Eversource Energy (D/B/A)

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Eversource Energy first quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Rima Haider, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today on our first quarter 2026 earnings call. During this call, we'll be referencing slides that are available on our website at investors.eversource.com. As you can see on slide one, some of the statements made during this investor call may be forward-looking. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risk and uncertainty, which may cause the actual results to differ materially from forecasts and projections. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. additional information about the various factors that may cause actual results to differ, and our explanation of non-GAAP measures and how they reconcile to GAAP results is contained within our news release, the slides we posted last night, and our most recent 10Q and 10K. Speaking today will be Joe Nolan, our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, and John Marrera, our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Also joining us today is Jay Booth, our Vice President, Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer. I will now turn the call over to Joe.

Thank you, Rima. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our first quarter 2026 earnings call. Beginning on slide four, we are starting the year on strong operational footing. and with a clear plan for disciplined execution of our key strategic objectives of safety and reliability, strengthening the balance sheet and de-risking our business profile. As you can see on slide five, our team delivered excellent operational performance, especially during the powerful blizzard we experienced in February. With over 40 inches of snow, in wind gusts over 70 miles per hour, this Northeaster was one of the most severe blizzards to impact the Northeast, particularly Massachusetts, in recent years. We executed our large, coordinated restoration effort, mobilizing thousands of line crews, leveraging mutual aid, and using remote switching and pre-staged materials to restore service quickly while keeping safety and critical facilities top of mind. Our team worked in tight coordination with local and state agencies to prioritize life safety, accelerate restorations, and support impacted communities. In total, we responded to over 2,000 fire, police, and safety events, and restored power to more than 500,000 customers. These efforts in our successful restoration reflect the benefits of ongoing infrastructure investments for our electric grid in emergency preparedness. We are very grateful for the support and positive feedback from numerous state and local policymakers, first responders, and our customers. a majority of the customers surveyed after the blizzard said they greatly appreciated how quickly service was restored. Moving on to slide six. As we look to the current year, we recognize that there are some remaining items that we need to resolve to further strengthen our balance sheet and de-risk our business profile. First, on the sale of Aquariant, We received final approval from Pura in March. Last week, Pura denied an appeal from certain parties. We are now waiting for an additional appeal period to end in mid-June before we can close the transaction. Second, on Revolution Wind, as Orsted recently reported, the project is about 95% complete. The commercial operation date is still expected to be in the second half of this year, and we look forward to this much-needed source of generation for the New England region. Given the latest construction updates and cost estimates, we believe that the current contingent liability balance due to GIP remains appropriate. Finally, the recent decisions from FERC on the New England Transmission Owners Base ROE that was an attempt to address a 15-year-long complaint is flawed. We believe this decision by FERC departs from the statutory limitations imposed by the Federal Power Act and longstanding judicial precedent requiring FERC to set just and reasonable rates of return sufficient to attract the capital needed for essential utility investments. As priorities have changed over multiple administrations and commissioners at FERC, one thing has remained constant, New England's need for new energy supply resources to address affordability, ensure reliability, and support economic development. Achieving these goals requires a modern, more resilient transmission system, regardless of the energy source powering it. our investments in transmission have delivered billions of dollars in savings for customers over the years by eliminating significant congestion costs for the region while making the grid more resilient. Funding these investments requires a stable, predictable regulatory environment to attract long-term capital at the lowest possible cost. For more than a decade, Uncertainty stemming from FERC's lack of action after a U.S. Court of Appeals vacated FERC's prior order in the case in 2017 has challenged investor confidence. Unfortunately, this FERC decision further undermines utilities' ability to secure the capital needed to support state and federal policies and mandates to build and upgrade grid infrastructure and maintain safe operations and top-tier reliability for customers. As you have seen from some of our recent actions, we have appealed this decision and filed a motion for stay in the courts. We have also submitted a Section 205 filing following the exact FERC methodology used in their March 19th order, but with updated data. The data FERC used to derive the 9.57 ROE is over a decade old. By updating the data for current market conditions, the ROE comes to 11.39%. A key procedure of this filing is the potential for settlement. We are hopeful that all parties in this proceeding can come together to reach an outcome that benefits customers. while also providing reasonable financial support for New England transmission owners to continue to upgrade and build the much-needed transmission system for future load growth. On the back of the FERC ROE decision, which lowered our transmission base ROE to 9.57, we did adjust our guidance for 2026, which John will reiterate in a few minutes. We are reaffirming our long-term earnings growth rate of 5% to 7% off the midpoint of our revised 2026 guidance. Let me now highlight a few key state policy developments across our territory. On slide seven, in Massachusetts, in March, Governor Healey signed an executive order to secure Massachusetts' energy future, establishing a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the Commonwealth's energy reliability, affordability, and independence. Disorder responds to extremely adverse shifts in federal policy, rising electricity demand, volatile fossil fuel prices, and global energy supply disruptions by directing state agencies to rapidly expand energy resources and modernize the distribution and transmission systems. The executive order recognizes that Massachusetts energy supply needs are growing. It cites ISO New England projections that electricity consumption could rise by nearly 15% by 2035 and by nearly 50% by 2045, with peak demand increasing even faster. The order also emphasizes the need for immediate action to maximize federal tax credits for clean energy projects before they expire under accelerated timelines established by recent federal law. We appreciate Governor Healey's recognition that addressing regional supply constraints through an all of the above approach is essential to achieving energy affordability. As an energy delivery company, we remain focused on maintaining and upgrading infrastructure to integrate new energy resources, enhance reliability, and control costs for customers. We look forward to continued collaboration with the administration, the legislature, and other stakeholders to advance solutions that deliver lasting reliability and affordability benefits. In Connecticut, as we mentioned last quarter, We are going to begin our first rate review for CLMP in about eight years. We see that as an incredible opportunity to show how we've vastly improved reliability and that those investments are valuable to customers. We expect to file a letter of intent with PIRA for the CLMP rate case later this month. We recognize that this will be a big ask, and as we do in other jurisdictions, We will collaborate with PURA and other key stakeholders to submit a rate case filing that is constructive, responsible, and designed to protect the interests of customers. Our filing will address customers' need for reliable electric service, affordability, and stable, predictable rates. Another key item for us is the recovery of storm costs. We expect to receive a final decision from Pura on our Connecticut Storm Cost Prudency Review in July, which would allow us to begin the legislative-backed securitization process. Importantly, securitization enables timely cash collection, improving our FFO to debt metrics while addressing affordability concerns for our customers. In New Hampshire, Governor Ayotte signed House Bill 1539, a bill allowing for the securitization of storm costs, which provides an affordable path for recovery of our outstanding storm costs, which are currently under review at the PUC. We are grateful for the support of the Governor and the General Assembly for passing this important legislation. As we have stated before, 2026 will be a truly transformational year for us. as we operate within a changing regulatory landscape and navigate affordability concerns. We will maintain transparent communication with all our stakeholders and take decisive actions to mitigate potential risk. I will now turn the call over to John to discuss our financial results. Thank you.