PENSION BENEFITS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS OTHER THAN PENSIONS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

7.       PENSION BENEFITS AND POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS OTHER THAN PENSIONS

NUSCO sponsors a Pension Plan, which is subject to the provisions of ERISA, as amended by the PPA of 2006. The Pension Plan covers nonbargaining unit employees (and bargaining unit employees, as negotiated) of NU, including CL&P, PSNH, and WMECO, hired before 2006 (or as negotiated, for bargaining unit employees). In addition, NU maintains a SERP, which provides benefits to eligible participants who are officers of NU. This plan provides benefits that would have been provided to these employees under the Pension Plan if certain Internal Revenue Code limitations were not imposed. On behalf of NU's retirees, NUSCO also sponsors plans that provide certain retiree health care benefits, primarily medical and dental, and life insurance benefits through a PBOP Plan.

The components of net periodic benefit expensefor the Pension Plan (including the SERP) and PBOP Plan andintercompany allocations not included in the net periodic benefit expense are as follows:

		For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2011
		Pension								PBOP
(Millions of Dollars)		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	13.8	$	4.9	$	2.6	$	1.0	$	2.3	$	0.7	$	0.5	$	0.2
Interest Cost			38.3		13.0		6.1		2.7		6.4		2.5		1.2		0.5
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(42.7)		(19.1)		(5.0)		(4.4)		(5.4)		(2.2)		(1.1)		(0.5)
Actuarial Loss			21.1		8.2		2.6		1.7		4.8		1.9		0.8		0.3
Prior Service Cost/(Credit)			2.4		1.1		0.5		0.2		(0.1)		-		-		-
Net Transition Obligation Cost			-		-		-		-		2.9		1.5		0.6		0.3
Total - Net Periodic Expense		$	32.9	$	8.1	$	6.8	$	1.2	$	10.9	$	4.4	$	2.0	$	0.8
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	N/A	$	8.5	$	1.9	$	1.6	$	N/A	$	2.0	$	0.5	$	0.4

		For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2010
		Pension								PBOP
(Millions of Dollars)		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	12.8	$	4.4	$	2.5	$	0.9	$	2.1	$	0.7	$	0.4	$	0.2
Interest Cost			38.2		13.2		6.2		2.7		6.7		2.6		1.2		0.6
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(45.7)		(21.5)		(3.7)		(4.8)		(5.4)		(2.2)		(1.0)		(0.5)
Actuarial Loss			13.4		5.1		1.7		1.0		2.9		1.6		0.7		0.2
Prior Service Cost/(Credit)			2.4		1.0		0.4		0.2		(0.1)		-		-		-
Net Transition Obligation Cost			-		-		-		-		4.2		1.5		0.6		0.3
Total - Net Periodic Expense		$	21.1	$	2.2	$	7.1	$	0.0	$	10.4	$	4.2	$	1.9	$	0.8
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	N/A	$	6.3	$	1.4	$	1.1	$	N/A	$	2.0	$	0.5	$	0.3

		For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2011
		Pension								PBOP
(Millions of Dollars)		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	27.5	$	14.6	$	7.9	$	3.0	$	6.8	$	2.2	$	1.4	$	0.4
Interest Cost			76.5		39.1		18.4		8.1		19.3		7.5		3.6		1.6
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(85.8)		(57.4)		(15.0)		(13.2)		(16.2)		(6.5)		(3.3)		(1.5)
Actuarial Loss			42.1		24.8		7.8		5.1		14.3		5.4		2.4		0.9
Prior Service Cost/(Credit)			4.8		3.1		1.5		0.6		(0.2)		-		-
Net Transition Obligation Cost			-		-		-		-		8.7		4.6		1.9		1.0
Total - Net Periodic Expense		$	65.1	$	24.2	$	20.6	$	3.6	$	32.7	$	13.2	$	6.0	$	2.4
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	N/A	$	25.0	$	5.7	$	4.6	$	N/A	$	6.2	$	1.5	$	1.1

		For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2010
		Pension								PBOP
(Millions of Dollars)		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO		NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
Service Cost		$	38.2	$	13.2	$	7.4	$	2.5	$	6.3	$	2.0	$	1.4	$	0.4
Interest Cost			114.5		39.2		18.3		8.0		20.1		7.8		3.7		1.8
Expected Return on Plan Assets			(137.0)		(64.4)		(10.8)		(14.6)		(16.2)		(6.5)		(3.2)		(1.6)
Actuarial Loss			40.3		15.7		5.2		3.3		8.7		4.8		2.1		0.7
Prior Service Cost/(Credit)			7.3		3.0		1.1		0.7		(0.2)		-		-		-
Net Transition Obligation Cost			-		-		-		-		12.5		4.6		1.8		1.0
Total - Net Periodic
	Expense/(Income)	$	63.3	$	6.7	$	21.2	$	(0.1)	$	31.2	$	12.7	$	5.8	$	2.3
Related Intercompany
	Allocations	$	N/A	$	18.9	$	4.4	$	3.4	$	N/A	$	6.0	$	1.5	$	1.0

A portion of the pension amounts is capitalized, related to employees who are working on capital projects. Amounts capitalized including intercompany allocations for NU, CL&P, PSNH and WMECO are as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended				For the Nine Months Ended
(Millions of Dollars)	September 30, 2011		September 30, 2010		September 30, 2011		September 30, 2010
NU	$	7.8	$	4.4	$	23.5	$	13.2
CL&P		4.5		1.7		13.4		5.2
PSNH		2.1		2.0		5.9		6.1
WMECO		0.7		0.2		2.1		0.5

Contributions: Currently, NU's policy is to annually fund the Pension Plan in an amount at least equal to an amount that will satisfy the requirements of ERISA, as amended by the PPA of 2006, and the Internal Revenue Code. Due to an underfunded balance as of January 1, 2010, NU is required to make an additional contribution to the Pension Plan of approximately $145 million in 2011. A contribution of approximately $124 million was made in the nine months ended September 30, 2011 ($93 million of which was contributed by PSNH). Approximately $105 million of this amount was paid in the three months ended September 30, 2011 ($78 million of which was contributed by PSNH). The required contributionis being made in installments,which began in April 2011, to meet the current minimum funding requirements established by the PPA of 2006. Based on estimates as of December 31, 2010, additional contributions totalling $390 million are expected to be made from 2012 through 2015, subject to a variety of factors, including the performance of existing plan assets, valuation of the plan's liabilities and changes in long-term discount rates.