July 30 (Reuters) - Eversource Energy ( ES ) posted a fall

in second-quarter profit on Thursday, as the electric utility

was weighed down by charges tied to the Aquarion sale, offshore

wind liabilities and lower returns on New England transmission

assets.

* Last quarter, the company said its annual earnings would

be hit by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to

lower rates for electricity in New England.

* Regulated utilities like Eversource have been filing

requests to increase rates, citing a need for spending on

infrastructure as the country's electrical grids face extreme

weather and growing demand from industry electrification and

data center expansion.

* For the second quarter, the company's net income plunged

84.7% to $53.7 million

* Results included an $111.4 million after-tax non-cash

charge related to Aquarion's sale and a $164 million charge from

higher expected payments to Global Infrastructure Partners

connected with the 2024 sale of its South Fork Wind and

Revolution Wind projects.

* Operations and maintenance costs came in at $480 million,

up 2.7% from a year earlier.

* The company reaffirmed its 2026 per-share adjusted

earnings forecast of $4.57 to $4.72.

(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj

Kalluvila)