Eversource Energy : Continued Investment in the Grid is Boosting Reliability for Eversource Customers

MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 5, 2017) - The number of Eversource customers who experienced power interruptions in New Hampshire decreased by more than 25 percent this spring and summer compared to the same period in 2016. The improvement is credited in large part to the energy company's enhanced tree trimming and the company's investment in new equipment that has strengthened the state's power delivery system.

Historically, the leading cause of power outages in New Hampshire is damage to equipment resulting from trees and limbs falling onto power lines. That's why Eversource continues to implement robust vegetation management programs, investing $41 million in tree trimming throughout the state in 2017 to remove hazards to the energy system. Since the start of 2017, Eversource tree crews have completed trimming along more than 1,550 miles of overhead power lines in New Hampshire, and the company plans to complete about 2,800 additional miles of trimming before the end of the year.

'Eversource implements a rigorous four-year trimming cycle and hazardous tree removal program along our energy system in New Hampshire, which helps minimize the number of tree-related outages our customers experience,' said New Hampshire Vice President of Electrical Operations Joe Purington. 'This work is having a significant positive impact on our efforts to keep the power on for customers.'

In addition to tree trimming, Eversource continues to invest in modernizing and hardening the energy grid. This year, Eversource is investing more than $250 million on upgrades that make New Hampshire's transmission and distribution system smarter and more resilient when severe weather strikes, including:

• Installing stronger, more durable poles and covered wires to make the system more resilient to severe weather
• Automating equipment at substations, which allows system operators to identify issues as soon as they occur and reroute power to customers
• Installing more than 200 smart switches, which are used to isolate trouble spots and reroute power to customers, reducing the duration of an outage and the number of customers impacted
• Reconfiguring and rebuilding power lines to create redundancy on the energy grid, enhancing systems operators' ability to reroute power to customers during an outage

'We have made significant progress over the past year, and we will continue to work throughout the state building smarter energy infrastructure to deliver reliable power to New Hampshire residents and businesses,' said Purington.

Eversource (NYSE: ES) is New Hampshire's largest electric utility, serving more than 500,000 homes and businesses in 211 cities and towns and is proud to be recognized as the top contributor to United Way in 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 (www.eversource.com) and follow us on Twitter (@eversourceNH) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceNH).

CONTACT:
Martin Murray
603-634-2228
martin.murray@eversource.com

Kaitlyn Woods
603-634-2418
kaitlyn.woods@eversource.com