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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2022
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Other Balance Sheet Information The following table presents the accumulated depreciation included in property, plant and equipment, net and accumulated amortization included in intangible assets, net:
(In millions) | March 31, 2022 |  | December 31, 2021 |
Property, plant and equipment accumulated depreciation | $ | 1,419 |  |  | $ | 1,308 |  |
Intangible assets accumulated amortization | 1,867 |  |  | 1,636 |  |
Credit Losses Retail trade receivables are reported on the balance sheet net of the allowance for credit losses. The Company accrues a provision for current expected credit losses based on (i) estimates of uncollectible revenues by analyzing accounts receivable aging and current and reasonable forecasts of expected economic factors including, but not limited to, unemployment rates and weather-related events, (ii) historical collections and delinquencies, and (iii) counterparty credit ratings for commercial and industrial customers. The following table represents the activity in the allowance for credit losses for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Three months ended March 31, |  |
(In millions) | 2022 |  | 2021 |  |  |  |
Beginning balance | $ | 683 |  |  | $ | 67 |  |  |  |  |
Acquired balance from Direct Energy | — |  |  | 112 |  |  |  |  |
Provision for credit losses | 25 |  |  | 611 |  |  |  |  |
Write-offs | (50) |  |  | (48) |  |  |  |  |
Recoveries collected | 8 |  |  | 7 |  |  |  |  |
Ending balance | $ | 666 |  |  | $ | 749 |  |  |  |  |
The decrease in the provision for credit losses during the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to the same period in 2021 was primarily due to the impacts of Winter Storm Uri during the prior year on bilateral finance hedging risk of $393 million, counterparty credit risk of $109 million and ERCOT default shortfall payments of $83 million. Cash and Cash Equivalents, Funds Deposited by Counterparties and Restricted Cash The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and funds deposited by counterparties reported within the consolidated balance sheets that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the statements of cash flows:
(In millions) | March 31, 2022 |  | December 31, 2021 |  |  |  |
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 387 |  |  | $ | 250 |  |  |  |  |
Funds deposited by counterparties | 2,570 |  |  | 845 |  |  |  |  |
Restricted cash | 39 |  |  | 15 |  |  |  |  |
Cash and cash equivalents, funds deposited by counterparties and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows | $ | 2,996 |  |  | $ | 1,110 |  |  |  |  |
Funds deposited by counterparties consist of cash held by the Company as a result of collateral posting obligations from its counterparties related to NRG's hedging program. The increase in funds deposited by counterparties is driven by the significant increase in forward positions as a result of increases in natural gas and power prices. Though some amounts are segregated into separate accounts, not all funds are contractually restricted. Based on the Company's intention, these funds are not available for the payment of general corporate obligations; however, they are available for liquidity management. Depending on market fluctuations and the settlement of the underlying contracts, the Company will refund this collateral to the counterparties pursuant to the terms and conditions of the underlying trades. Since collateral requirements fluctuate daily and the Company cannot predict if any collateral will be held for more than twelve months, the funds deposited by counterparties are classified as a current asset on the Company's balance sheet, with an offsetting liability for this cash collateral received within current liabilities. Restricted cash consists primarily of funds held to satisfy the requirements of certain debt agreements and funds held within the Company's projects that are restricted in their uses. Winter Storm Uri Uplift Securitization Proceeds The Texas Legislature passed House Bill ("HB") 4492 in May of 2021 for ERCOT to mitigate exceptionally high price adders and ancillary service costs incurred by LSEs during Winter Storm Uri. HB 4492 authorized ERCOT to obtain $2.1 billion of financing to distribute to LSEs that were charged and paid to ERCOT those highly priced ancillary service and ORDPA during Winter Storm Uri. In December 2021, ERCOT filed with the PUCT a calculation of each LSE’s share of proceeds based on the settlement methodology. The Company accounted for the proceeds it will receive by analogy to the contribution model within ASC 958-605, Not-for-Profit Entities- Revenue Recognition and the grant model within IAS 20, Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance, as a reduction to cost of operations within its consolidated statements of operations in the 2021 annual period for which the proceeds were intended to compensate. The Company expects to receive proceeds of $689 million from ERCOT in the second quarter of 2022 which is reflected as a receivable on its consolidated balance sheets. Recent Accounting Developments - Guidance Adopted in 2022 ASU 2020-06 — In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), or ASU 2020-06. The guidance in ASU 2020-06 reduces the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. In addition, ASU 2020-06 improves and amends the related earnings per share guidance. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2022 using the modified retrospective approach. As a result of the provisions of the amended guidance, the Company recorded a $100 million decrease to additional paid-in capital, a $57 million decrease to debt discount, a $57 million increase to retained earnings and a $14 million decrease to long-term deferred tax liabilities. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have a material impact on the Company's statement of operations, statement of cash flow or earnings per share amounts.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123372394&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
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