COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

A. Environmental Matters

Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric, 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. Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric, PSNH and WMECO have an active environmental auditing and training program and each believes it is substantially in compliance with all enacted laws and regulations.

The number of environmental sites and related reserves for which remediation or long-term monitoring, preliminary site work or site assessment is being performed are as follows:



	As of March 31, 2017			As of December 31, 2016
	Number of Sites	Reserve (in millions)		Number of Sites	Reserve (in millions)
Eversource	60	$	58.2	61	$	65.8
CL&P	14	5.3		14	4.9
NSTAR Electric	13	1.0		13	3.2
PSNH	11	5.3		11	5.3
WMECO	4	0.7		4	0.6

Included in the Eversource number of sites and reserve amounts above are former MGP sites that were operated several decades ago and manufactured gas from coal and other processes, which resulted in certain by-products remaining in the environment that may pose a potential risk to human health and the environment, for which Eversource may have potential liability. The reserve balances related to these former MGP sites were $53.0 million and $59.0 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, and related primarily to the natural gas business segment. The reduction in the reserve balance at the MGP sites was primarily due to a change in cost estimates at one site.

These reserve estimates are subjective in nature as they take into consideration several different remediation options at each specific site. The reliability and precision of these estimates can be affected by several factors, including new information concerning either the level of contamination at the site, the extent of Eversource's, CL&P's, NSTAR Electric's, PSNH's, and WMECO's responsibility for remediation or the extent of remediation required, recently enacted laws and regulations, or changes in cost estimates due to certain economic factors. It is possible that new information or future developments could require a reassessment of the potential exposure to related environmental matters. As this information becomes available, management will continue to assess the potential exposure and adjust the reserves accordingly.

B. Guarantees and Indemnifications

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

Eversource parent issued a declining balance guaranty on behalf of Eversource Gas Transmission LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to guarantee the payment of the subsidiary's capital contributions for its investment in the Access Northeast project. The guaranty will not exceed $206 million and decreases as capital contributions are made. The guaranty will expire upon the earlier of the full performance of the guaranteed obligations or December 31, 2021.

Eversource parent issued a guaranty on behalf of its subsidiary, NPT, under which, beginning at the time the Northern Pass Transmission line goes into commercial operation, Eversource parent will guarantee the financial obligations of NPT under the TSA with HQ in an amount not to exceed $25 million. Eversource parent's obligations under the guaranty expire upon the full, final and indefeasible payment of the guaranteed obligations. Eversource parent has also entered into a guaranty on behalf of NPT under which Eversource parent will guarantee NPT's obligations under a facility with a financial institution pursuant to which NPT may request letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to approximately $14 million.

Eversource parent has also guaranteed certain indemnification and other obligations as a result of the sales of former unregulated subsidiaries and the termination of an unregulated business, with maximum exposures either not specified or not material.

Management does not anticipate a material impact to net income or cash flows as a result of these various guarantees and indemnifications.

The following table summarizes Eversource parent's exposure to guarantees and indemnifications of its subsidiaries to external parties, as of March 31, 2017:



Company	Description	Maximum Exposure (in millions)		Expiration Dates
On behalf of subsidiaries:
Eversource Gas Transmission LLC	Access Northeast Project Capital Contributions Guaranty	$	185.1	2021
Various	Surety Bonds⁽¹⁾	38.7		2017 - 2018
Eversource Service and Rocky River Realty Company	Lease Payments for Vehicles and Real Estate	8.8		2019 - 2024


⁽¹⁾	Surety bond expiration dates reflect termination dates, the majority of which will be renewed or extended. Certain surety bonds contain credit ratings triggers that would require Eversource parent to post collateral in the event that the unsecured debt credit ratings of Eversource parent are downgraded.

C. FERC ROE Complaints

Four separate complaints have been filed at the FERC by combinations of New England state attorneys general, state regulatory commissions, consumer advocates, consumer groups, municipal parties and other parties (collectively the "Complainants"). In each of the first three complaints, the Complainants challenged the NETOs' base ROE of 11.14 percent that had been utilized since 2005 and sought an order to reduce it prospectively from the date of the final FERC order and for the 15-month complaint periods arising from the separate complaints. In the fourth complaint, filed April 29, 2016, the Complainants challenged the NETOs' base ROE of 10.57 percent and the maximum ROE for transmission incentive ("incentive cap") of 11.74 percent, asserting that these ROEs were unjust and unreasonable.

