Calling Eversource is helpful if you have an account, but substantially less so if you do not. If you have an account, you can enter the account number that's associated with the account and check your balance, make changes to your service and otherwise access the automated system's help menu.
If you do not have an account, this number is only useful for reporting power outages and gas leaks outside of its normal operating hours. If you miss the window and attempt to call outside of weekdays, you'll get the automated assistant, which offers a limited amount of help.
If you are a bona fide customer and can provide your personally identifying information, the system menus open up for you to explore information about your account and services. From there, you can either hear the status of your account, make changes to it, check your balance and more.
If you are not an existing customer, you cannot use this number to automatically set up a new account through the automated system. The phone system does not work like that, and it will go to the main menu without providing any new information if you attempt to try this number without entering personal information. The one exception is if you're using this number to try to report a power outage or a gas leak; in this case, you can use this number to report an issue 24 hours a day without providing any information of your own.
Overall, I thought there was some helpful information gleaned from this experience, as the advice changes based on the customer's ability and willingness to provide sensitive information. If I were a genuine customer, I would use this number after seeing their commitment to security. But if I was trying to set up an account, I would not use this number as my first choice.