Eversource Energy Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
July 31, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Recurring EPS was $0.87, in line with expectations, and management reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.57–$4.72 and long-term annual growth of 5%–7%, with growth expected to trend toward the upper half of that range by 2028.
  • Positive Sentiment: Eversource completed the Aquarion sale for $1.7 billion in net proceeds, strengthening the balance sheet and enabling debt reduction; management said no equity issuance is expected for the remainder of 2026, while Moody’s revised its outlook to stable.
  • Positive Sentiment: ISO New England preliminarily selected Eversource and Avangrid’s approximately $2.2 billion transmission project as the preferred solution, including about $700 million of Eversource investment and a potential 2032 in-service date, subject to further review.
  • Negative Sentiment: Results were pressured by a $164 million after-tax Revolution Wind charge and lower transmission earnings following FERC’s ROE reduction; the company is appealing the decision and could face up to approximately $880 million of additional refunds if its challenge is unsuccessful.
  • Negative Sentiment: Connecticut regulators approved about $870 million of roughly $975 million in requested storm costs but denied recovery of carrying charges, while the proposed CL&P rate case seeks a $451 million revenue increase that would raise total customer bills by approximately 11%.
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Earnings Conference Call
Eversource Energy Q2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

Transcript Sections

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Operator

Good day everyone, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Eversource Energy second quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To participate, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear a message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. Now it's my pleasure to hand the conference to the Vice President of Investor Relations, Rima Hyder. Please proceed.

Rima Hyder
Rima Hyder
VP of Investor Relations at Eversource Energy

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today on our second quarter 2026 earnings call. During this call, we'll be referencing slides that are available on our website at investors.eversource.com. As you can see on slide one, some of the statements made during this investor call may be forward-looking. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risk and uncertainty, which may cause the actual results to differ materially from forecasts and projections. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. Additional information about the various factors that may cause actual results to differ, and our explanation of non-GAAP measures and how they reconcile to GAAP results, is contained within our news release, the slides we posted last night, and in our most recent 10-Q and 10-K.

Rima Hyder
Rima Hyder
VP of Investor Relations at Eversource Energy

Speaking today will be Joe Nolan, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and John Moreira, our Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer. Joining us today is Jay Buth, our Vice President, Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer. I will now turn the call over to Joe.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Thank you, Rima. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us. Starting on slide four, as we complete the midpoint of the year, we're pleased with the terrific progress we have made this quarter. Our team is focused on executing the priorities we've established over the past year, including completing the sale of Aquarion, delivering strong operational performance, and strengthening the balance sheet. At the same time, we are continuing to advance the investments needed to support safe, reliable, and more resilient electric and natural gas systems for our customers. As you can see on slide five, we have several recent accomplishments. From an earnings perspective, we delivered second quarter recurring earnings per share of $0.87, in line with our expectations, and we are reaffirming our long-term EPS growth guidance of 5%-7%.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

We have also delivered on maintaining a strong financial foundation, which is a major focus for us. Our disciplined approach to capital allocation and balance sheet management continues to position us well to fund critical infrastructure investments while preserving the financial flexibility needed to support long-term growth. The recent Moody's change to our outlook from negative to stable is a testament to our consistent execution and commitment to strengthening our balance sheet and the sustainability of our financial strategy to support our long-term growth. We continue to make progress on key initiatives that will deliver higher growth for our business and further de-risk our business profile. First, we completed the sale of Aquarion, which resulted in net proceeds of $1.7 billion. This sale is a significant milestone in furthering our strategic position as a pure-play regulated pipes and wires utility.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

It allows us to optimize our portfolio by focusing on our core electric and natural gas operations across New England, while efficiently reinvesting capital for the benefit of our customers. Second, the Revolution Wind project continues to progress through advanced stages of construction and commissioning. As we do each quarter, we continue to evaluate our contingent liability associated with the sale of Revolution Wind. Based on revised cost projections of total construction costs, which included cost increases stemming from two stop work orders, we recognized an after-tax charge of $164 million in the second quarter to increase this liability. As Ørsted has previously stated, the project is on track to reach its commercial operation date later this year. Lastly, on the FERC ROE decision, we have taken multiple actions to address this decision, appealing to FERC as well as the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

