Eversource 2002 Annual Report Download - page 9

S&P
BBB+
BBB
BBB-
BB+
BB
BB-
B+
Moody’s
Baa1
Baa2
Baa3
Ba1
Ba2
Ba3
B1
98 99 00 01 02
NU Unsecured Debt Rating
Our energy trading business lost significant sums of money last spring when natural gas
prices spiked. Further, the number of firms with which we could trade fell sharply due to
several deciding to exit the business. With fewer counterparties available to us, we lowered
the level of capital at risk in the trading business considerably. We will continue to trade,
on a smaller scale, as an important adjunct to our wholesale and retail marketing business.
The net result of changes in our business portfolio is NU’s position as a smaller, more
agile company. In recent years we added Yankee Energy and our competitive businesses,
and sold Millstone, Seabrook and the fossil plants owned by CL&P and WMECO. Given
our reduced size, we took the painful step in 2002 of reducing our administrative staff,
eliminating the positions of 200 employees and 100 contractors. This should result in
approximately $20 million in pre-tax cost savings in 2003.
I would like to thank several NU leaders who left our company in 2002. Raymond Golden,
who chose to retire in December, was a Trustee for four years and provided valuable
guidance to us. Bruce Kenyon, widely respected as the chief architect of the 1996-1999
turnaround at Millstone Station, retired as president of our Generation Group at the end
of 2002. We are also indebted to four other NU executives who retired in 2002 – Jack Keane,
Ted Feigenbaum, Gary Simon, and Keith Marvin – all of whom made lasting contributions
to NU over their many years of dedicated service.
I would be remiss if I did not mention and thank all of the dedicated individuals in the
NU family, past and present, who worked on our nuclear program from our industry-
leading vision in the early days to the closing of the Seabrook sale to FPL. In the beginning
and through the first decades, we were viewed as among the best nuclear operators in
the world. This was followed by a period in the late 1980s and early- to mid-1990s when
we faced our deepest challenge in the nuclear area. By the end of the 1990s and into the
new millennium we regained our footing and closed our nuclear history as we had begun
by being viewed as among the best nuclear operators in the world. The company owes a
deep debt of gratitude to our state regulators and politicians, both state and federal, for
helping us through these challenging times. We owe a specific gratitude to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission for helping us to become a better, more conservative operator
and to create a safety-conscious work environment, which became the industry model.
Lastly, we would like to thank the nuclear industry, with special thanks to the Nuclear
Energy Institute, and Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, for their many contributions
to our success. With the support of these groups and many more, we leave the nuclear
industry as we began, with our heads held high.
Finally, my sincere appreciation is extended to our shareholders who continue to trust
us with their investment and look to us to provide responsible, effectual leadership in a
time of economic uncertainty and change. We are proud to earn your continued confidence
as we leverage our industry expertise, proactively anticipate and meet our customers’
energy needs, and address critical issues of energy security and reliability.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Morris
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
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