 million people.

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

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

November 30, 2017: Approval of Reduced Rate Hike

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

December 2017: Merger with Aquarion Water Company Completed

In December 2017, Eversource's merger with Aquarion Water Company was completed after government approval.

December 20, 2017: Appeal of DPU Ruling

On December 20, 2017, Attorney General Maura Healey appealed the DPU ruling in the Eversource rate case, specifically the DPU's approval of a costly 10 percent shareholder return.

2017: Environmental group accuses Eversource and Avangrid of driving up rates

In 2017, an environmental group accused Eversource and Avangrid of driving up electric and gas rates over several winters. They allegedly did this by buying up shipment capacity on a major pipeline that they ultimately did not use, impacting wholesale prices for natural gas during peak winter heating periods and increasing electricity costs.

2017: Testimony Against Rate Increase

In March 2017, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey testified before the DPU urging it to deny Eversource's proposed $300 million rate increase.

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

On January 10, 2018, the sale of the 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 DPU's decision to approve Eversource's proposal

On January 30, 2018, Massachusetts Rep. Thomas Golden and Sen. Michael Barrett held an Oversight Hearing on the DPU's decision to approve Eversource's proposal to include a demand charge as part of a monthly minimum reliability contribution on net metering customers. Rep. Golden accused the utility of purposefully making the new charges "as confusing as possible."

February 1, 2018: Denial of Northern Pass Permit

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

2018: FERC announces investigation results

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

2018: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Project

Starting in 2018, Eversource began spending $45 million over five years to install over 400 electric vehicle charging stations in Massachusetts as part of the company's Grid Modernization plan.

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

On June 10, 2019, the class-action lawsuit against Avangrid and Eversource was thrown out of court, as the judge stated natural gas prices are federally regulated and could not be interfered with by the court.

July 26, 2019: Eversource Gives Up on Northern Pass

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

2023: Announcement to Sell Equity in Wind Projects

In 2023, Eversource announced it would sell off its equity in these projects (Bay State Wind, South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and Sunrise Wind) at an expected loss of $200 million.