We expect that FERC will make a decision on the prospective ROE by November 30th. John will cover the process and the timeline for the court appeal. One thing is certain now, more than ever, the New England region needs more transmission investment and utilities need a predictable regulatory environment to attract long-term capital to fund these investments for the benefit of customers. Our investments in transmission have delivered billions of dollars in savings for customers over the years by eliminating significant congestion costs for the region, while also making the grid more resilient. We see ample need and opportunities for transmission infrastructure investment to further alleviate overall costs for customers.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

In fact, as you can see on slide six, Following a comprehensive evaluation of six bids submitted in response to ISO New England's 2025 longer-term transmission planning RFP, ISO New England has preliminarily selected the joint proposal submitted by Eversource and Avangrid as the preferred solution. This transmission project is designed to increase transmission capacity between Maine and New Hampshire while strengthening the transmission interface between Northern and Southern New England. Eversource's share of the $2.2 billion project is approximately $700 million, with an anticipated in-service date of 2032. There are still significant steps ahead before a final solution is reached in the coming months. If this project is ultimately successful, it will greatly help address the affordability challenge facing New England by enabling increased supply and easing congestion costs. This would mark the second competitive transmission bid awarded to Eversource following the Boston 2028 Solutions Study project in 2020.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

That project was successfully completed by Eversource ahead of schedule and under budget. As we have stated previously, incumbent utilities are uniquely positioned to deliver reliable, cost-effective transmission solutions for the region, leveraging their operational expertise, existing infrastructure, and established relationships with stakeholders and communities. This is another example of our keen focus as a pure-play pipes and wires utility to deliver cost-effective solutions that provide benefits to customers. Moving on to Connecticut regulatory front on slide seven. We received our final storm cost decision this week and are pleased that we can now proceed with securitization financing to enable the recovery of these storm costs, something we intend to execute on as soon as possible. We also filed our CL&P rate review early this month, the first in almost a decade.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Our proposal creates a sustainable path forward that balances affordability with the investments needed to maintain and strengthen the electric system that Connecticut depends on. A safe, reliable, and resilient electric grid is the cornerstone of the state's economy and enables the achievement of many important goals, including carbon reduction and electrification. The decision from this rate review will shape the state's electric infrastructure for the next decade and prepare the state for future economic growth. Over the last 10 years, our customers in Connecticut have enjoyed increased reliability as a direct result of our strategic investments in the electric system. Continued investment is needed to maintain the level of affordable reliability and resiliency that customers have come to expect.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

This includes addressing aging infrastructure that is nearing the end of its useful life, responding to more frequent and unpredictable severe weather events, and making the necessary upgrades to support the growing electric demand in the state. Since our last rate case in 2017, we've invested over $4 billion to improve and upgrade our electric distribution infrastructure, serving our 1.3 million customers across 157 cities and towns in Connecticut. In our rate filing, we have clearly demonstrated how our Connecticut customers have directly benefited from the investments we have made. Nearly half of all power interruptions experienced by customers in 2025 were restored remotely in a matter of minutes. The average customer experiences one outage nearly every two years, which is a 15% improvement since 2017. Additionally, we estimate that more than 1.5 million customer outages were avoided across Connecticut last year, thanks to automated technology installed on the system.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Lastly, through targeted initiatives such as system upgrades and enhanced system operating training, we've further improved our accuracy in determining and communicating estimated times of restoration during outages by 14% since 2017, resulting in clearer, more consistent information available to customers. At the same time, we recognize that importance of keeping energy bills as manageable as possible, and we're committed to working with our regulators and other stakeholders across our service territories to strike the right balance between investing in the future of energy system and delivering value for our customers in the communities we serve. Affordability and reliability are connected. An electric system that's allowed to degrade becomes less reliable and, over time, more expensive to maintain and fix. This balance between affordability and reliability can be accomplished through efficient operations, rigorous cost control, and strategically investing to maximize long-term customer value at the lowest reasonable cost.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Our approach has been to make proactive, strategic investments that address aging infrastructure in a cost-effective manner long before they fail. From a regional perspective, another area of focus for us is energy supply, which remains the greatest challenge to affordability for customers. While we do not control or earn any profit from energy supply, we want to be an integral part of the conversation to lower costs for our customers. Bringing additional generation to the region is key to reducing energy supply costs for electric customers. Since last year, Eversource has directly supported 2,500 MW of new generation coming into the region. Currently, 80% of this new generation is online. While this is a great step forward for the region, we know that we need more to support the growing electric demand across New England.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

