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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES We and our subsidiaries have significant commitments and contingencies arising from our operations, including those related to unconditional purchase obligations, environmental matters, and enforcement and litigation matters. Unconditional Purchase Obligations Our electric utilities have obligations to distribute and sell electricity to their customers, and our natural gas utilities have obligations to distribute and sell natural gas to their customers. The utilities expect to recover costs related to these obligations in future customer rates. In order to meet these obligations, we routinely enter into long-term purchase and sale commitments for various quantities and lengths of time. Our non-utility energy infrastructure generation facilities have obligations to distribute and sell electricity through long-term offtake agreements with their customers for all of the energy produced. These projects also enter into related easements and other agreements associated with the generating facilities. Our minimum future commitments related to these purchase obligations as of March 31, 2019, including those of our subsidiaries, were $11,893.7 million. Environmental Matters Consistent with other companies in the energy industry, we face significant ongoing environmental compliance and remediation obligations related to current and past operations. Specific environmental issues affecting us include, but are not limited to, current and future regulation of air emissions such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, fine particulates, mercury, and GHGs; water intake and discharges; disposal of coal combustion products such as fly ash; and remediation of impacted properties, including former manufactured gas plant sites. Air Quality National Ambient Air Quality Standards After completing its review of the 2008 ozone standard, the EPA released a final rule in October 2015, which lowered the limit for ground-level ozone, creating a more stringent standard than the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The EPA issued final nonattainment area designations on May 1, 2018. The following counties within our service territories were designated as partial nonattainment: Door, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Northern Milwaukee/Ozaukee, and Sheboygan shorelines. The state of Wisconsin will need to develop a state implementation plan to bring these areas back into attainment. We will be required to comply with this state implementation plan no earlier than 2020. We believe we are well positioned to meet the requirements associated with the ozone standard and do not expect to incur significant costs to comply. Mercury and Air Toxics Standards In December 2018, the EPA proposed to revise the Supplemental Cost Finding for the mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) rule as well as the CAA required risk and technology review (RTR). The EPA was required by the United States Supreme Court to review both costs and benefits of complying with the MATS rule. After its review of costs, the EPA determined that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate hazardous air pollutant emissions from power plants under Section 112 of the CAA. As a result, under the proposed rule, the emission standards and other requirements of the MATS rule first enacted in 2012 would remain in place. The EPA is not proposing to remove coal-and oil-fired power plants from the list of sources that are regulated under Section 112. The EPA also proposes that no revisions to MATS are warranted based on the results of the RTR. As a result, we do not expect the proposed rule to have a material impact on our financial condition or operations. Climate Change In August 2018, the EPA issued a proposed replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan, the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The proposed ACE rule would require the EPA to develop emission guidelines for states to use to develop their individual state plans. The state plans would focus on reducing GHG emissions by improving the efficiency of fossil-fueled power plants. In December 2018, the EPA proposed to revise the New Source Performance Standards for GHG emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed fossil-fueled power plants. The EPA determined that the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for new, modified, and reconstructed coal units is highly efficient generation that would be equivalent to supercritical steam conditions for larger units and subcritical steam conditions for smaller units. This proposed BSER would replace the determination from the previous rule, which identified BSER as partial carbon capture and storage. In April 2019, we issued a climate report, which analyzes our GHG reduction goals with respect to international efforts to limit future global temperature increases to less than two degrees Celsius. We will continue to update this analysis as climate-change policies and relevant technologies evolve over time with a focus on preserving fuel diversity, lowering costs for customers, and reducing long-term GHG emissions. Our plan is to work with our industry peers, environmental groups, public policy makers, and customers, with goals of reducing CO 2 emissions by approximately 40% and 80% below 2005 levels by 2030 and 2050, respectively. As a result of our generation reshaping plan, we have retired approximately 1,800 MW of coal generation since the beginning of 2018, consisting of the PIPP, which we retired on March 31, 2019. This plan also consisted of the 2018 retirement of the Pleasant Prairie power plant, the Pulliam power plant, and the jointly-owned Edgewater Unit 4 generating units. See Note 5, Property, Plant, and Equipment, for more information on the retirement of the PIPP. We are required to report our CO 2 equivalent emissions from our electric generating facilities under the EPA Greenhouse Gases Reporting Program. For 2018, we reported aggregated CO 2 equivalent emissions of 26.4 million metric tonnes to the EPA. We are also required to report CO 2 equivalent emissions related to the natural gas that our natural gas utilities distribute and sell. For 2018, we reported aggregated CO 2 equivalent emissions of 29.4 million metric tonnes to the EPA. Water Quality Clean Water Act Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule In August 2014, the EPA issued a final regulation under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act that requires the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures at existing power plants to reflect the Best Technology Available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. The rule became effective in October 2014 and applies to all of our existing generating facilities with cooling water intake structures, except for the ERGS units, which were permitted under the rules governing new facilities. The rule requires state permitting agencies to make BTA determinations, subject to EPA oversight, over the next several years as facility permits are reissued. Based on our assessment, we believe that existing technologies at our operating facilities, except for Weston Unit 2, satisfy the BTA requirements. Based on the March 2018 reissued WPDES permit for Weston, the WDNR will not require physical modifications to the Weston Unit 2 intake structure to meet the BTA requirements based on low capacity use of the unit. We have received