Filings Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as Amended (“Act”)

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Federal RegisterMar 29, 2004
69 Fed. Reg. 16298 (Mar. 29, 2004)
March 23, 2004.

Notice is hereby given that the following filing(s) has/have been made with the Commission under provision of the Act and rules promulgated under the Act. All interested persons are referred to the application(s) and/or declaration(s) for complete statements of the proposed transaction(s) summarized below. The application(s) and/or declaration(s) and any amendment(s) is/are available for public inspection through the Commission's Branch of Public Reference.

Interested persons wishing to comment or request a hearing on the application(s) and/or declaration(s) should submit their views in writing by April 19, 2004, to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0609, and serve a copy on the relevant applicant(s) and/or declarant(s) at the address(es) specified below. Proof of service (by affidavit or, in the case of an attorney at law, by certificate) should be filed with the request. Any requet for hearing should identify specifically the issues of facts or law that are disputed. A person who so requests will be notified of any hearing, if ordered, and will receive a copy of any notice or order issued in the matter. After April 19, 2004, the application(s) and/or declaration(s), as filed or as amended, may be granted and/or permitted to become effective.

Northeast Utilities, et. al. (70-10184)

Northeast utilities (“NU”), 174 Brush Hill Avenue, West Springfield, Massachusetts 01090, a registered holding company under the Act; and its subsidiaries; The Connecticut Light and Power Company, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, CL&P Receivables Corporation, NU Enterprises, Inc., Northeast Generation Services Company, Woods Network Services, Inc., NGS Mechanical, Inc., E.S. Boulos Company, Woods Electrical Co., Inc., Northeast Generation Company, Select Energy Inc., Select Energy New York, Inc., The Rocky River Realty Company, The Quinnehtuk Company, Charter Oak Energy, Inc., Mode 1 Communications, Inc., Northeast Utilities Service Company, Yankee Energy System, Inc., a wholly-owned public utility holding company subsidiary exempt under section 3(a)(1) of the Act, Yankee Gas Services Company, a gas public utility, Yankee Energy Financial Services Company, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, NorConn Properties, Inc., and Yankee Energy Services Company, each located at 107 Selden Street, Berlin, Connecticut, 06037; Public Service Company of New Hampshire, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, Properties, Inc., North Atlantic Energy Corporation, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, and North Atlantic Energy Services Corp., each located at Energy Park, 780 North Commercial Street, Manchester, New Hampshire, 03101; Select Energy Services, Inc., Reeds Ferry Supply Co., Inc., Select Energy Contracting, Inc., and HEC/Tobyhanna Energy Project, Inc., each located at 24 Prime Parkway, Natick, Massachusetts, 01760; Western Massachusetts Electric Company, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, 174 Brush Hill Avenue, West Springfield, Massachusetts, 01090; and Holyoke Water Power Company, a wholly-owned public utility subsidiary of NU, and Holyoke Power and Electric Company, each located at One Canal Street, Holyoke, Maine, 01040 (together, “Applicants”) have filed a declaration under section 12(b) and rules 45 and 54 under the Act.

The Applicants are seeking Commission approval to amend their tax allocation agreement so that NU will retain the benefit (in the form of the reduction in consolidated tax) that is attributable to tax losses incurred by NU in connection with the debt incurred to acquire Yankee Energy System, Inc. on March 1, 2000. In connection with the acquisition, NU borrowed $263 million under a bank term loan facility. That borrowing has been refinanced several times, and currently NU has outstanding $263 million of ten-year senior unsecured notes carrying a coupon rate of 7.25%, which mature on April 1, 2002 (as may be refinanced, “Acquisition Debt”). The annual interest payment on this debt is approximately $19.1 million. At an assumed rate of 35%, the tax benefit to NU is $6.650 million.

Under the proposed changes to the tax allocation agreement, the consolidated tax would generally be allocated among the Applicants in proportion to the separate return tax of each Applicant, provided that the tax apportioned to any subsidiary of NU will not exceed the tax the subsidiary would have paid if the tax had been computed separately for the subsidiary, with NU allocating the benefits of its own losses generally to its subsidiaries. However, NU would retain the benefit attributable to tax losses it incurs in connection with the Acquisition Debt, rather than reallocate the benefit to its subsidiaries, for the tax year beginning January 1, 2004 and ending when the Acquisition Debt has been paid off. In this respect, the proposed tax allocation agreement does not comply with all of the requirements of rule 45(c). The proposed changes would have the effect of assigning the tax benefit associated with the interest expense on the Acquisition Debt to NU, which is the entity legally obligated for its payment.

For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, pursuant to delegated authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04-6890 Filed 3-26-04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-M