Eversource 2013 Annual Report Download - page 51

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Business Development and Capital Expenditures
Consolidated: Our consolidated capital expenditures, including amounts incurred but not paid, cost of removal, AFUDC, and the
capitalized portions of pension expense (all of which are non-cash factors), totaled $1.6 billion in 2013, $1.5 billion in 2012, and $1.2
billion in 2011. These amounts included $44.7 million in 2013, $43.1 million in 2012, and $51.9 million in 2011, related to our corporate
service companies, NUSCO and RRR.
Transmission Business: Overall, transmission business capital expenditures increased by $10.5 million in 2013, as compared with
2012, due primarily to the addition of NSTAR Electric's capital expenditures, partially offset by the completion of the WMECO portion of
GSRP. A summary of transmission capital expenditures by company in 2013, 2012 and 2011 is as follows:
For the Years Ended December 31,
(Millions of Dollars)
2013
2012 (1)
2011
CL&P
$
211.9
$
182.5
$
128.6
NSTAR Electric
220.8
160.7
N/A
PSNH
99.7
55.7
68.1
WMECO
87.2
214.7
236.8
NPT
39.9
35.4
25.9
Total Transmission Segment
$
659.5
$
649.0
$
459.4
(1) Results include the transmission capital expenditures of NSTAR Electric beginning April 10, 2012.
NEEWS: GSRP, the first, largest and most complicated project within the NEEWS family of projects was fully energized on
November 20, 2013. The project involved the construction of 115 kV and 345 kV overhead lines by CL&P and WMECO from Ludlow,
Massachusetts to Bloomfield, Connecticut. This transmission upgrade ensures the reliable flow of power in and around the southern
New England area and enables access to less expensive generation, further reducing the risk of congestion costs impacting New
England customers. The project was fully energized ahead of schedule with a final cost of $676 million, $42 million under the $718
million estimated cost. As of December 31, 2013, CL&P and WMECO have placed $628.2 million in service.
The Interstate Reliability Project, which includes CL&P’s construction of an approximately 40-mile, 345 kV overhead line from Lebanon,
Connecticut to the Connecticut-Rhode Island border in Thompson, Connecticut where it will connect to transmission enhancements
being constructed by National Grid, is the second major NEEWS project. All siting applications have been filed by CL&P and National
Grid. The Connecticut and Rhode Island portions of the project have been approved and a siting approval decision in Massachusetts is
expected in early 2014. On February 12, 2014, the Army Corps of Engineers issued its permit enabling construction on the Connecticut
portion of the project. This is the final permit for the Connecticut portion of the project. NU’s portion of the cost is estimated to be $218
million and the project is expected to be placed in service in late 2015.
The Greater Hartford Central Connecticut Study (GHCC), which includes the reassessment of the Central Connecticut Reliability
Project, continues to make progress. The final need results, which were presented to the ISO-NE Planning Advisory Committee in
November 2013, showed existing and worsening severe regional and local thermal overloads and voltage violations within and across
each of the four study areas. ISO-NE is expected to confirm the preferred transmission solutions in the first half of 2014, which are
likely to include many 115 kV upgrades. We continue to expect that the specific future projects being identified to address these
reliability concerns will cost approximately $300 million and that the project will be placed in service in 2017.
Included as part of NEEWS are associated reliability related projects, $90.8 million of which have been placed in service. As of
December 31, 2013, the remaining construction on the associated reliability related projects totaled $2.8 million, which is scheduled to
be completed by mid-2014.
Through December 31, 2013, CL&P and WMECO capitalized $252.8 million and $567 million, respectively, in costs associated with
NEEWS, of which $40.8 million and $48.9 million, respectively, were capitalized in 2013.
Cape Cod Reliability Projects: Transmission projects serving Cape Cod in the Southeastern Massachusetts (SEMA) reliability region
consist of an expansion and upgrade of NSTAR Electric's existing transmission infrastructure including construction of a new 345 kV
transmission line that crosses the Cape Cod Canal and associated 115 kV upgrades in the center of Cape Cod (Lower SEMA Project)
and related 115 kV projects (Mid-Cape Project). The Lower SEMA Project line work was completed and placed into service in 2013.
The Mid-Cape Project is scheduled to be completed in 2017. The aggregate estimated construction cost for the Cape Cod projects is
expected to be approximately $150 million. Through December 31, 2013, NSTAR Electric has invested $96 million in costs associated
with the Cape Cod Reliability Projects, of which $61 million was capitalized in 2013.
Northern Pass: Northern Pass is NPT's planned HVDC transmission line from the Québec-New Hampshire border to Franklin, New
Hampshire and an associated alternating current radial transmission line between Franklin and Deerfield, New Hampshire. Northern
Pass will interconnect at the Québec-New Hampshire border with a planned HQ HVDC transmission line. The $1.4 billion project is
subject to comprehensive federal and state public permitting processes and is expected to be operational by mid-2017. On July 1,
2013, NPT filed an amendment to the DOE Presidential Permit Application for a proposed improved route in the northernmost section
of the project area. As of December 31, 2013, the DOE had completed its public scoping meeting process and the majority of its
seasonal field work and environmental data collection. NPT expects to file its state permit application in the fourth quarter of 2014 after
the DOE’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is received.