In fact, if we want to capture economic opportunities around data centers and welcome them to the region, additional generation and expansion of gas capacity is critical. Growing energy supply alongside demand will help moderate cost increases, preserve system reliability, and ensure that all customers benefit from the growth rather than bearing the cost of constrained resources. This is why we support a comprehensive all-of-the-above strategy to tackle energy affordability, evaluate all opportunities, including identifying new sources of energy supply into the region. Another highlight for us this quarter was the publication of our annual sustainability report, as shown on slide eight. The report showcases our continued leadership in building a clean energy future, fostering a workplace that prioritizes culture and engagement, protecting the environment, and supporting the communities we serve.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Overall, we're encouraged by the significant progress we've made during the first half of the year, which is a result of our continued focus on execution of our key priorities. The strength of our operations, the dedication of our employees, and the discipline with which we're executing our strategy gives us confidence in our ability to deliver on our commitments for the balance of the year and continue creating long-term value for our stakeholders. Let me now turn the call over to John to discuss our financial results and outlook, as well as provide a regulatory update.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone. This morning, I will review our second quarter 2026 earnings results, provide an update on regulatory matters, and discuss our balance sheet progress and financing plan. I'll start with our first quarter results on slide 10. Our GAAP earnings for the second quarter were $0.14 per share, compared with GAAP earnings of $0.96 per share in the second quarter of 2025. GAAP results for the quarter were impacted by a non-cash after-tax charge of $111.4 million, or $0.30 per share, related to the carrying value of Aquarion Water Company as we have closed on the sale. The results also include an after-tax charge of $164 million, or $0.43 per share, related to an increase in our estimated offshore wind contingent liability.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Excluding these charges, our non-GAAP or recurring earnings were $0.87 per share for the quarter, compared with GAAP as well as non-GAAP earnings of $0.96 per share in the second quarter of 2025. The decrease in recurring earnings over the prior years, primarily due to lower earnings in the Electric Transmission and Gas Distribution segments. Lower earnings in the transmission business were primarily driven by the base ROE rate reduction ordered by FERC back in March. Lower earnings in the Gas Distribution segment were impacted by a prior year benefit for recoverable expenses. These results were partially offset by increased earnings in the Electric Distribution segment, thanks to higher electric distribution revenues. Our results in the Parent and Other segment were flat as compared to prior year. Moving on to a regulatory update on slide 11.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Let me start with the CL&P rate case filing we made on July 14th, a rate request that balances affordability and reliability for our customers. This was the first general rate request for CL&P since 2017. The rate request calculates a revenue deficiency of $451 million, reflecting a proposed ROE rate of 10.25%. The proposed increase would result in an 11% impact on total customer bill. Approximately 90% of this revenue deficiency is related to capital investments, future storm resiliency investments, storm restoration costs, depreciation, and taxes. Only 11% of the filed revenue deficiency is for increased O&M since our last rate increase. Compared to inflation, that's about a $45 million in expenses that have been avoided for our customers. We are proud of how the filing demonstrates our commitment to cost control.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Additionally, as Joe described, we have clearly demonstrated in this filing that we can deliver strong reliability benefits in an affordable manner. Our customers and our regulators need to know that when we make investments in our system, those investments are being made to protect safety, improve reliability, and achieve state policy goals in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. The filing also proposes a multi-year PBR mechanism that protects against future rate shocks. This PBR mechanism would provide gradual rate increases over time and ensure that customer bills reflect the fair cost of doing business. In the filing, we have included a plan for implementing AMI for Connecticut with nearly $1 billion of capital investment and $300 million of O&M expense. As detailed in our filing, AMI would deliver customer benefits in excess of this estimated cost.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Lastly, I want to highlight the economic development and heat pump rates proposed in our filing. These rates were designed after years of working closely with Connecticut stakeholders and policymakers to align our rate design with customer needs and state policy. Moving briefly to New Hampshire, I want to mention the annual base rate adjustment that was approved on July 21st. You'll recall that as part of our New Hampshire rate case, we proposed a multi-year PBR plan. The July order approved an increase of approximately $24 million that will be effective August 1st of this year. This is another example of how a well-designed PBR mechanism can help moderate rates long term. Moving to slide 12.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

