DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

B.       Defined Contribution Plans

NU maintains a 401(k) Savings Plan for substantially all employees, including CL&P, PSNH and WMECO employees. This savings plan provides for employee contributions up to specified limits. NU matches employee contributions up to a maximum of three percent of eligible compensation with one percent in cash and two percent in NU common shares allocated from the ESOP. The 401(k) matching contributions of cash and NU common shareswere as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)	NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
2011	$	13.2	$	4.0	$	2.5	$	0.8
2010		12.7		4.0		2.4		0.8
2009		12.2		3.9		2.3		0.7

Effective on January 1, 2006, all newly hired, non-bargaining unit employees, and effective on January 1, 2007 or as subject to collective bargaining agreements, certain newly hired bargaining unit employees participate in a program under the 401(k) Savings Plan called the K-Vantage benefit. These employees are not eligible to participate in the Pension Plan. In addition, participants in the Pension Plan as of January 1, 2006 were given the opportunity to choose to become a participant in the K-Vantage benefit beginning in 2007, in which case their benefit under the Pension Plan was frozen. NU makes contributions to the K-Vantage benefit based on a percentage of participants' eligible compensation, as defined by the benefit document. The contributions made were as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)	NU		CL&P		PSNH		WMECO
2011	$	4.2	$	0.5	$	0.6	$	0.1
2010		3.4		0.4		0.4		0.1
2009		2.6		0.2		0.3		-