SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549-1004
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) December 2, 1999
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Commission File Number 0-404
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THE CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
CONNECTICUT 06-0303850
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(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
SELDEN STREET, BERLIN, CONNECTICUT 06037-1616
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(860) 665-5000
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 5. Other Events.
A. On December 2, 1999, Northeast Utilities (NU) and its subsidiaries, The
Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), Western Massachusetts Electric
Company (WMECO) and Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH), agreed in
principle with Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a wholly-owned subsidiary
of CMP Group, to settle various arbitration and litigation claims arising out
of the operation of the Millstone 3 nuclear power plant. These claims had
been asserted by CMP and the other non-NU owners of Millstone 3 in August
1997 and concerned an extended outage at the unit that began in 1996. The
proposed settlement would involve the payment of fixed and contingent amounts
to CMP and is subject to the execution of a definitive agreement. The
settlement is not contingent upon acceptance by the other non-NU owners.
CL&P, WMECO and PSNH own approximately 68% of Millstone 3, and CMP owns
approximately 2.5% of the unit. NU, CL&P and WMECO reached similar
settlements with two other joint owners of Millstone 3, New England Power
Company and Montaup Electric Company, who collectively own 16% of the unit,
in October, 1999.
Reference is made to Item 1, "Business-Nuclear Generation," and to Item
3, "Legal Proceedings," in NU's, CL&P's and WMECO's Form 10-K for 1998 and
Form 8-K dated October 27, 1999 for further discussion of the joint owners'
Millstone 3 claims and the related settlement.
B. On December 15, 1999, CL&P completed the sale of 2,235 MW of fossil-
fueled generation in Connecticut to NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG), a subsidiary of
Northern States Energy, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The value of this
sale amounted to approximately $500 million when inventory, fuel on-hand and
other items were included. The four fossil-fueled plants sold were Montville
Station (498 MW); Middletown Station (856 MW); Devon Station (401 MW) in
Milford; and Norwalk Harbor Station (353 MW). Six jet units (127 MW) in
Torrington, Branford and Greenwich, Connecticut, also were part of the sale.
CL&P sold these assets as part of its restructuring plan, filed with the
DPUC, in compliance with state legislation enacted in 1998. Gains on the
sale were used to offset the need to recover a like amount of stranded costs
from CL&P customers, in accordance with the state's restructuring
legislation.
CL&P has applied the proceeds of the sale principally to call for
redemption at par all first mortgage bonds of the following series: 1994
Series B 6 1/8%, Series YY 7 1/2% and Series ZZ 7 3/8%.
C. On December 15, 1999, the Connecticut Department of Public Utility
Control ("DPUC") issued a supplemental decision in Docket No. 99-03-36, DPUC
Determination of The Connecticut Light and Power Company's Standard Offer,
approving the components of CL&P's rates for standard offer service
commencing on January 1, 2000. In approving the rates, however, the DPUC
denied recovery of most of the capital additions to CL&P's nuclear plants
made subsequent to June 30, 1997, which CL&P has expended or will expend to
maintain those plants in a safe and efficient condition or to maintain their
auction value. The DPUC approved an interim nuclear capital recovery
mechanism for the period from January 1, 2000 until the nuclear units are
sold at auction. If implemented as approved, this would result in CL&P not
recovering a significant portion of the capital additions which have been or
are expected to be incurred subsequent to July 1, 1997 until the plants are
sold, presently estimated to occur in 2001. On December 29, 1999, CL&P filed
with the DPUC a petition for reconsideration of this portion of the order,
and is awaiting action on that petition. Management believes the
restructuring legislation provides for the recovery of these prudently
incurred expenditures. If CL&P is unsuccessful in favorably resolving this
contingency, an impairment loss of approximately $50 million would be
recorded.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
CONNECTICUT LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY
(registrant)
/S/ Randy A. Shoop
Randy A. Shoop
Treasurer
Date: January 21, 2000
