Northeast Utilities
|
|
Northeast Utilities is a private utility company with several subsidiaries and units doing business in the wholesale and retail electricity and natural gas markets.
Its retail electricity subsidiaries include the Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO), the Connecticut Light and Power Company, and the Public Service Company of New Hampshire. Yankee Energy groups provide retail natural gas (Yankee Gas) and related financial services (Yankee Energy Financial) to parts of Connecticut.
Its wholesale generation, transmission, trading, industrial supply, and industrial services businesses are conducted under the Northeast Utilities, Northeast Generation, or Select Energy (formerly HEC, Inc.) brands.
NU was formed in 1966 by the merger of WMECO, Connecticut Light and Power, and The Hartford Electric Light Company. It later absorbed the Holyoke Water Power Company (1967) and PSNH (1992). HWP's predecessor companies were prominent developers of canals and other water-related technologies on the Connecticut River, in the vicinity of the falls at South Hadley, from the late 1700s. (See the history of HWP (http://www.nu.com/aboutnu/hwpco.asp)). Public tours are available of the fish ladder and generator facility at the Holyoke Dam. The public can also visit the hydroelectric pumping/generation facility buried deep under Northfield Mountain, which also offers nature trails and a visitor's center. The company uses a reservoir at the top of the mountain to store energy for sale during peak periods.
The subsidiary North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation used to operate the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant, but Northeast Utilities sold its interest to FPL Group in 2002. (See the associated FPL press release (http://www.fpl.com/news/2002/contents/02010.shtml).)
NU is also no longer affiliated with the Connecticut Yankee and Millstone nuclear power plants. It owns a 20% share in Maine Yankee, which went offline on December 5, 1996, and was retired on August 6, 1997. The company also owns 1 oil (partially), 2 coal, 1 oil/coal, 1 oil/gas, and 27 hydroelectric power plants, plus 2 hydroelectric pumped storage facilities (Northfield Mountain and Rocky River).
External links
- Northeast Utilities official site (http://www.nu.com/)