By Michael Kuser

Eversource Energy’s earnings fell sharply last quarter after the company was forced to write off $204 million from its investment in the failed Northern Pass transmission project — but its fortunes are looking more promising offshore.

The company last week reported second-quarter earnings of $31.5 million ($0.10/share), compared with $242.8 million ($0.76/share) in the same period a year ago.

“The Northern Pass impairment was a difficult step for us to take given the economic and environmental benefits the project could have brought to New England, but it does not take away from the fact that 2019 has been very positive for Eversource,” CEO Jim Judge said in a statement.

Excluding the impairment, Eversource earned $235.9 million ($0.74/share) in the quarter.

The company’s transmission segment, excluding the impairment, earned $117 million during the period, compared to $112.7 million a year earlier, while the distribution segment took in $105.4 million, up from $101.3 million.

Offshore Wind Looks Bright

New York last month awarded Eversource and its partner Ørsted an 880-MW contract for the offshore Sunrise Wind joint venture.

The company is targeting an in-service date of 2024 and signed a memorandum of understanding with Consolidated Edison and the New York Power Authority on the related transmission facilities, CFO Phil Lembo told analysts during a call Thursday.

The companies also jointly own the 130-MW South Fork project, 30 miles off Montauk, Long Island.

In Rhode Island, state regulators in June approved a 400-MW contract for a portion of the companies’ offshore Revolution Wind project. Connecticut regulators had previously approved a separate 200-MW contract for the project and are reviewing a deal for another 104 MW, Lembo said.

He noted that Massachusetts issued its second offshore wind request for proposals of at least 400 MW in May.

“But as they did in the first RFP, they said bidders can also offer up to 800 MW or as little as 200 MW of offshore wind,” Lembo said, adding that Eversource and Ørsted are developing and refining appropriate bid strategies for both Massachusetts and Connecticut, which is seeking another 2,000 MW of OSW by 2030.

Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that lifts the price cap on OSW solicitations for one year, which prior legislation had mandated must get progressively cheaper.

“For this upcoming solicitation, the cap in Massachusetts is removed, and I think that’s just recognition that there’s many things that they hadn’t thought of at the time when the cap was instituted, but they still are focused on cost going forward,” Lembo said.

State Updates

Lembo said the company is also focused on grid modernization in Connecticut, awaiting a decision by regulators on advanced metering infrastructure. The state’s legislature clarified existing statutes to explicitly allow regulated utilities to build and operate energy storage facilities that can be shown to benefit customers, he said.

Connecticut is also in the process of raising the number of commissioners on its Public Utilities Regulatory Authority from to five, Lembo noted.

“So right now, we believe [grid modernization] is certainly one of the issues that is on the front burner of the agenda at the PURA, but it’s hard to say precisely when we expect it … we do expect it to come out this year,” he said.

In Massachusetts, the company is on pace to complete a $45 million capital program to install more than 3,500 electric vehicle charging ports by the end of next year, Lembo said.

“We are poised to propose a similar electric vehicle charging program in Connecticut, pending guidance from regulators on a broader review of grid [modernization],” he said.

Call transcript courtesy of Seeking Alpha.