In response to appeals of the FERC decision in the first complaint filed by the NETOs and the Complainants, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (the "Court") issued a decision on April 14, 2017 vacating and remanding the FERC's decision. The Court found that the FERC failed to make an explicit finding that the prior 11.14 percent base ROE was unjust and unreasonable, as required under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act, before it could set a new base ROE. The Court also found that the FERC did not provide a rational connection between the record evidence and its decision to select the midpoint of the upper half of the zone of reasonableness for the new base ROE.

A summary of the four separate complaints and the base ROEs pertinent to those complaints are as follows:



Complaint	15-Month Time Period of Complaint (Beginning as of Complaint Filing Date)	Original Base ROE Authorized by FERC at Time of Complaint Filing Date ⁽¹⁾	Base ROE Subsequently Authorized by FERC for First Complaint Period and also Effective from October 16, 2014 through April 14, 2017 ⁽¹⁾	Reserve (Pre-Tax and Excluding Interest) as of March 31, 2017 (in millions)		FERC ALJ Recommendation of Base ROE on Second and Third Complaints (Issued March 22, 2016)
First	10/1/2011 - 12/31/2012	11.14%	10.57%	$—	⁽²⁾	N/A
Second	12/27/2012 - 3/26/2014	11.14%	N/A	39.1	⁽³⁾	9.59%
Third	7/31/2014 - 10/30/2015	11.14%	10.57%	—		10.90%
Fourth	4/29/2016 - 7/28/2017	10.57%	10.57%	—		N/A

⁽¹⁾ The total ROE between October 1, 2011 and October 15, 2014 was within a range of 11.14 percent to 13.1 percent. In 2014, as a result of a FERC order, the incentive cap was set at 11.74 percent for the first complaint period and also effective from October 16, 2014 through April 14, 2017.

⁽²⁾ CL&P, NSTAR Electric, PSNH and WMECO have refunded all amounts associated with the first complaint period, totaling $38.9 million (pre-tax and excluding interest) at Eversource (including $22.4 million at CL&P, $8.4 million at NSTAR Electric, $2.8 million at PSNH, and $5.3 million at WMECO), reflecting both the base ROE and incentive cap prescribed by the FERC order.

⁽³⁾ The reserve represents the difference between the ROEs billed during the second complaint period and a 10.57 percent base ROE and 11.74 percent incentive cap. The reserve was $21.4 million for CL&P, $8.5 million for NSTAR Electric, $3.1 million for PSNH, and $6.1 million for WMECO as of March 31, 2017.

At this time, the Company cannot reasonably estimate a range of gain or loss for the complaint proceedings. The Court decision did not provide a reasonable basis for a change to the March 31, 2017 reserve balance of $39.1 million (pre-tax and excluding interest) for the second complaint period, and the Company has not changed its reserves or recognized ROEs for any of the complaint periods.

Management cannot at this time predict the ultimate effect of the Court decision on any of the complaint periods or the estimated impacts on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of Eversource, CL&P, NSTAR Electric, PSNH and WMECO.

The average impact of a 10 basis point change to the base ROE for each of the 15-month complaint periods would affect Eversource's after-tax earnings by approximately $3 million.

D. Eversource and NSTAR Electric Boston Harbor Civil Action

On July 15, 2016, the United States Army Corps of Engineers filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts under provisions of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and the Clean Water Act against NSTAR Electric, Harbor Electric Energy Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NSTAR Electric ("HEEC"), and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (together with NSTAR Electric and HEEC, the "Defendants"). The action alleges that the Defendants failed to comply with certain permitting requirements relating to the placement of the HEEC-owned electric distribution cable beneath Boston Harbor. The action seeks an order to force HEEC to comply with cable depth requirements in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' permit or alternatively to remove the electric distribution cable and cease unauthorized work in U.S. waterways. The action also seeks civil penalties and other costs. Management believes there are valid defenses to the claims and is defending NSTAR Electric and HEEC vigorously. Concurrently, NSTAR Electric and HEEC are seeking to work collaboratively with all parties for a mutually beneficial resolution. At this time, management is unable to predict the outcome of this action or the impact on Eversource's and NSTAR Electric's financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.