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REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2018
Regulated Operations [Abstract] |
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT | REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 In December 2017, our regulated utilities deferred for return to ratepayers, through future refunds, bill credits, riders, or reductions in other regulatory assets, the estimated tax benefit of $2,450 million related to the Tax Legislation that was signed into law in December 2017. This tax benefit resulted from the revaluation of deferred taxes. The Tax Legislation also reduced the corporate federal tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a 21% rate, effective January 1, 2018. We have received written orders from the PSCW and the MPSC addressing the refunding of certain of these tax benefits to ratepayers in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively, and the ICC has approved the VITA in Illinois. See the Variable Income Tax Adjustment Rider discussion below for more information on the Illinois rider. A summary of the Wisconsin and Michigan orders and our proposed approach in Minnesota is outlined below. Wisconsin In May 2018, the PSCW issued an order regarding the benefits associated with the Tax Legislation. The PSCW order requires WE's and WPS’s electric utility operations to use 80% and 40%, respectively, of the current 2018 and 2019 tax benefits to reduce certain regulatory assets. The remaining 20% and 60% at WE and WPS, respectively, is to be returned to electric customers in the form of bill credits. For our Wisconsin natural gas utility operations, the PSCW indicated that 100% of the current 2018 and 2019 tax benefits should be returned to natural gas customers in the form of bill credits. Regarding the net tax benefit associated with the revaluation of deferred taxes, amortization required in accordance with normalization accounting is to be used to reduce certain regulatory assets for our electric utilities and is being deferred at our natural gas utilities. The timing and method of returning the remaining net tax benefit associated with the revaluation of deferred taxes at our electric and natural gas utilities was not addressed and will be determined in a future rate proceeding. Michigan In February 2018, the MPSC issued an order requiring Michigan utilities to make three filings related to the Tax Legislation. The first of those filings, which was filed in March 2018, prospectively addressed the impact on base rates for the change in tax expense resulting from the federal tax rate reduction from 35% to 21%. UMERC and MGU proposed providing a volumetric bill credit, subject to reconciliation and true up. In May 2018, the MPSC issued orders approving settlements that resulted in volumetric bill credits for all of UMERC's and MGU's customers effective July 1, 2018. The second filing, which was filed in July 2018, addressed the impact on base rates for the change in tax expense resulting from the federal tax rate reduction from 35% to 21% from January 1, 2018 until July 1, 2018. UMERC and MGU proposed to return the tax savings from these months to customers via volumetric bill credits over multiple months. The MPSC issued orders approving settlements in September 2018. In accordance with the settlement orders, the savings will be returned to UMERC's and MGU's customers via volumetric bill credits that will be in effect from October 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. The third filing was filed in October 2018 and addresses the remaining impacts of the Tax Legislation on base rates – most notably the re-measurement of deferred tax balances. UMERC and MGU proposed providing a volumetric bill credit, subject to reconciliation and true up, to return these remaining impacts of the Tax Legislation to customers. WE, which serves one retail electric customer in Michigan, has reached a settlement with that customer. That settlement was approved by the MPSC in May 2018 and addresses all base rate impacts of the Tax Legislation, which will be returned to the customer through bill credits. Minnesota MERC is currently in an active rate case for 2018 and expects to address all aspects of the Tax Legislation, including the re-measurement of deferred tax balances, in that rate case. MERC expects that all impacts of the Tax Legislation will be incorporated into base rates when they are approved by the MPUC during its current rate proceeding. Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Wisconsin Gas LLC, and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation 2018 and 2019 Rates During April 2017, WE, WG, and WPS filed an application with the PSCW for approval of a settlement agreement they made with several of their commercial and industrial customers regarding 2018 and 2019 base rates. In September 2017, the PSCW issued an order that approved the settlement agreement, which freezes base rates through 2019 for electric, natural gas, and steam customers of WE, WG, and WPS. Based on the PSCW order, the authorized ROE for WE, WG, and WPS remains at 10.2%, 10.3%, and 10.0%, respectively, and the current capital cost structure for all of our Wisconsin utilities will remain unchanged through 2019. Various intervenors had filed requests for rehearing, all of which have been denied. In addition to freezing base rates, the settlement agreement extends and expands the electric real-time market pricing program options for large commercial and industrial customers and mitigates the continued growth of certain escrowed costs