Dive Brief:
- Eversource announced Monday it closed the sale of its New Hampshire hydroelectric facilities, completing a multi-year divestiture process as part of a plan to deregulate the state's electric utility industry.
- The utility sold nine small hydroelectric plants with a capacity of 68 MW to an affiliate of Hull Street Energy LLC for $83 million. The new owners agreed to keep the generating plants in service for at least 18 months.
- Eversource in January also completed the sale of its fossil fuel plants. Divesting the energy company's power generation facilities was a component of a 2015 comprehensive restructuring and rate stabilization agreement.
Dive Insight:
The sale of Eversoure's generation was a key part of New Hampshire's deregulatory plan, but it took more than three years to complete.
In a statement, Eversource NH President Bill Quinlan called the sale "the final milestone" in the deregulation of the state's electric utility industry.
Eversource, formerly Public Service of New Hampshire, agreed in 2015 to sell all of its power plants in the state. Once completed, with Eversource delivering power that it purchases on the open market rather than generating, consumers are expected to save at least $300 million.
The nine hydro facilities are located around the state; the largest are the 17.2 MW Smith Hydro in Berlin, and then 16 MW Amoskeag Hydro in Manchester.
Eversource also sold five fossil fuel plants totaling 1,130 MW to Granite Shore Power, an equal partnership of Atlas Holdings and Castleton Commodities International, for $175 million.
That deal, which closed in January, included Merrimack Station in Bow, which has been in operation for more than five decades. Also in the sale: Newington Station which has been in service since 1974; and Schiller Station in Portsmouth, which has been in operation since 1952.