I would like to update you on the FERC ROE decision that was issued back in March, which reduced the base transmission ROE rate and ordered a refund going back more than a decade. We have made several filings with FERC and with the courts challenging this decision. As part of these actions, we did receive approval from FERC to extend the refund until mid 2027. We have also escalated our challenge with a petition for review and a motion for a stay of the FERC decision with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In our June filings with the D.C. Circuit Court, we made multiple arguments. First, we argued that FERC exceeded its authority by ordering a refund for a period longer than 15 months allowed by the Federal Power Act.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Second, FERC failed to declare that either the 11.14% or the 10.57% rates were unjust and unreasonable until March of this year. Third, that FERC denied Eversource and other New England Transmission owners the opportunity for due process by delaying their decision for almost a decade in response to a higher court order for remand. Lastly, we argue that FERC set the 9.57% ROE rate in a range previously found to be unjustly low. The D.C. Circuit Court will consider our arguments and FERC's actions over the next several months. Staying with the FERC topic, on slide 13, I would like to provide an update on the Section 205 filing we made with FERC on April 30th to determine the prospective ROE rate.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

As a reminder, our filing calculated a new base ROE rate of 11.39% by using FERC's existing ROE methodology and only updating it to reflect current market conditions. As required by law, FERC issued their order in response to our 205 filing on June 29th, accepting and suspending tariff revisions and establishing a paper hearing procedure. FERC's order was in line with our expectations, suspending the implementation of the requested ROE rate for the maximum five-month period allowed by law. Next steps in this process are that parties will file initial briefs by August 28th and reply briefs by September 28th. A new ROE rate is expected to go into effect on November 30th. Moving to slide 14 for a financing update.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

We continue to focus on enhancements to our balance sheet condition. We are pleased that we have closed on the sale of Aquarion on June 30th, generating a net cash benefit to Eversource of $1.7 billion. These proceeds will be used to displace debt at the parent company. The closing of the Aquarion transaction leaves our balance sheet in a much stronger position. We do not currently anticipate any changes to our financing plans as described on this slide. Our equity needs over the five-year forecast period remain in the range of $800 million-$1.1 billion, and we do not expect to issue any equity over the remainder of this year. We continue to consider a variety of debt and alternative financing solutions for our future needs, including the securitization of deferred storm costs in both Connecticut and New Hampshire.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

On slide 15, I would like to share the latest affirmation of our financial strategy, which is that our FFO to debt metrics remain solid. Our latest FFO-to-debt ratios as of March 31st of 2026 are 14.3% and 15.7% for S&P and Moody's respectively. Consistent with our commitment, these results are each over 100 basis points above the downgrade thresholds. We were also very pleased that Moody's changed Eversource's and NSTAR Electric's outlook from negative to stable in recognition of what we have recently accomplished. These objective measures reflect the successful execution of our previously communicated financing strategy. Looking at slide 16, we are encouraged by the final storm cost decision we received from PURA two days ago. Of the approximately $975 million that we requested, PURA approved approximately $870 million.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

PURA is deferring $60 million in storm costs pending the completion of a third-party audit review and [auditing] $40 million in exclusions. Of the $870 million approved, approximately $200 million have already been recovered in rates. This results in approximately $670 million that is expected to be securitized. PURA did not approve the recovery of carrying charges that we requested. We are evaluating our options and next steps. With this final decision, we can now move ahead on the securitization process, starting with filing our financing plan at PURA in early fall. After hearings and PURA's review, we expect to receive a final financing plan decision in the first quarter of next year. This will allow us to begin the rating agency review, file the SEC registration statement, and begin marketing. With those steps completed, we anticipate cash in the door approximately one year from now.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Let me reaffirm our five-year capital plan of $26.5 billion, as shown on slide 17. This reflects our five-year utility infrastructure investments by segment through 2030. I do want to note that we have now highlighted the potential increase to our capital forecast from the announcement of ISO's preliminary decision on the transmission RFP selection, as well as AMI in Connecticut. Turning to slide 18, we reaffirm our non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $4.57-$4.72 per share for 2026. This guidance was revised in March for the lower base ROE rate of 9.57%, as well as the sale of Aquarion. Lastly, on slide 19, we remain confident in our ability to deliver earnings growth towards the upper half of our long-term target range of 5%-7% by 2028. Of note, this guidance currently assumes the 9.57% base ROE rate for transmission investments.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

As you can see on this slide, we have executed on many of our key initiatives. Through improved regulatory outcomes such as storm cost securitization in both Connecticut and New Hampshire, the result of the CL&P rate case request in mid-2027, and the sale of Aquarion, we are confident in our ability to achieve the higher growth as we move forward. With that, I would like to turn the call back to the operator for Q&A.

