Nor”™easter: $163 million for CL&P
Northeast Utilities estimated at $163 million the cost of the October nor”™easter to its Connecticut Light & Power operations, an amount that does not include the financial losses sustained by businesses and homeowners as a result of prolonged power outages stemming from the storm.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hartford-based Northeast Utilities did not exclude the possibility of recovering much of those costs through higher rates paid by CL&P customers.
SBA Irene aid for Fairfield County
The U.S. Small Business Administration is making federal disaster loans available to small businesses and nonprofits in Fairfield and Litchfield counties that suffered “economic injury” as a result of Tropical Storm Irene and Tropical Storm Lee between Aug. 27 and Sept. 15.
The counties are eligible because they are adjacent to New York counties that qualified for aid. Applications are due by July 18, 2012.
Loan amounts can be up to $2 million, with interest rates of 4 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for nonprofits for a term of up to 30 years. Information and application forms are available at www.sba.gov.
Black Hawks for Brunei
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. sold a dozen Black Hawk helicopters to Brunei, with the aircraft to be manufactured at Stratford-based Sikorsky”™s plant in Poland.
The company did not disclose financial terms of the contract in a press release, but a Brunei publication pegged the deal at $325 million. Defense Industry Daily separately reported that Sikorsky beat out Eurocopter for the contract.
Star Gas profits down
Star Gas Partners L.P. earned $24.3 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, off $4 million from fiscal 2010 despite a 30 percent increase in revenue to $1.6 billion.
Stamford-based Star Gas runs Petro and other home heating oil distribution companies in the Northeast.
Wachovia settlement with states
Few Connecticut municipalities were impacted by Wachovia actions to rig bids in the municipal derivatives market, but the state said it could share in settlement money as a lead plaintiff alongside New York.
Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia a few years ago, agreed to pay $148 million to settle the investigation, with Connecticut to receive just $50,000 initially. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said the state could share in another $4 million covering legal fees and a civil penalty.
Wachovia is the fourth financial institution to settle with a multi-state task force in the ongoing municipal bond derivatives investigation, which has obtained settlements for the participating states worth some $310 million to date. The other settlements were with Bank of America Corp., UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
