Broadening a strategy launched earlier this year when it announced its intention to exit the competitive energy wholesale marketing and services businesses, Northeast Utilities (NU; Berlin, Connecticut, U.S.) announced in November that it will also divest its other competitive businesses — generation and retail marketing — to focus entirely on its regulated transmission, distribution and generation operations. The company expects to complete the sale of its competitive businesses by the end of 2006, and will apply net sale proceeds to debt reduction and capital investment in its regulated businesses.

Charles W. Shivery, NU chairman, president and CEO, said: “The steps we are taking will transform NU and better align our business strategy with New England's energy infrastructure needs. Monetizing the value of our competitive coal-fired, pumped-storage and hydroelectric generation assets will provide additional resources for our regulated capital spending programs. That, in turn, will improve system reliability and help us better serve our customers. Focusing solely on our regulated businesses will also simplify our business model, increase our earnings predictability, lower our risk profile, and drive our earnings and dividend growth, all of which will help us achieve a key objective: building value for all NU shareholders.”

NU's decision to divest two of its four competitive business lines — wholesale marketing and energy services — was announced in March 2005, and NU has since made significant progress in implementing that decision, including:

• Agreeing to terminate or transfer to third parties all New England wholesale marketing obligations.

• Reaching agreements in principle or signed letters of intent to sell two of its six energy services businesses to third parties for a total of approximately US$6 million.