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) October 24, 2000
Commission File Number 1-5324
NORTHEAST UTILITIES
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
MASSACHUSETTS 1-5324 04-2147929
(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File No.) Identification No.)
174 BRUSH HILL AVENUE, WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
01090-0010
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
(413) 785-5871
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Not Applicable
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
On October 24, 2000, Northeast Utilities issued the following earnings news
release for the Third Quarter 2000:
NU Logo
"NU REPORTS THIRD-QUARTER RESULTS
HARTFORD, Connecticut, October 24, 2000-Northeast Utilities (NU) today
reported third-quarter 2000 earnings of $65.5 million, or 45 cents per share
on a fully diluted basis, compared with earnings of $31.2 million, or 24
cents per share, for the same period of 1999.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, NU earned $152.3 million,
or $1.08 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared with earnings of $49.9
million, or 38 cents per share, for the same period of 1999. For the 12
months ended September 30, 2000, NU earned $136.7 million, or 98 cents per
share, compared with a loss of $82.1 million, or 63 cents per share, for the
12 months ended September 30, 1999.
Michael G. Morris, NU chairman, president and chief executive officer,
attributed the improved 2000 results to profitable operations at NU's
unregulated businesses, extremely strong performance at the Millstone
nuclear station, and continued reductions in operating expenses. Nonfuel
operation and maintenance costs totaled $809.4 million for the first nine
months of 2000, down 4.6 percent from the $849.1 million for the same period
of 1999.
Morris noted that third-quarter 2000 results included a one-time after-
tax gain of $10.4 million, or 7 cents per share, related to the investment in
NEON Communications, Inc., of Mode 1 Communications, Inc., an NU subsidiary.
The gain resulted from an investment in NEON by two unaffiliated companies.
Third-quarter 1999 results included an after-tax charge of $13.8 million, or
11 cents per share, related to the Western Massachusetts Electric Company's
(WMECO) share of Millstone, and an after-tax charge of $6.6 million, or 5
cents per share, related to The Connecticut Light and Power Company's (CL&P)
share of Millstone. Both charges resulted from regulatory orders. CL&P and
WMECO are wholly owned operating subsidiaries of NU.
Morris said NU's unregulated energy businesses earned approximately
$4.5 million in the third quarter of 2000 on revenues of $592.8 million,
compared with a loss of $14.9 million on revenues of $199.9 million in the
same period of 1999. Over the first nine months of 2000, those unregulated
energy operations earned $14.8 million on revenues of $1.51 billion,
compared with a loss of $29 million on revenues of $444.4 million during the
same period of 1999.
Morris said the Millstone 3 nuclear unit has operated at a 100 percent
capacity factor in 2000 and that Millstone 2 has operated at approximately a
100 percent capacity factor since returning to service from a scheduled
refueling outage in early June. With industry restructuring, better nuclear
performance increases wholesale revenues and earnings for CL&P and
WMECO, Morris said.
Offsetting those improvements were a 5 percent retail rate decrease
that took effect for CL&P's 1.1 million retail customers on January 1, 2000.
That rate decrease reduced revenues by $25.7 million in the third quarter of
2000 and $82.3 million in the first nine months of 2000, compared with the
same periods of 1999. Mild weather also reduced third-quarter electric sales
and cut earnings by approximately $11 million, or 7 cents per share,
compared with the same period of 1999. Third-quarter retail kilowatt-hour
sales were down 4.8 percent in 2000, compared to the same period of 1999,
but up 1.2 percent on a weather-adjusted basis. For the first nine months of
the year, retail electric sales were down 0.8 percent, but up 1.4 percent on
a weather-adjusted basis.
Morris said NU currently projects year-end 2000 earnings of between
$1.30 and $1.50 per share, including after-tax charges totaling approximately
$9 million, or 7 cents per share, in the first and second quarters associated
with the settlement of Millstone-related litigation and the third-quarter
gain related to NU's investment in NEON. That estimate does not reflect an
after-tax charge of $225 million NU has committed to take as a result of
electric industry restructuring for NU's Public Service Company of New
Hampshire (PSNH) subsidiary. The New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission approved PSNH's rate and restructuring plan on September 8,
2000, but its implementation is being held up by two appeals of the
commission's approval to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Morris said fourth-quarter results will be driven largely by weather-
related electric and natural gas sales, the performance of the Millstone
units, and the performance of the unregulated energy businesses in a quarter
that ordinarily has modest weather-related sales volume. Yankee Energy
System, Inc., which merged with NU on March 1, 2000, lost $6.7 million during
the seven months ended September 30, 2000, but is expected to be profitable
in the fourth quarter of this year with the onset of the heating season,
Morris said.
NU operates New England's largest energy delivery system with
approximately 1.75 million electric customers in Connecticut, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts and 185,000 natural gas customers in
Connecticut, and is one of the largest competitive energy suppliers in New
England. NU has approximately 144 million shares outstanding.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are
statements of future expectations and not facts. Actual results or
developments might differ materially from those included in the forward-
looking statements because of factors such as competition and industry
restructuring, changes in economic conditions, changes in historical weather
patterns, changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies, developments
in legal or public policy doctrines, technological developments and other
presently unknown or unforeseen factors. Other risk factors are detailed from
time to time in NU's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission."
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.
NORTHEAST UTILITIES
(registrant)
/s/ Randy A. Shoop
Randy A. Shoop
Assistant Treasurer - Finance
Date: October 24, 2000
