Nov 4 (Reuters) - Eversource Energy ( ES ) reported a

third-quarter loss on Monday as the company incurred an expense

related to its offshore wind business divesture and narrowed its

2024 profit forecast.

The company had flagged it would incur an aggregate net loss

on the completion of its offshore wind business divesture of

$520 million in the third quarter. This includes a liability of

$360 million, expected to be settled in 2026.

Eversource completed the sale of its offshore wind business

to Global Infrastructure Partners in September. However, it only

realized $745 million in adjusted gross proceeds from the sale,

compared to an expected purchase price of about $1.12 billion.

The utility serves about 4.4 million customers in

Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and is mainly

involved in the electric distribution, electric transmission and

natural gas distribution businesses. It operates New England's

most extensive energy delivery system.

The company also narrowed its current-year adjusted profit

forecast to between $4.52 and $4.60 per share, from its previous

expectation of $4.50 and $4.67 apiece, on a

higher-than-anticipated impact of interest expenses.

Higher-for-longer interest rates can weigh on utilities, as

it makes investing in the construction and maintenance of

critical infrastructure such as electrical grids more expensive.

However, it reported about a 17% rise in quarterly earnings

from its electric distribution segment, helped by higher

electricity rates and lower storm-related operations and

maintenance expenses.

The utility firm also raised its capital investment forecast

by $600 million to $23.7 billion for the 2024-2028 period.

The company reported a loss of $118.1 million for the

quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $339.7 million

from a year ago, as the company incurred a loss of $524 million

from the divesture.