at WE during the base rate freeze period by accelerating the recognition of certain tax benefits. WE will flow through the tax benefit of its repair-related deferred tax liabilities in 2018 and 2019, to maintain certain regulatory asset balances at their December 31, 2017 levels. While WE would typically follow the normalization accounting method and utilize the tax benefits of the deferred tax liabilities in rate-making as an offset to rate base, benefiting customers over time, the federal tax code does allow for passing these tax repair-related benefits to ratepayers much sooner using the flow through accounting method. The flow through treatment of the repair-related deferred tax liabilities offsets the negative income statement impact of holding the regulatory assets level, resulting in no change to net income. The agreement also allows WPS to extend through 2019, the deferral for the revenue requirement of ReACT™ costs above the authorized $275.0 million level, and other deferrals related to WPS's electric real-time market pricing program and network transmission expenses. The total cost of the ReACT™ project, excluding $51 million of AFUDC, is currently estimated to be $342 million. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, WPS also agreed to adopt, beginning in 2018, the earnings sharing mechanism that has been in place for WE and WG since January 2016, and all three utilities agreed to keep the mechanism in place through 2019. Under this earnings sharing mechanism, if WE, WG, or WPS earns above its authorized ROE, 50% of the first 50 basis points of additional utility earnings must be shared with customers. All utility earnings above the first 50 basis points must also be shared with customers. Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Proposed Solar Generation Projects On May 31, 2018, WPS, along with an unaffiliated utility, filed an application with the PSCW for approval to acquire ownership interests in two proposed solar projects in Wisconsin. Badger Hollow Solar Farm will be located in Iowa County, Wisconsin, and Two Creeks Solar Project will be located in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. WPS will own 100 MW of the output of each project for a total of 200 MW. WPS's share of the cost of both projects is estimated to be $260 million. The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company and North Shore Gas Company Illinois Proceedings In December 2015, the ICC ordered a series of stakeholder workshops to evaluate PGL's SMP. This ICC action did not impact PGL's ongoing work to modernize and maintain the safety of its natural gas distribution system, but it instead provided the ICC with an opportunity to analyze long-term elements of the program through the stakeholder workshops. The workshops were completed in March 2016. In July 2016, the ICC initiated a proceeding to review, among other things, the planning, reporting, and monitoring of the program, including the target end date for the program, and issued a final order in January 2018. The order did not have a significant impact on PGL's existing SMP design and execution. An appeal related to the final order was filed by the Illinois Attorney General in April 2018. Qualifying Infrastructure Plant Rider In July 2013, Illinois Public Act 98-0057, The Natural Gas Consumer, Safety & Reliability Act, became law. This law provides PGL with a cost recovery mechanism that allows collection, through a surcharge on customer bills, of prudently incurred costs to upgrade Illinois natural gas infrastructure. In September 2013, PGL filed with the ICC requesting the proposed rider, which was approved in January 2014. PGL's QIP rider is subject to an annual reconciliation whereby costs are reviewed for accuracy and prudency. In March 2018, PGL filed its 2017 reconciliation with the ICC, which, along with the 2016 and 2015 reconciliations, are still pending. In February 2018, PGL agreed to a settlement of the 2014 reconciliation, which included a rate base reduction of $5.4 million and a $4.7 million refund to ratepayers. As of September 30, 2018, there can be no assurance that all costs incurred under PGL's QIP rider during the open reconciliation years will be deemed recoverable by the ICC. Variable Income Tax Adjustment Rider In April 2018, the ICC approved the VITA proposed by PGL and NSG. The VITA recovers or refunds changes in income tax expense resulting from differences in income tax rates and amortization of deferred tax excesses and deficiencies (in accordance with the Tax Legislation) from the amounts used in the last PGL and NSG rate case, effective January 25, 2018. Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation 2018 Minnesota Rate Case In October 2017, MERC initiated a rate proceeding with the MPUC to increase retail natural gas rates $12.6 million (5.05%). MERC's request reflected a 10.3% ROE and a common equity component average of 50.9%. In November 2017, the MPUC approved an interim rate order, effective January 1, 2018, authorizing a retail natural gas rate increase of $9.5 million (3.78%). In March 2018, to reflect changes in MERC's effective tax rate as a result of the enactment of the Tax Legislation, the MPUC approved a $2.5 million reduction in interim retail natural gas rates to $7.0 million (2.81%), effective April 1, 2018. The interim rates reflect a 9.1% ROE and a common equity component average of 50.9%. The interim rate increase is subject to refund pending the final written rate order, which is expected in the first half of 2019.

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