The pace of load growth has picked up across Eversource Energy’s service territories in the Northeast, the company said during its second-quarter earnings call Aug. 1.
CEO Joe Nolan said demand increased by 2% during the quarter, “nearly double the rate observed during the same period last year.”
“As anticipated, electric demand continues to rise, both in the near term and throughout our 10-year forecast horizon,” Nolan said. “In several regions, demand is expected to outpace existing infrastructure capacity, underscoring the critical need for strategic upgrades and new development.”
Nolan said heating and transportation electrification is “further fueling this upward trend” and said the growing demand reinforces the company’s planned investments in grid infrastructure. He highlighted a 10% increase in Eversource’s five-year investment plan, which the company announced in February. (See Eversource to Boost Grid Investments by $1.9B After Exiting Wind, Water.)
Load growth in Eversource’s service territories is reflective of broader trends across the region: After years of relatively flat load because of energy-efficiency programs and behind-the-meter solar, demand in New England has begun to trend upward. ISO-NE experienced its highest peak load since 2013 in June and is forecasting accelerating load growth over the coming years. (See Extreme Heat Triggers Capacity Deficiency in New England.)
Nolan discussed several of the company’s major investments and regulatory proceedings, including investments in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); a “first-of-its-kind” underground substation in Cambridge, Mass.; construction of an onshore substation for Revolution Wind; and regulatory proceedings in Connecticut and New Hampshire.
He said construction of the AMI communication network in western Massachusetts is “substantially complete” and that Eversource has started construction on its communication network in eastern Massachusetts. He said the company expects the overall deployment of AMI in the state to take about three years.
Construction on the onshore substation for Revolution Wind is “progressing well,” Nolan said, adding that it should be “substantially complete this month.”
He noted that Ørsted said in May that construction on Revolution Wind was about 75% complete. Ørsted said the project should be placed in service in the second half of 2026 and that delays associated with the onshore substation pushed back the overall in-service date for the project. (See Ørsted Remains Committed to U.S. Offshore Wind Projects.)
Nolan also applauded a recent rate case ruling by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, which he called a “constructive decision” that “largely supports our investments on grid modernization, system reliability and necessary infrastructure.”
The PUC authorized an 8.2% distribution rate increase and a $6 hike in the monthly fixed residential customer charge. It also approved a performance-based ratemaking process allowing formula-based increases to rates through 2029.
Nolan praised the “very favorable” regulatory climate in New Hampshire and called the rate case “an example for other jurisdictions.”
But the PUC’s ruling has drawn criticism from New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) and Consumer Advocate Donald Kreis, who both expressed concern about consumer cost increases stemming from the decision.
“Eversource distribution rates are going up by 24% — well ahead of inflation — at exactly the same time energy charges are also skyrocketing,” Kreis wrote in response to the decision. “What an awful time to be a New Hampshire electric user, especially if your utility is Eversource.”
In Connecticut, where Eversource has frequently butted heads with top utility regulator Marissa Gillett, Nolan said the company continues to have “concerns with certain core components” of the draft decision issued in July in the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s docket on performance-based regulation.
