US energy provider Eversource Energy has reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $339.66m for the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2023), a 2.8% decrease compared with $349.41m in the same period of the previous year.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) dipped to $0.97 in the three-month period that ended on 30 September 2023, from $1.00 in the same period of 2022.

This fall was largely driven by the electric distribution segment, where earnings tumbled 23% from $225.1m to $173.3m because of reduced service rates in its Massachusetts electric business.

In the natural gas distribution segment, higher depreciation and operations and maintenance expenses resulted in losses widening to $33.7m in Q3 2023 from $24.6m in Q3 2022.

The electric transmission segment posted a 2.9% year-on-year rise in earnings to $160.3m.

Eversource Energy’s operating revenues decreased 13.2% to $2.79bn in the July–September 2023 quarter from $3.21bn in Q3 2022.

Its operating income dropped 4.8% to $530.55m from $557.29m during this period.

However, spending remained in check, with total operating expenses falling 14.9% to $2.26bn from $2.65bn.

Operating expenses for the quarter included purchased power, natural gas and transmission, where expenses dropped to $1.17bn from $1.39bn.  

Eversource Energy president and CEO Joe Nolan stated: “Eversource’s nearly 10,000 employees have delivered strong operational performance for our 4.4 million electric, natural gas and water customers in 2023. Our reliability metrics are in the top decile among our electric industry peers.

“Our upgrades and enhancements to our distribution and transmission infrastructure continue to enhance current customer experience and enable our systems to evolve for future customer needs.”

The company, which operates the largest energy delivery system in New England, has now trimmed its 2023 non-GAAP EPS outlook to $4.30–4.43 per share from the earlier projection of $4.25–4.43.