Operator

Thank you so much. As a reminder, to ask a question, press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To remove yourself, press star one one again. One moment for our first question. It comes from Shar Pourreza with Wells Fargo. Please proceed.

Shar Pourreza
Shar Pourreza
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Morning, guys.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Morning, Shar.

Shar Pourreza
Shar Pourreza
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Morning, Joe. Joe, just on the storm cost, obviously the carrying costs were denied in full. It's kind of material, I guess. How does that compare against what you had embedded in the financing plan? I guess, what are the offsets and next steps there? Just, I guess, what are the components of the $1.8 billion from storm cost securitization, just in terms of how much is Connecticut versus New Hampshire? Thanks.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Sure. Shar, this is John.

Shar Pourreza
Shar Pourreza
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Hey, John.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

How are you? Let me take the storm decision that we received a couple of days ago. I think it's important and for us, and first and foremost, that we are very pleased to finally have a decision, and more importantly, the number with which we can move forward with securitization. Overall, when you read the decision, it is constructive. Certainly better than what we've seen from other rate decisions coming out of PURA. We are a bit disappointed with a couple of items that we don't really agree with. Things like the $63 million that they deferred really doesn't make sense to us, and certainly the carrying charge. We continue to review the decision and really assess our options as I stated in my formal remarks.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Once again, we're encouraged that we finally have a number that we can move forward and get nearly $700 million in the door a year from now. As it relates to the carrying charge specifically, I do want to mention, we only include things in our forecast that we have a high degree of conviction. More importantly, we have not recognized $1 of these retroactive carrying charges. One would conclude that in our financing plan, because we don't have a high level of degree of conviction, that we have not assumed that we would get the retroactive piece. We think that we continue to be entitled to it, and we will assess our next steps as it relates to the carrying charge.

Shar Pourreza
Shar Pourreza
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Got it. Perfect. Just the last thing is on the rate case. Joe, obviously it's a pretty sizable ask at Connecticut Light & Power, and PURA's posture in the storm decision, cost decision wasn't great. What's your read on how PURA approaches a filing of this size, especially kind of in an election year? It's early, but how informed were stakeholders pre-filing? Were they surprised? What's giving you confidence they're going to do the right thing?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Obviously, it's a large ask, the fact of the matter is, we have not filed a distribution rate change since 2017. I'm very proud of the reliability metrics, the investments that we've made down there in Connecticut, and I think that that will stand up in this proceeding. As John had mentioned, only 11% of the deficiency is coming from O&M. You'll see how seriously we're taking cost controls. We feel very good about the investments. We think that our regulators will feel good about the investments. The other 90% of the deficiency is CapEx. Resiliency, taxes, depreciation. It's nothing that's optional. It's about keeping the lights on and getting fair cost recovery. Not investing in the system, as you know, would be far more expensive. As I said earlier, I am very optimistic. It's encouraging what's been happening at PURA.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

If you look at the past six months of decisions, whether it's around Yankee, whether it's around storm cost recovery, they're a very engaged regulatory body. All five of them are on the bench. All five of them are engaged. All five of them are asking very good questions. We feel very good that we will get a fair hearing in Connecticut. I think that they're going to see that the money that was spent, the money we're seeking in rates is prudent. I'm very confident that we'll be treated very fairly in Connecticut. Just looking at the history over the past six months, it's very encouraging. Keep in mind, as I tell folks, it is an election year. It's an election year in Massachusetts. It's an election year here in Connecticut. With that comes additional amount of press and drama.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

The fact of the matter is, we will stick to the facts. We'll stick to our record. We'll stick to what we have done, and we are very proud of that effort.

Shar Pourreza
Shar Pourreza
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Okay. Perfect. Appreciate it, guys. Have a good morning.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Carly Davenport with Goldman Sachs. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Good morning, Carly.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Good morning.

