8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  February 5, 2013

NORTHEAST UTILITIES

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Massachusetts	001-5324	04-2147929
(State or other jurisdiction of organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

One Federal Street, Building 111-4 Springfield, Massachusetts	01105
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (860) 665-5000

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

¨

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Section 8

Other Events

Item 8.01

Other Events.

On February 5, 2013, the Company issued a news release announcing that the Board of Trustees had approved an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.3675 per share payable on March 28, 2013, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 1, 2013.  A copy of the news release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Section 9

Financial Statements and Exhibits

Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)

Exhibits.  

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	News release, dated February 5, 2013, issued by Northeast Utilities announcing dividend increase.

[The remainder of this page left blank intentionally.]

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

NORTHEAST UTILITIES

(Registrant)

February 5, 2013

By:

/s/ JAY S. BUTH

Jay S. Buth 

Vice President, Controller

and Chief Accounting Officer

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	News release, dated February 5, 2013, issued by Northeast Utilities announcing dividend increase.

EX-99

Exhibit 99.1

56 Prospect St., Hartford, Connecticut 06103-2818 800 Boylston St., Boston, Massachusetts 02199

News Release  

Northeast Utilities Raises Common Dividend

(HARTFORD, Conn. and BOSTON, Mass. – February 5, 2013)  The Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) Board of Trustees today approved a quarterly dividend of $0.3675 per share, payable on March 28, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 1, 2013.  

The March 2013 dividend represents a 7.1 percent increase over NU’s previous quarterly dividend level.

“This increase underscores our confidence in the company’s financial outlook, while at the same time continuing a conservative payout level that allows us to continue to make very substantial investments in the region’s electric and natural gas infrastructure, which we project will be approximately $1.6 billion in 2013,” said Thomas J. May, NU president and chief executive officer.

May noted that the new annualized dividend rate of $1.47 per share is consistent with NU’s plan to grow its dividend in line with its earnings growth and above the average annual dividend increase for the electric utility industry.

Northeast Utilities (NU) operates New England’s largest energy delivery company.  NU and its companies are committed to safety, reliability, environmental leadership and stewardship, as well as expanding energy options for its more than 3.5 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  NU is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NU and has approximately 314 million common shares outstanding.  Learn more about NU and its family of companies at www.nu.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jeffrey R. Kotkin

(860) 728-4650

This news release includes statements concerning NU’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, assumptions of future events, future financial performance or growth and other statements that are not historical facts.  These statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  In some cases, readers can identify these forward-looking statements through the use of words or phrases such as “estimate, “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “believe,” “forecast,” “should,” “could,” and other similar expressions.  Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements.  Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, actions or inaction of local, state and federal regulatory and taxing bodies; changes in business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest rates, bad debt expense and demand for NU’s products and services; changes in weather patterns; changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policy; changes in levels or timing of capital expenditures; disruptions in the capital markets or other events that make NU’s access to necessary capital more difficult or costly; developments in legal or public policy doctrines; technological developments; changes in accounting standards and financial reporting regulations; fluctuations in the value of our remaining competitive contracts; actions of rating agencies; the possibility that expected merger synergies will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; and other presently unknown or unforeseen factors. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in NU’s and NSTAR’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and NU undertakes no obligation to update the information contained in any forward-looking statements to reflect developments or circumstances occurring after the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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