Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
OnOctober 1, 2021 ,The Connecticut Light and Power Company ("CL&P"), a subsidiary ofEversource Energy , announced that it had entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with theConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP"),Office of Consumer Counsel ("OCC"),Office of the Attorney General ("AG") and the Connecticut Industrial Energy Consumers (collectively, the "settling parties"), resolving certain issues that arose in pending regulatory proceedings initiated by theConnecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ("PURA"). The settlement agreement requires PURA's approval byNovember 1, 2021 to become effective.
The material financial terms of the settlement agreement are as follows:
In the settlement agreement,CL&P agreed to provide a total of$65 million of customer bill credits to be distributed over two months fromDecember 1, 2021 toJanuary 31, 2022 .CL&P expects to recognize a$65 million pre-tax charge to earnings in the third quarter of 2021 associated with this provision of the settlement agreement.CL&P also agreed to irrevocably set aside$10 million to fund various customer assistance initiatives as directed by the DEEP, OCC and AG as of the date of approval of the settlement agreement for disbursement prior toDecember 31, 2021 .CL&P expects to recognize a$10 million pre-tax charge to earnings in the third quarter of 2021 associated with this provision of the settlement agreement.CL&P is currently crediting customers a total of$28.4 million associated with the payment of a performance penalty for Storm Isaias. As ofMarch 31, 2021 ,CL&P had recorded this liability on its balance sheet and a corresponding charge to earnings. In exchange for this$75 million of customer rate relief and customer assistance, PURA's interim rate reduction docket will be resolved without findings. As a result of the settlement agreement, neither the 90 basis point reduction toCL&P's return on equity imposed by PURA's storm-related decision issuedApril 28, 2021 , nor the 45 basis point reduction toCL&P's return on equity imposed by PURA's draft decision issuedSeptember 14, 2021 , will be implemented.CL&P has also agreed that its current base distribution rates shall be frozen, subject to the customer bill credits described above, until no earlier thanJanuary 1, 2024 . The rate freeze applies only to base distribution rates and not to other rate mechanisms such as the retail rate components, rate reconciling mechanisms, formula rates and any other adjustment mechanisms. The rate freeze also does not apply to any cost recovery mechanism outside of the base distribution rates with regard to grid-modernization initiatives or any other proceedings, either currently pending or that may be initiated during the rate freeze period, that may place additional obligations onCL&P .
As part of the settlement agreement,
This summary does not represent all of the terms of the settlement agreement. The settlement agreement contains additional terms and conditions, related to governance, reporting, hiring and area work center expansion inConnecticut . A copy of the complete settlement agreement is available at the following link:
http://www.dpuc.state.ct.us/2nddockcurr.nsf/8e6fc37a54110e3e852576190052b64d/e5a95922b7888e6d8525876100747d29/$FILE/Joint%20Motion%20to%20Approve%20Settlement%20%20Cover%20Letter%2010.01.2021%20final.pdf
The cumulative first and expected third quarter pre-tax non-recurring charges associated with the settlement and Storm Isaias penalty totals$103.4 million at bothCL&P andEversource Energy . This will result in an expected total after-tax charge to earnings of$83.8 million , or$0.24 per share, for 2021 forEversource Energy ,$0.07 per share of which was previously recorded in the first quarter of 2021.
The information contained in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed "filed" with the
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Exhibit Number Description 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). [The remainder of this page left blank intentionally.]
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