Carly Davenport
Carly Davenport
Analyst at Goldman Sachs

Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions. Maybe to start on the New England transmission opportunity that you highlighted, what are the next milestones that we should watch there to de-risk that potential investment to the point that you'd consider rolling that into the baseline? Would that just be the 4Q call, or is there anything we should watch there?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Yeah. I think the third quarter call, you'll have some good insight. We're expecting stakeholder comments on August 14th on the preliminary recommendations. August, September, ISO New England will review it. They're going to respond to the stakeholders. We currently anticipate a publication of a final recommendation in September. We should be in a good position for the third quarter call to give you more updates, and that will allow us to roll that into the plan.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Carly, I'm sure you're going to have a follow-up question. I'm sure everyone is wondering how much of that $700 million will be rolled into our current five-year forecast, taking us through 2030. You should think of it as probably half, 50% of that CapEx will incur during that forecast period.

Carly Davenport
Carly Davenport
Analyst at Goldman Sachs

Got it. Okay. That's great. Super clear. Thank you for that. Then, maybe just on the incremental Revolution charge this quarter, can you just expand a bit on kind of the drivers that I guess were unknown relative to last quarter? And then any kind of risks that you see around cost slipping incrementally relative to this update?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Sure. We have been watching this very closely in terms of the remaining charges associated with Revolution Wind. As we had mentioned, the two stop work orders led us to lose that vessel, and that vessel needed to get remobilized in order to finish the job. I'm very encouraged by many factors associated with Revolution Wind. First of all, we have every component needed to install it. The remaining pieces of the installation are very straightforward. There's no uncertainty around it. We're delivering over 300 MW of capacity right now to the ISO New England grid, and we're ramping up. We're heading towards the 704 number. I feel good about it. The fact of the matter is, the project is nearly complete. We have an in-service date of 2026. We're going to finish this and get it over the goal.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

I do feel very good that with the number that we have captured to date, and I don't see any other types of risks that worry me or are going to keep me up at night, Carly. I feel very good about it. We're going to bring this in, and I'm very proud of the work that was done. And obviously, we couldn't control the shutdowns, but we just wanted to capture that and make sure that we are up front about charges.

Carly Davenport
Carly Davenport
Analyst at Goldman Sachs

Understood. Great. Thank you so much for the color.

Operator

Okay, one moment for our next question, please. It comes from Nicolas Woods with Bank of America. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Good morning, Nick.

Nicolas Woods
Nicolas Woods
Analyst at Bank of America

Good morning, guys. How you guys doing?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Great.

Nicolas Woods
Nicolas Woods
Analyst at Bank of America

I guess just going back to offshore wind a little bit. Can you give us a sense of how much of the project is completed at this point? I thought I saw, or maybe I didn't see it correctly, but I didn't see a percentage completion figure this time, so I just want to get a sense of where we're at in terms of that. Can we start from there?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Sure, yeah. The project is over 95%, actually 97% complete. We are really in the final, we're in the five-yard line to get over the goal. We feel very good about that.

Nicolas Woods
Nicolas Woods
Analyst at Bank of America

Got it. Thanks for that. Just touching on the FERC ROEs. There's several processes as you guys highlighted, that are running kind of in parallel. You guys mentioned before that, ultimately you would guys want an ALJ to be appointed and get an overall global resolution to all these outstanding dockets. Has that view changed, or what do you guys expect from all this?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Hey, Nick, this is John. The process is pretty much in line with what we were expecting, with the exception that there was no administrative judge appointed to kind of work with the parties. As you know, in any proceeding, settlement is always on the table. I think, what we like about it is FERC wants to accelerate this paper hearing to have a reasonable rate going to effect on November 30th, which is very quickly. I think once we have that and we see the rate, and I think that could potentially get parties to reengage and hopefully look at a global settlement.

Nicolas Woods
Nicolas Woods
Analyst at Bank of America

Great. Appreciate the time. Thank you so much.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Sophie Karp with KBCM. Go ahead, Sophie.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Good morning, Sophie.

Sophie Karp
Analyst at KBCM

Hi. Good morning. Thanks for the time. I'm just curious, guys, now that a bunch of overhangs and I guess uncertainties are getting to have them in the rear view mirror, have you given any thought to maybe revising your long-term growth targets, or at least having them so you're one of a few peers that don't explicitly have a rate base growth target in your materials, things like that. Is there a path here now to higher precision in disclosures?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Hey, Sophie, this is John. We give enough information. We give you the annual CapEx, so you can certainly calculate a rough number. Our rate base growth, and we do give that number as to what historically it's been. It's grown slightly over 8%, an 8% CAGR. We do have that slide every year when we give forward-looking guidance. We just felt it was something that wasn't really needed because we do give enough color that someone could arrive at the annual rate base growth.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

I don't know if you're familiar with the slide that I'm referring to, but we do give what is expected for a rate base by 2030 based on our CapEx. We do have that in our deck.

