Eversource Q2 GAAP income falls 85% to $53.7 million as FERC ROE cut and Revolution Wind charges land together

Eversource Energy reported second-quarter 2026 GAAP income of $53.7 million, down from $352.7 million in the same period of 2025, the company said on 31 July 2026. Earnings per share fell to $0.14 from $0.96 a year earlier.^[1] The collapse was driven almost entirely by three one-time after-tax charges totalling $319.3 million, not by deterioration in the underlying regulated business.

Three charges in a single quarter

The charges break down as follows:

• $164.0 million - increased contingent liability on Eversource's investment in the Revolution Wind offshore project
• $111.4 million - loss on the carrying value of Aquarion Water, whose sale closed on 30 June 2026, generating $1.7 billion in net cash proceeds
• $43.9 million - estimated refunds tied to FERC's March 2026 order reducing the return on equity for New England transmission owners

Stripped of those items, non-GAAP recurring earnings were $329.1 million, or $0.87 per share, compared with $0.96 per share in Q2 2025.^[1] The company reaffirmed full-year non-GAAP EPS guidance of $4.57-$4.72 and a 5-7% annual EPS growth target through 2030.

The FERC ROE dispute and its tail risk

The transmission ROE charge is the one with the longest shadow. On 19 March 2026, FERC issued Opinion No. 594, cutting the base ROE for New England transmission owners to 9.57% from 10.57% - the conclusion of litigation that began with a complaint filed in 2011. The agency backdated the new rate to October 2014 and ordered refunds with interest. Eversource faces up to $968.4 million in total refunds under the decision, according to its SEC quarterly filing.^[1]

The broader regional exposure is larger still. New England utilities owe their customers about $1.5 billion in refunds for transmission charges going back to 2011. FERC has ordered the region's transmission owners to refund that amount to ratepayers by 20 May 2027. Eversource and other owners have challenged the decision and asked FERC to raise the allowed ROE to 11.39%; that request remains pending.^[1]

Eversource's transmission segment earned $183.7 million in Q2 2026, down from $208.0 million in Q2 2025, with the decline driven by the ROE reduction and higher interest expense, partially offset by continued investment in the transmission system.

A $700 million win and a $1 billion question mark

Against that regulatory headwind, Eversource landed a significant pipeline addition. ISO New England identified a preliminary preferred transmission project to address long-term grid needs, with the selected proposal submitted jointly by Central Maine Power and Eversource to strengthen the network between northern Maine and southern New England. Eversource's share of the $2.2 billion project is approximately $700 million, with an anticipated in-service date of 2032. The project sits outside the company's existing $26.5 billion capital plan and is not yet final - ISO-NE is accepting stakeholder comments through 12 August 2026.

A second incremental opportunity is more contested. Connecticut Light and Power in mid-July proposed a $1 billion, six-year advanced metering infrastructure initiative for the utility's 1.4 million customers. With a 0.66 benefit-to-cost ratio, the proposal would cost ratepayers about $350 million above its estimated benefits, making approval by state regulators unlikely, according to Jefferies equity analysts.^[1] The analysts said they "continue to expect that [the AMI initiative] is securitized or not pursued, leading to no earnings benefit for shareholders."^[1]

The two incremental items illustrate the asymmetry Eversource now faces: the transmission win is competitively awarded and regionally supported, while the AMI proposal must clear a Connecticut regulatory process that has blocked similar filings before.

The immediate watch points are FERC's response to the transmission owners' ROE counter-proposal, the ISO-NE final selection report expected after the August comment period closes, and PURA's ruling on the AMI application, which Eversource has asked the regulator to deliver by mid-November 2026.