Exhibit 99a
                                  News Release

                                  DATE:       October 15, 1998
                                  RELEASE:    Upon Receipt
                                  CONTACT:    Financial: Clifford J. Hebert Jr.
                                              (617) 357-9590
                                              General: Frederick L. Mason III
                                              (508) 559-2000 ext. 3662




           Eastern Utilities Sells Somerset Station
                 to Minnesota-based NRG Energy

SOMERSET, Mass., Oct. 15   Eastern Utilities Associates (NYSE:EUA) announced
today that its Montaup Electric Co. subsidiary has signed an agreement to sell
its Somerset (Mass.) Station  electric generating plant for $55 million to NRG
Energy, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northern States Power Co. (NYSE:
NSP), based in Minneapolis, Minn. Sale of the 160-megawatt (MW) power plant is
expected to be completed in the first quarter of 1999 following regulatory
approvals.

"We are very pleased to have a company with NRG's international reputation and
track record in the power industry make a commitment to power generation in
this region," said Donald G. Pardus, EUA's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "This sale represents completion of divestiture of all of Montaup's
wholly-owned power generation assets."

Montaup is selling its generating assets under terms of its settlement
agreements with Massachusetts and Rhode Island  as part of the ongoing
deregulation of New England's  electric industry.  The purchase price for
Somerset Station is about 1.8 times the station's book value.

Pardus noted that EUA plans to file for approval of this sale with the
Massachusetts Department of Telecommunication and Energy and the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) later this month. The sale will help lower EUA's
stranded costs in accordance with the company's settlement agreements with
FERC.

The sale also includes an additional 69 MW of currently deactivated generating
capacity, real estate as well as generating equipment at the 1.2 megawatt
Pawtucket Hydro Station in Pawtucket, R.I., owned by another EUA
subsidiary   Blackstone Valley Electric Co.  Details of the Pawtucket Hydro
sale are expected to be completed in a week or two.

NRG Energy is one of the world's leading independent power producers,
specializing in the development, construction, operation, maintenance and
ownership of reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally sensitive power
plants. Established in 1989, NRG is involved in more than 10,500 megawatts of
projects throughout the United States, Europe, the Pacific Rim and Latin
America. NRG Energy's World Wide Web site is <www.nrgenergy.com>

Shares of Boston-based EUA are traded on the New York and Pacific Stock
Exchanges.  Besides Montaup, EUA's electric utility subsidiaries in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island are Eastern Edison,  Blackstone Valley Electric
and Newport Electric, collectively serving more than 300,000 customers.  Other
subsidiaries include EUA Cogenex Corp.; EUA Energy Investment Corp.; EUA Ocean
State Corp.; EUA Service Corp.; and EUA Energy Services, Inc.  Information
about EUA is available on the World Wide Web at <www.eua.com>

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