February 26, 2018

CT Construction Digest Monday February 26, 2018

Eversource's 4Q net rises on lower taxes, expenses

Patricia Daddona
New England utility Eversource Energy posted higher fourth-quarter and full-year net income due to a lower tax rate and expenses.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the electricity and natural-gas utility with Hartford operations said net income rose to $237.4 million, or 75 cents a diluted share, up from $229.2 million, or 72 cents a diluted share in the year-ago period.
For the full year, net income rose to $987.9. million, or $3.11 a diluted share, from $942.3 million, or $2.96 a diluted share, a year ago.
Fourth-quarter revenues totaled $1.9 billion in 2017 vs. $1.8 billion in the year-ago period.
Full-year revenues were $7.7 billion vs. $7.6 billion a year ago.
Improved results were due primarily to a lower effective tax rate in 2017 and lower operations and maintenance expenses in 2017, said Eversource Chairman and CEO Jim Judge.
In 2017, "our customers received industry leading levels of reliable service, our employees achieved record safety performance, and our investors experienced very solid increases in dividends and earnings," he said.
The utility projects 2018 earnings of between $3.20 per share and $3.30 per share and long-term EPS growth through 2021 of between 5 percent and 7 percent on average, using 2017 earnings of $3.11 per share as the base.

New Connecticut Rail Bridge Vital To Economy

President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan represents an important step toward creating funding opportunities that will drive economic growth across the country. Now, the administration and Congress must come together to identify how they can advance critical transportation projects in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast Corridor, which will strengthen America’s economy for the future.
Connecticut is an important piece of the Northeast Corridor transportation network, and the state’s regional railways help move people to and from some of the nation’s most economically crucial metro areas from Boston to Washington, D.C. Thousands of workers reach their offices each morning thanks to the Metro North, Shore Line East and Amtrak, making a strong and reliable rail network through the state critical for the growth of regional businesses. In fact, according to a study by the Northeast Corridor Commission, should the rail lines in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast Corridor shut down for just one day, it would lead to a $100 million loss for the entire nation’s economy.
This is why President Trump and Congress must focus on modernizing rail infrastructure in Connecticut that can drive business growth and help more commuters get to and from work safely and reliably. That focus should begin with devoting resources to the Connecticut River Bridge replacement project between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme.
The Connecticut River Bridge is a symbol of the Northeast Corridor’s aging rail system. More than 100 years of daily use in a marine environment has made the bridge one of the major sources of delays for commuters in the Northeast. The bridge must open and close more than 3,000 times a year, which stresses its aging components, increases costs for Amtrak and reduces reliability for railway traffic.
Today, the bridge’s deteriorating condition forces trains to travel at just 45 miles per hour. That is unacceptable for meeting the demands of a modern economy and workforce, leading to a loss of productivity for workers and businesses and adding to the already-ballooning costs just to keep the bridge functional.
Under the current $660 million plan to fix the Connecticut River Bridge, the entire structure would be replaced using a new design to improve reliability and to allow trains to move more quickly, increasing efficiency across the Northeast Corridor.
While replacing the bridge is essential for maximizing the economic potential of Connecticut and the entire Northeast Corridor and would help bring the region’s infrastructure into the 21st century, only $6.25 million in funding for the plan has been secured to date. That is where the federal government must step in to move this project forward. While it is encouraging to see the Trump administration begin substantively addressing the nation’s outdated infrastructure, the White House and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle must now take the next step to unlock the nation’s economic potential by devoting resources to projects such as the Connecticut River Bridge replacement. In particular, the Appropriations Committee has an important role to play in 2018 to fund intercity passenger and commuter rail along the Northeast Corridor.
President Trump has made infrastructure one of the signature issues of his presidency. His newly released plan is the first step forward in rebuilding the nation’s railways and improving the future outlook of the nation’s economy. The next step is ensuring that the critical rail projects in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast Corridor have the financial support necessary to bring America’s infrastructure into the 21st century.
Michael Friedberg is the executive director of the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor based in Washington.