Sophie Karp
Analyst at KBCM

Right. Secondly on the AMIs, can you maybe talk a little bit about the timeline of the rollout there, and how will that reflect in rate base?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Sure. Let me start off with the process that we're nearing the end in Massachusetts. It's really a five-year journey. As it relates to Connecticut, right now we have included that proposal as I made in my formal remarks in the rate case. We also, outside of the rate case, requested an expedited decision to move forward, hopefully this fall. We do want to take advantage of some contractual pricing that we were able to lock down for the vendors that we're using in Massachusetts. We feel that, getting the green light for us to proceed with AMI in Connecticut by this fall, customers in Connecticut would be able to take advantage of that pricing. With that, I would say if we get the green light this fall, we would start the project, mobilize it in next year.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Five years later, it's when everything will be wrapped up.

Sophie Karp
Analyst at KBCM

All right.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

That $1 billion, some of that will fall beyond our forecast period, given that timeframe.

Sophie Karp
Analyst at KBCM

Got you. All right. Thank you very much. That's all for me.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from Anthony Crowdell with Mizuho. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Good morning, Anthony.

Anthony Crowdell
Anthony Crowdell
Analyst at Mizuho

Hey. Good morning, John. Good morning, Joe. How's it going?

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Wonderful.

Anthony Crowdell
Anthony Crowdell
Analyst at Mizuho

Just two quick questions. One is, I think on the FERC refund, there was a decision out, I don't know, a month or two ago in MISO. I'm just curious if that strengthens your appeal arguments or complicates your appeal argument. I have a follow-up.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Anthony, I would say no impact. Our facts and circumstances from a legal standpoint is quite different than the MISO decision. Obviously, as you know, the MISO impact on the rate was a couple of basis points. Here in New England, it's much greater. Our legal position is different than the MISO, and we feel good about our legal position. We've done everything we can as far as the motion for a stay, and we're waiting for the court to rule on that, which could come any day now. Certainly, we're hoping before we commence any refunds, which we have not at this point initiated any of those refunds at this time.

Anthony Crowdell
Anthony Crowdell
Analyst at Mizuho

Great. If I could just slide 15, you give a lot of clarity on the credit cushion. I'm wondering if you guys have a targeted or a minimum credit cushion that you operate in, and if the FERC refund was upheld, meaning you had to pay it back, I guess, would you use any other levers to maintain the cushion you guys showed today? Would you just use the balance sheet capacity that you have to maybe fund that refund?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

First and foremost, we stand with our guidance that we want to be 100 basis points above the downgrade thresholds, and we've been very successful, as you can see on that slide. That's our priority. I feel good about the forecast and us achieving that steady state. As it relates to the refund, if we are in the position where we do have to refund the incremental $880 million, we would do that in a balanced manner.

Anthony Crowdell
Anthony Crowdell
Analyst at Mizuho

Great. That's all I had. Thanks for taking my questions.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Thanks, Anthony.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. It comes from David Paz with Wolfe. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Morning, David.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Hey, David.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

Good morning, guys. I just wanted to confirm on equity. You're now with Aquarion done and everything and all the orders you got in place and assuming the securitization as it stands today, is it fair to say your equity is $800 million-$1.1 billion through 2030 without setting aside FERC refunds? Is that the way to read—

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Correct.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

Okay.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Yep, that slide does not assume that we would be in a position to refund the FERC, other than the 15-month refund that we've already accounted for and booked.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

Okay. You said no more equity issuances for 2026.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Correct.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

If I heard you correctly.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

That is correct.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

Got it. All right. Thank you. Just switching gears to your Parent and Other drag. Is it fair to say that the first half of this year is a good indicator or a good run rate if we wanted to do a full year for the 2026 parent drag? How to think about that beyond 2026?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Yeah. As you can see, year-over-year, we're pretty much flat. I think we have more normalcy, if you will, at the Parent and Other. Once again, the taxes, that can go back and forth a bit. I think to answer your question, I think it would be a good number if you modeled kind of the steady state going forward. We don't have very much at the Parent and Other than taxes and interest.

David Paz
David Paz
Analyst at Wolfe

Right. Okay. That's it. Thank you.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Thanks, David.

