U.S. Department of Energy Approves Presidential Permit for Northern Pass

Eversource Energy and Northern Pass Transmission LLC (NPT), a subsidiary
of Eversource Energy, today announced that the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Record
of Decision (ROD) and approved the Presidential
Permit for the Northern Pass hydroelectric transmission project that
will allow NPT to construct transmission facilities at the U.S./Canada
border in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. This approval is the culmination of
a thorough review of the project that involved numerous federal
agencies, extensive public involvement, and detailed consideration of
approximately a dozen different alternatives.

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“We are pleased to see the DOE permitting process for Northern Pass draw
to a close, and appreciate the years of diligent work done by the
federal agencies in reaching this critical project milestone,” said
Eversource New Hampshire President Bill Quinlan. “With the New Hampshire
and Canadian permitting processes also nearing completion, and
considering we have all major contractor, equipment and labor agreements
in place, Northern Pass is on track to begin construction by mid-2018.
This is good news for customers, and for the broad and diverse group of
New Hampshire stakeholders who support this project for the many
benefits it will bring to the state and the region.” (See attached
quotes.)

In approving the Presidential Permit for Northern Pass, DOE found that
the permit was in the public interest and that the project would have no
adverse impacts on reliability of the U.S. electric power system,
particularly in New England. As required, DOE also obtained favorable
recommendations from the U.S. Departments of State and Defense. The
extensive review of Northern Pass was led by DOE and involved the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service – White
Mountain National Forest, the New England District of the Army Corps of
Engineers and the New Hampshire Office of Energy Planning as cooperating
agencies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also participated in the
review of potential impacts on threatened and endangered species.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is expected to issue a separate final ROD
soon in response to NPT’s application for a special use permit to allow
burial of the transmission line through the White Mountain National
Forest. In a draft ROD issued in September, the USFS proposed to approve
NPT’s application, concluding that the short-term construction impacts
of the project are “more than outweighed by the benefits of bringing
additional hydropower to the New England grid.”

Northern Pass will result in up to 3.2 million metric tons of avoided
CO2 emissions per year in New England. Estimated wholesale electricity
market benefits are approximately $600 million annually for New England
and $62 million annually for New Hampshire. Northern Pass will create a
significant increase in New Hampshire’s Gross Domestic Product,
estimated to be $2.2 billion over the project’s construction period and
in the first 10 years of operation, and the project will create 2,600
jobs in New Hampshire during construction.

Beyond its clean energy benefits and energy cost savings, Northern Pass
will provide a number of benefits unique to New Hampshire, including
about $30 million annually in additional tax revenue to communities
along the route; $7.5 million to the North Country Job Creation Fund to
develop and retain jobs in the North Country; thousands of acres set
aside for conservation, recreation and mixed-use; and the $200 million
Forward NH Fund to support clean energy innovations, economic
development, community investment, and tourism.

The Northern Pass transmission line will begin at the Canadian border in
Pittsburg, New Hampshire and extend to Deerfield, New Hampshire where it
will connect to the New England grid. More than 80 percent of the line
will be located along existing transmission corridors or buried along
roadways to eliminate potential view impacts in the White Mountain
National Forest area. Northern Pass will provide a robust, new
interconnection path between the Québec and New England electric
systems, and will be controlled by the regional system operator, ISO-New
England.

Broad Support in New Hampshire

Tony Giunta

Mayor-elect, City of Franklin, NH

“Issuance of the Presidential Permit for the Northern Pass project is
great news for the City of Franklin and other municipalities that will
directly benefit from the millions of new dollars being invested in our
communities. We greatly appreciate the thoroughness and speed at which
the U.S. Department of Energy acted on this critical renewable energy
project.”

Guy Montminy

Senior Vice President and Deputy General Manager, BAE Systems
Electronic Systems, Nashua, NH

“News that the Northern Pass project is now one step closer to providing
clean, renewable, reliable, low-cost power to New Hampshire and New
England is encouraging. BAE Systems saw its energy costs in New
Hampshire grow by 24 percent per kilowatt hour from 2014 to 2016. If
these cost increases continue, they threaten New Hampshire’s economic
growth. There is no dispute that the best way to definitively lower
electricity costs is to bring more reliable, affordable electricity into
the New England power market. The clean, renewable power Northern Pass
will bring to the region will help address these cost increases while
appropriately protecting environmental resources. The state Site
Evaluation Committee should follow the lead of federal regulators and
approve this project without any further delays.”

Brian Murphy

Business Manager of IBEW Local 104 of Barrington, NH

“The issuance of the federal Record of Decision and Presidential Permit
by the U.S. Department of Energy represents a major milestone for the
Northern Pass project and the thousands of New Hampshire working
families that will benefit from this project. After conducting scores of
public hearings and receiving thousands of public comments, the U.S. DOE
correctly concluded that this project provides great benefit to the
people of New Hampshire and New England. IBEW applauds the thorough and
efficient permitting work of the U.S. Department of Energy, and we look
forward to getting to work building this critical energy infrastructure
project.”

Tracy Hatch

President & CEO, Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, Nashua, NH

“As New Hampshire businesses look to expand and grow, and as
out-of-state and international companies look to relocate to New
Hampshire, one of the biggest challenges they all face is the high and
too often volatile cost of energy. From manufacturing to health care,
and from hospitality to retail to high-tech software development,
virtually every industry we have and want to attract needs a reliable
source of energy at a price they can afford with the capacity to meet
their needs. Northern Pass promises to provide all that and more. Our
Chamber strongly supports Northern Pass and applauds this major step
forward.”

Michael Skelton

President & CEO, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Manchester,
NH

“Growing New Hampshire’s economy is directly tied to availability of
low-cost and reliable sources of energy. The GMCC has supported Northern
Pass for years as we know an energy project of this scale will deliver
tremendous value to our economy and help attract and retain businesses
and jobs to the Granite State, especially from the manufacturing sector.
We are pleased to see Northern Pass achieve this important milestone.”

The Northern Pass is a 192-mile electric transmission line project
that will bring to New England 1,090 megawatts of clean hydropower. This
reliable and affordable source of power will also bring a wide range of
benefits to the region, including millions of dollars in energy cost
savings and a significant reduction in carbon emissions. To learn
more about Northern Pass, go to www.northernpass.us.

Eversource (NYSE: ES) transmits and delivers electricity and natural
gas to more than 3.7 million electric and natural gas customers in
Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Recognized as the top U.S.
utility for its energy efficiency programs by the sustainability
advocacy organization Ceres, Eversource harnesses the commitment of its
approximately 8,000 employees across three states to build a single,
united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy
and superior customer service. For more information, please visit our
website at Eversource.com and follow us on Twitter (@eversourceNH) and
Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceNH).

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