S&P puts Eversource units on watch

S&P said it placed its ratings for Eversource Energy’s subsidiaries Connecticut Light & Power Co. (CL&P), Nstar Electric Co. (Nstar-E), Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (Pscnh), Yankee Gas Services Co., Nstar Gas Co. (Nstar-G), Eversource Gas Co. of Massachusetts (EGMA), and Aquarion Co. on CreditWatch with negative implications.

On Monday, Eversource announced that it expects to record $1.4 billion-$1.6 billion in impairment charges related to its offshore wind joint venture, which is substantially higher than the agency’s prior base-case expectations, S&P said.

“The CreditWatch placements for CL&P, Nstar-E, and Pscnh reflect our view that their insulating measures are sufficient to rate these subsidiaries up to one notch higher than parent Eversource's group credit profile (GCP). Currently, these three subsidiaries are rated one notch above the Eversource group credit profile (GCP). Therefore, if we downgrade Eversource by one notch, we will also downgrade these three subsidiaries by one notch.

“The CreditWatch placements for Yankee Gas, Nstar-G, EGMA, and Aquarion reflect our view that they are core to Eversource with insufficient insulating measures in place to rate them above parent Eversource's GCP. As core subsidiaries, we consider these companies integral to Eversource's future strategy, highly unlikely to be sold, and benefiting from a strong, long-term commitment from Eversource's senior management team,” S&P said in a statement.

The agency warned it could lower the subsidiaries’ ratings over the next 90 days if it downgrades Eversource.

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