a BTA determination by the WDNR, with EPA concurrence, for our intake modification at the Valley Power Plant. The WDNR made an interim BTA determination as part of the March 2018 reissued WPDES permit for Weston Units 3 and 4. We expect that the WDNR will conclude in the next permit reissuance that the existing cooling tower systems for Weston Units 3 and 4 are BTA. Although we currently believe that existing technologies at Port Washington Generating Station and OC 5 through OC 8 satisfy the BTA requirements, final determinations will not be made until discharge permits are renewed for these units. Until that time, we cannot determine what, if any, intake structure or operational modifications will be required to meet the new BTA requirements for these units. We also have provided information to the WDNR and the MDEQ about planned unit retirements. Following discussions with the MDEQ, in January 2019, we submitted a signed certification stating that the PIPP would be retired no later than June 1, 2019. The PIPP was retired on March 31, 2019. As a result of past capital investments completed to address 316(b) compliance at WE and WPS, we believe our fleet overall is well positioned to meet the new regulation and do not expect to incur significant costs to comply with this regulation. Steam Electric Effluent Limitation Guidelines The EPA's final steam electric effluent limitation guidelines (ELG) rule took effect in January 2016. This rule created new requirements for several types of power plant wastewaters. The two new requirements that affect WE and WPS relate to discharge limits for bottom ash transport water (BATW) and wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater. This rule is being litigated and various petitions challenging it were consolidated in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit). In April 2017, the EPA issued an administrative stay of certain compliance deadlines while further reviewing the rule. In September 2017, the EPA issued a final rule (Postponement Rule) to postpone the earliest compliance date to November 1, 2020 for the BATW and wet FGD wastewater requirements. The latest ELG rule compliance date remains December 31, 2023 for any new wastewater treatment requirements contained in power plant discharge permits. As a result of past capital investments completed to address ELG compliance at WE and WPS, we believe our fleet overall is well positioned to meet the regulations. Our power plant facilities already have advanced wastewater treatment technologies installed that meet many of the discharge limits established by this rule. However, as currently constructed, the ELG rule will require additional wastewater treatment retrofits as well as installation of other equipment to minimize process water use. Due to completed generating unit retirements, we believe the only facilities that will require bottom ash system modifications are Weston Unit 3 and Oak Creek Units 7 and 8. One wastewater treatment system modification may be required for the wet FGD discharges from the six units that make up the OCPP and ERGS. Based on preliminary engineering, the estimated rule compliance cost is approximately $70 million. The Fifth Circuit issued a ruling in April 2019, striking down several portions of the ELG rule. The Fifth Circuit held that the legacy wastewater and combustion residual leachate provisions in the rule failed to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. Land Quality Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation We have identified sites at which our utilities or a predecessor company owned or operated a manufactured gas plant or stored manufactured gas. We have also identified other sites that may have been impacted by historical manufactured gas plant activities. Our natural gas utilities are responsible for the environmental remediation of these sites, some of which are in the EPA Superfund Alternative Approach Program. We are also working with various state jurisdictions in our investigation and remediation planning. These sites are at various stages of investigation, monitoring, remediation, and closure. In addition, we are coordinating the investigation and cleanup of some of these sites subject to the jurisdiction of the EPA under what is called a "multisite" program. This program involves prioritizing the work to be done at the sites, preparation and approval of documents common to all of the sites, and use of a consistent approach in selecting remedies. At this time, we cannot estimate future remediation costs associated with these sites beyond those described below. The future costs for detailed site investigation, future remediation, and monitoring are dependent upon several variables including, among other things, the extent of remediation, changes in technology, and changes in regulation. Historically, our regulators have allowed us to recover incurred costs, net of insurance recoveries and recoveries from potentially responsible parties, associated with the remediation of manufactured gas plant sites. Accordingly, we have established regulatory assets for costs associated with these sites. We have established the following regulatory assets and reserves related to manufactured gas plant sites:
(in millions) |  | March 31, 2019 |  | December 31, 2018
Regulatory assets |  | $ | 697.6 |  |  | $ | 687.1 |
Reserves for future remediation |  | 631.8 |  |  | 616.4 |
Consent Decrees Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Consent Decree – Weston and Pulliam Power Plants In November 2009, the EPA issued an NOV to WPS, which alleged violations of the CAA's New Source Review requirements relating to certain projects completed at the Weston and Pulliam power plants from 1994 to 2009. WPS entered into a Consent Decree with the EPA resolving this NOV. This Consent Decree was entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in March 2013. WPS retired Pulliam Units 7 and 8 on October 21, 2018. WPS completed the mitigation projects required and received a completeness letter from the EPA in October 2018. We plan to start the process to terminate the WPS Consent Decree in 2019. Joint Ownership Power Plants Consent Decree – Columbia and Edgewater In December 2009, the EPA issued an NOV to Wisconsin Power and Light, the operator of the Columbia and Edgewater plants, and the other joint owners of these plants, including Madison Gas and Electric, WE (former co-owner of an Edgewater unit), and WPS. The NOV alleged violations of the CAA's New Source Review requirements related to certain projects completed at those plants. WPS, along with Wisconsin Power and Light, Madison Gas and Electric, and WE, entered into a Consent Decree with the EPA resolving this NOV. This Consent Decree was entered by the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in June 2013. As a result of the continued implementation of the Consent Decree related to the jointly owned Columbia and Edgewater plants, the Edgewater 4 generating unit was retired on September 28, 2018. Enforcement and Litigation Matters We and our subsidiaries are involved in legal and administrative proceedings before various courts and agencies with respect to matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Although we are unable to predict the outcome of these matters, management believes that appropriate reserves have been established and that final settlement of these actions will not have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

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