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92 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2016 SPONSORED REPORT Customers expect and deserve price stability. These projects will both provide significant economic and envi- ronmental benefits to New England, lowering our dependence on older, higher-emitting oil and coal-fired gen- erating plants. Supporting New England's Economic Growth Beyond the Northern Pass and Access Northeast projects, Eversource continues to invest heavily in electric transmission projects that maintain the reliability of the region's electric grid. • The Interstate Reliability Project was completed in 2015, after near- ly a decade of planning, siting and construction of a suite of regional projects designed to strengthen the reliability of the regional power grid by improving efficiency and eliminating congestion. • In 2015, we made siting council filings and began construction on our next two major transmission project initiatives, the Greater Boston and Greater Hartford sets of reliability projects. • We are also investing heavily in our natural gas delivery infrastructure, upgrading existing distribution mains and liquid natural gas storage facilities — to meet the increasing demand in our communities for natural gas. A Strong Community Partner Eversource also plays a vital role in the health and economic well-being of the communities we serve. Through our Foundation and corporate con- tributions, we partner with local and regional organizations, including pro- viding more than $5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and worth- while regional activities in Connecticut and New England in 2015. Our focus is on the health and well-being of youth in our service area, and making sure that our giving has a wide impact to reach our fellow New Englanders. We are the title sponsor of the Eversource Hartford Marathon, which brings over $13 million in economic development to the state each year. We also partner with Travelers Cham- pionship on the Eversource PGA TOUR Player Experience for Junior Golf- ers, and we have proudly hosted the Special Olympics Winter Games at our location in Windsor, Conn. At these and many other events, our employees are actively engaged as participants and volunteers. Our Customers Connecticut: 1.2 million electric customers in 149 communities; 226,000 natural gas customers in 72 communities Massachusetts: 1.4 million electric customers in 140 communities; 286,000 natural gas customers in 51 communities New Hampshire: 510,000 electric customers in 211 communities Our System 3,181,862 electric meters 559,624 gas meters 40,258 overhead circuit miles of lines 16,778 underground circuit miles of lines 6,567 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines 578 substations (electric) 49 gate stations (natural gas) 3 LNG (liquefied natural gas) plants Power distribution requires careful regional coor- dination and constant attention to grid security. Electric Gas Combined Electric and Gas Eversource Service Territory