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Guarantees and Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
Guarantees and Contingencies |
Guarantees and Contingencies | 13. Guarantees and Contingencies ​ Guarantees ​ We and our subsidiaries enter into various contracts that include indemnification and guarantee provisions as a routine part of our business activities. Examples of these contracts include asset purchases and sale agreements, joint venture agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, and other types of contractual agreements with vendors and other third parties, as well as affiliates. These contracts generally indemnify the counterparty for tax, environmental liability, litigation and other matters, as well as breaches of representations, warranties and covenants set forth in these agreements. ​ Contingencies ​ Fire at Cadillac project On September 22, 2019, the Cadillac project experienced a malfunction in its steam turbine that began a cascade of events, sparking a fire. The fire was contained by the plant’s fire protection system and the local fire department and did not result in any injuries or known environmental violations. ​ Physical Damage ​ The biomass plant suffered significant damage to the turbine, generator and other components in that area of the plant as a result of the fire. The boiler, cooling tower, fuel pile and fuel handling equipment were not affected. Reconstruction of Cadillac was completed in late July 2020 and the plant was recommissioned, tested and returned to service on August 20, 2020. Our insurance covers the repair or replacement of the assets that experienced loss or damage. The property damage deductible under the policies insuring the Cadillac assets is $1.0 million. Losses have exceeded the deductible under these insurance policies. ​ Business Interruption ​ Our insurance policies also provide coverage for interruption to Cadillac’s business, including lost profits. The policies also reimburse for other expenses and costs it has incurred relating to the damages and loss it has suffered. The policies provide for coverage during the reconstruction period. The business interruption deductible under the policies insuring the Cadillac assets is 45 days of lost production, which we estimate had an approximate $1.4 million impact to cash flows from operations in the year ended December 31, 2019, the period when the deductible was fulfilled. ​ Impact ​ The Cadillac biomass plant is a component of our Solid Fuel segment. The fire resulted in a triggering event to test the Cadillac’s asset group for long-lived asset impairment. Based on our expectation of insurance recoveries and a full repair of the plant, we did not record an impairment at Cadillac because its estimated undiscounted future cash flows exceed the carrying value of the asset group at the date of the incident. ​ Because the plant experienced significant damage and it was probable that insurance proceeds would be received in order to repair the facility, we applied accounting for gains and losses on involuntary conversions. Insurance proceeds received in excess of incurred losses will be accounted for as gain contingencies. Reimbursements for lost profits, or business interruption losses, are accounted for as a gain contingency because lost profits are not considered an incurred loss. Based on loss estimates and expenses incurred through September 30, 2019, we recorded a $25 million write-down of Cadillac’s property, plant and equipment and a $0.3 million write-down of capital spares inventory in the three months ended September 30, 2019. We also recorded a corresponding insurance receivable ($24.2 million), a component of other current assets, less the $1.0 million property damage deductible, which was recorded as a charge to other project income, because we believed that it was probable we would receive insurance recoveries up to our estimated plant write-down. As the plant was repaired, any costs incurred were capitalized to property, plant and equipment. During the three months ended December 31, 2019, we recorded an additional $0.6 million write-down of fuel inventory, with a corresponding increase to the insurance receivable. ​ During the year ended December 31, 2019, we received $11.3 million of insurance proceeds with respect to the fire at Cadillac, which were applied against the cumulative insurance receivable of $24.8 million. We received insurance proceeds of $7.0 million and $19.7 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, bringing the total cumulative proceeds received to $31.0 million. As of September 30, 2020, the insurance receivable balance has been reduced to zero. During the third quarter 2020, we recorded business interruption proceeds of $6.2 million. These business interruption proceeds are included in other project income on our condensed consolidated statements of operations. ​ As of November 6, 2020, we estimate additional insurance recoveries related to business interruption losses and property losses in the range of $10.0 to $11.0 million in settlement of the claim. We expect all contingencies related to the remaining business interruption losses and property losses to be resolved once final payment is received from the insurers, which is when we will recognize the reimbursements on our condensed consolidated statement of operations. ​ General ​ From time to time, Atlantic Power, its subsidiaries and the projects are parties to disputes and litigation that arise in the normal course of business. We assess our exposure to these matters and record estimated loss contingencies when a loss is likely and can be reasonably estimated. There are no matters pending which are expected to have a material adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations or have been reserved for as of September 30, 2020. ​

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