COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

8.       COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

A.       Environmental Matters

General: NU, CL&P, PSNH, and WMECO are subject to environmental laws and regulations intended to mitigate or remove the effect of past operations and improve or maintain the quality of the environment. These laws and regulations require the removal or the remedy of the effect on the environment of the disposal or release of certain specified hazardous substances at current and former operating sites. NU, CL&P, PSNH, and WMECO have an active environmental auditing and training program and believe that they are substantially in compliance with all enacted laws and regulations.

The environmental reserve as of September 30,2011 and December 31, 2010 related to sites in the remediation or long-term monitoring phase is as follows:

	As of September 30, 2011				As of December 31, 2010
			Reserve				Reserve
	Number of Sites		(in millions)		Number of Sites		(in millions)
NU		33	$	26.0		33	$	30.3
CL&P		6		0.9		6		0.8
PSNH		12		6.3		12		8.8
WMECO		8		0.2		8		0.2

The majority of the accrual for sites in remediation or long-term monitoring relate to MGP sites that were operated several decades ago and produced manufacturing gas from coal, which resulted in certain byproducts in the environment that may pose a risk to human health and the environment.

HWP: HWP, a subsidiary of NU, continues to investigate the potential need for additional remediation at a river site in Massachusetts containing tar deposits associated with an MGP site that HWP sold to HG&E, a municipal utility, in 1902. HWP shares responsibility for site remediation with HG&E and has conducted substantial investigative and remediation activities. The cumulative expense recorded to the reserve for this site since 1994 through September 30, 2011 was $19.5million, of which $16.9million had been spent, leaving $2.6million in the reserve as ofSeptember 30, 2011. For thenine months ended September 30, 2011, there was no charge recorded to the reserve and for the three and ninemonths ended September 30, 2010,pre-tax charges of$1.6 million and $2.6million, respectively, were recorded to reflect estimated costs associated with the site. HWP's share of the costs related to this site is not recoverable from customers.

The $2.6 million reserve balance as of September 30, 2011 represents estimated costs that HWP considers probable over the remaining life of the project, including testing and related costs in the near term and field activities to be agreed upon with the MA DEP, further studies and long-term monitoring that are expected to be required by the MA DEP, and certain soft tar remediation activities. Various factors could affect management's estimates and require an increase to the reserve, which would be reflected as a charge to Net Income. Although a material increase to the reserve is not presently anticipated, management cannot reasonably estimate potential additional investigation or remediation costs because these costs would depend on, among other things, the nature, extent and timing of additional investigation and remediation that may be required by the MA DEP.

B.       Long-Term Contractual Arrangements

Estimated Future Annual Costs: The estimated future annual costs of significant long-term contractual arrangements as of September 30, 2011 are as follows:

PSNH
(Millions of Dollars)	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		Thereafter		Totals
Renewable Energy Supply Contracts	$	5.1	$	5.1	$	59.9	$	60.7	$	70.9	$	1,263.1	$	1,464.8

Renewable Energy Supply Contracts: PSNH has entered into supply contracts for the purchase of electricity from renewable suppliers.Included in these amounts are payment obligations for the purchase of biomass electricitythrough a 20-year contract, which was approved by the NHPUC on September 2, 2011.Suchcontracts at PSNH extend through 2033.

C.       Guarantees and Indemnifications

NU parent provides credit assurances on behalf of its subsidiaries, including CL&P, PSNH and WMECO, in the form of guarantees and LOCs in the normal course of business.

NU provided guarantees and various indemnifications on behalf of external parties as a result of the sales of former subsidiaries of NU Enterprises, with maximum exposures either not specified or not material.

NU also issued a guaranty for the benefit of Hydro Renewable Energy under which, beginning at the time the Northern Pass Transmission line goes into commercial operation, NU will guarantee the financial obligations of NPT under the TSA in an amount not to exceed $18.8 million. NU's obligations under the guaranty expire upon the full, final and indefeasible payment of the guaranteed obligations.

Management does not anticipate a material impact to Net Income to result from these various guarantees and indemnifications.

The following table summarizes NU's guarantees of its subsidiaries, including CL&P, PSNH, and WMECO, as of September 30, 2011:

		Maximum
		Exposure
Subsidiary	Description	(in millions)			Expiration Dates
Various	Surety Bonds and Performance Guarantees	$	16.8		2011-2012 (1)
Various	Letters of Credit	$	18.9		October 2011 -
					October 2012
NUSCO and RRR	Lease Payments for Vehicles and Real Estate	$	23.5		2019 and 2024
NU Enterprises	Surety Bonds, Insurance Bonds and Performance Guarantees	$	131.5	(2)	(2)

(1)       Surety bond expiration dates reflect bond termination dates, the majority of which will be renewed or extended.

(2)       The maximum exposure includes $58.1million related to performance guarantees on Select Energy's wholesale purchase contracts, which expire in 2013, assuming purchase contracts guaranteed have no value; however, actual exposures vary with underlying commodity prices. The maximum exposure also includes $15.7million related to a performance guarantee of NGS obligations for which no maximum exposure is specified in the agreement. The maximum exposure was calculated as of September 30,2011based on limits of NGS's liability contained in the underlying service contract and assumes that NGS will perform under that contract through its expiration in 2020. Also included in the maximum exposure is $1.2million related to insurance bonds at NGS with no expiration date that are billed annually on their anniversary date. The remaining $56.5million of maximum exposure relates to surety bonds covering ongoing projects at Boulos, which expire upon project completion.

CL&P, PSNH and WMECO do not guarantee the performance of third parties.

Many of the underlying contracts that NU parent guarantees, as well as certain surety bonds, contain credit ratings triggers that would require NU parent to post collateral in the event that the unsecured debt credit ratings of NU are downgraded below investment grade.