Operator

Thank you so much. Now our next question is from Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Morning, Jeremy.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Hey, Jeremy.

Aidan Kelly
Aidan Kelly
Analyst at JPMorgan

Hey, guys. This is actually Aidan Kelly on for Jeremy. Appreciate the time today.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Hey, Aidan.

Aidan Kelly
Aidan Kelly
Analyst at JPMorgan

Yeah, just one quick clarifying question on my end. I think it was asked earlier in the call, but could you just break down the key assumptions that comprise the $1.8 billion estimate in storm proceeds in your plan? I guess beyond the $700 million Connecticut, which we talked about. Could you just quantify the cash flow drivers elsewhere across your jurisdictions?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Let me start with what makes up the up to the $1.8 billion. We talked about, and we have it on the slide, the $700 million that we will move forward with securitization from the Connecticut storm decision that just happened this week. $700 million, and we're sitting on about $450 million of New Hampshire storm costs that we're waiting for the final tranche to be approved. That's about $450 million. We've included that in this slide as an update because now we have the legislation in hand. The difference between those two items and the $1.8 billion would be the carrying charges as it pertains to the Connecticut storms. As I mentioned, we are reviewing the decision and looking at our options and next steps. We feel that there is a path forward for us to seek recovery of that.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

It would certainly be within our five-year period. We've included that in there as well. That's the composition of the $1.8 billion.

Aidan Kelly
Aidan Kelly
Analyst at JPMorgan

Great. That's very helpful. Thanks, John. I'll leave it there.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our last question comes from Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Jefferies. Please proceed.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Morning, Julien.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Hey, Julien.

Tanner James
Tanner James
Analyst at Jefferies

Hi. Good morning, team. Sorry to disappoint you. This is actually Tanner James on for Julien. I just wanted to follow up on that AMI filing in Connecticut, particularly relating to the benefit-cost analysis prepared. That analysis details a slightly positive nominal net benefit, but that turns negative on an NPV basis. Can you just provide some details regarding the proposal and prospects for implementation, given the negative NPV for net benefit? Thanks.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Yeah, sure. I think the primary driver is. Well, let me step back. This docket has been open for a multitude of years. If we had approval and had the green light to move forward with that, the cost-benefit analysis would have been much, much stronger and positive. Because we haven't been able to get to a mutual place where we would feel comfortable in making the investment without having the assurance that we have recovery, we haven't done so. We have updated the analysis, and the costs have gone significantly higher. The benefits really haven't changed. Now the cost component has changed, and that's why we're really close. Over time, we think it's the right thing to do, and will give customers the tools that they need to manage their energy consumption. We think that brings a lot of value to the table.

Tanner James
Tanner James
Analyst at Jefferies

Understood. Thanks. Maybe following up on the long-term EPS guidance, I noticed the disclosure with the earnings report projects cumulative 5%-7% EPS CAGR through 2030. Could you just provide an update regarding how you might view either the linearity or the shaping of the earnings profile, or if there are other factors to consider regarding targeted EPS growth?

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Sure. I did state in my formal remarks that we see the trajectory of growth rate, certainly between now and 2030, moving towards the upper half. One would imply, and I also gave a bit more color that says by 2028 is when you can see that growth happening to put us in the upper half of that 5%-7%. One would conclude that on a sustainable basis, that 2028, 2029, and 2030 to get us to the upper half by the end of 2030. That's the trajectory that we're out there with.

Tanner James
Tanner James
Analyst at Jefferies

Great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

John Moreira
John Moreira
EVP, CFO, and Treasurer at Eversource Energy

Sure thing. Have a good day.

Operator

Thank you so much. This concludes our Q&A session. I will pass it back to Joe Nolan for final remarks.

Joe Nolan
Joe Nolan
Chairman, President, and CEO at Eversource Energy

Thank you for joining us today. We're pleased with our progress year to date, remain confident about our execution momentum into the second half of the year. With a strengthened balance sheet, robust five-year capital plan, and ample opportunities for investment, we are well-positioned for higher growth. Operator, this ends today's call. Thank you all for joining us.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Executives
    • Rima Hyder
      Rima Hyder
      VP of Investor Relations
    • Joe Nolan
      Joe Nolan
      Chairman, President, and CEO
    • John Moreira
      John Moreira
      EVP, CFO, and Treasurer
Analysts
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