Northeast Utilities Faces Second Criminal Probe
April 27, 2011
BERLIN, Conn. -- Northeast Utilities faces a second criminal probe in connection with troubles at its Millstone, Conn., nuclear plant. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency are considering whether to bring criminal charges for ``possible violations of federal environmental laws at the Millstone facilities.'' The probe is the second undertaken by U.S. Attorney Chrystal F. Hooper into the management of the three-reactor Millstone nuclear plant, which is shut down pending several safety reviews. Northeast has had a series of difficulties at its nuclear plants. The outage at Millstone has resulted in a substantial increase in replacement fuel costs and operating and maintenance expenses, which are expected to be absorbed primarily by the company's shareholders. The company said problems at the Waterford, Conn., plant may lead it to report a loss for its third quarter. The utility earned $89.5 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Northeast said its costs due to the outages at its nuclear plants are expected to exceed $400 million, the majority of which it has pledged not to recover from ratepayers. Northeast said it has been informed by the government of the investigation, but said that no one in senior management ``is either a target or a subject of this investigation.'' Northeast said the probe may have arisen from charges brought by a worker who was laid off from the company in January. The utility also reported in its SEC filing that it faces several additional lawsuits filed by shareholders. In one, shareholders charge the company violated Connecticut securities law by misrepresenting the nuclear plants' performance. The company said it will ``vigorously'' defend itself against the complaint. Northeast also said it also faces three new civil suits seeking to recover unspecified damages from current and former company officers to offset the costs of the outage. The company said it now faces seven such suits. In midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Northeast's shares were unchanged at $12.125.
