Eversource & Avangrid Seek 11.39% ROE from FERC
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- Eversource (joined by Avangrid) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to raise the base return on equity for New England transmission investments to 11.39% from the 9.57% level set six weeks earlier, with the increase to take effect June 30.
- FERC retroactively cut the base ROE for New England transmission owners to 9.57% from 10.57% in mid‑March, using financial data from October 2012–March 2013.
- Transmission owners were ordered to refund an estimated $1.5 billion to ratepayers by May 20 2027, according to the FERC order.
- Eversource disclosed in a Feb 17 SEC filing that a 0.1 percentage‑point change in its base ROE would affect after‑tax earnings by roughly $7 million per year.
- ISO New England reported that only 20 % of its Transmission Committee and 25 % of its Participants Committee backed the proposed ROE increase at April meetings.
- Maine Office of Public Advocate said it will vigorously oppose the ROE request, criticizing the transmission owners’ analysis as flawed.
Why it matters: A higher ROE would lift the utilities’ earnings—Eversource estimates a 0.1 % increase adds about $7 million annually—while potentially raising ratepayers’ costs and prompting regulatory resistance from the Maine Office of Public Advocate and ISO New England, and could affect the $1.5 billion refund schedule mandated by FERC.
