<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>nu8kexh991111504.txt
<DESCRIPTION>EXHIBIT 99.1 NU NEWS RELEASE 111504
<TEXT>
Exhibit 99.1

Contact:       Jeffrey R. Kotkin
Office:             (860) 665-5154

NU LOWERS 2005 EARNINGS GUIDANCE

     BERLIN, Connecticut, November 15, 2004-Northeast
Utilities (NU-NYSE) today lowered its projected 2005
earnings range to between $1.10 per share and $1.25 per
share.  NU's previous earnings range for 2005 had been
between $1.35 per share and $1.45 per share.  NU's earnings
projections for 2004 remain between $1.25 per share and
$1.35 per share.

     The company estimates that in 2005 its competitive
businesses as a whole, including its energy services
businesses, will earn in a range of $10 million to minus $5
million.  NU had previously estimated that the competitive
business earnings would be between $33 million and $39
million.  The ability of the competitive businesses to
achieve the revised earnings projections assumes that Select
Energy, Inc., NU's merchant energy marketing subsidiary, is
able to realize previously experienced success levels for
the remaining opportunities throughout the Northeast.

     NU estimates that in 2005 its merchant energy
businesses will earn in a range of $4 million to minus $9
million.  Projected earnings for the balance of its
competitive businesses and for NU's regulated businesses
have not changed.

     NU said it was lowering the range for its competitive
businesses because of highly competitive bidding conditions
that resulted in Select Energy winning less 2005 wholesale
load and at lower margins than anticipated in New England.
Last week, Select Energy was informed that it did not win
any of the competitively bid 5,000 megawatt standard offer
load of The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), NU's
largest regulated subsidiary.  Select Energy is supplying
CL&P with 37.5 percent of its standard offer requirements in
2004.  In addition, adverse movements in commodity prices
negatively affected positions taken in anticipation of
achieving targeted sales goals. In light of these
developments, NU is reevaluating its methods of bidding for
large, full-requirements electric load.  Given the remaining
contracts that are still to be bid for 2005, it appears very
unlikely that NU will be able to achieve its initial
guidance.

     Currently, Select Energy's New England wholesale
contracts provide the marketing company with the majority of
its profit margin.  NU said that it continues to believe
that other segments of its competitive business, including
the wholesale merchant business outside of New England,
retail energy contracts with approximately 30,000 electric
and natural gas commercial and industrial accounts in the
Northeast, and its energy services businesses, will be
profitable in 2005.

     NU continues to estimate that its regulated businesses
will earn between $1.22 per share and $1.30 per share in
2005.  NU now believes that parent and other expenses,
tempered by cost management initiatives, will range between
$0.08 per share and $0.13 per share in 2005.  Previously, NU
had said that it will incur parent and other expenses of
between $0.13 cents per share and $0.15 per share in 2005.

     "We are extremely disappointed with the level of New
England wholesale business we have secured for 2005 and the
reduced level of profitability that means for NU as a
whole," said Charles W. Shivery, NU chairman, president and
chief executive officer.  "We will commence an effort to
identify and implement initiatives to improve our projected
financial performance in 2005 and beyond, including cost
reduction efforts.  We will update investors on these
initiatives throughout 2005."

     NU said that it continues to believe that the primary
driver of future earnings and dividend growth is investment
in regulated infrastructure that is required to meet
customer load growth and reliability requirements.  NU
continues to evaluate the level of earnings and dividends
that its competitive businesses will contribute to that
growth.  The company has projected that its competitive
businesses will contribute steadily increasing earnings and
more than $200 million of dividends to parent company cash
needs through 2009.  If the 2005 bidding outcome is
indicative of lower future cash generation and earnings by
those businesses and if NU's regulated investment plans are
not changed, future consolidated earnings would be
negatively impacted.  NU's ability to achieve earnings and
dividend growth above the industry average through 2009
could also be impacted, and NU could have to seek additional
external financing for its planned expenditures in that
period.

     NU has approximately 128 million common shares
outstanding.  Its regulated companies serve approximately 2
million electric and natural gas delivery customers in
Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

     This news release includes statements concerning the
Company's expectations, plans, objectives, future financial
performance and other statements that are not historical
facts.  These statements are "forward looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform Act of
1995.  In some cases the reader can identify these forward
looking statements by words such as "estimate", "expect",
"anticipate", "intend", "plan", "believe", "forecast",
"should", "could", and similar expressions.  Forward looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those
included in the forward looking statements.  Factors that
may cause actual results to differ materially from those
included in the forward looking statements include, but are
not limited to, actions by state and federal regulatory
bodies, competition and industry restructuring, changes in
economic conditions, changes in weather patterns, changes in
laws, expiration or initiation of significant energy supply
contracts, regulations or regulatory policy, levels of
capital expenditures, developments in legal or public policy
doctrines, technological developments, volatility in
electric and natural gas commodity markets, and other
presently unknown or unforeseen factors. Other risk factors
are detailed from time to time in our reports to the
Securities and Exchange Commission.  We undertake no
obligation to update the information contained in any
forward looking statements to reflect developments or
circumstances occurring after the statements are made.

                           # # # #

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