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Organization and Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Unless otherwise indicated, defined terms and abbreviations used herein have the meanings set forth in the accompanying Glossary of Terms.

FE was incorporated under Ohio law in 1996. FE’s principal business is the holding, directly or indirectly, of all of the outstanding equity of its principal subsidiaries: OE, CEI, TE, Penn (a wholly owned subsidiary of OE), JCP&L, ME, PN, FESC, MP, AGC (a wholly owned subsidiary of MP), PE, WP, and FET and its principal subsidiaries (ATSI, MAIT and TrAIL). In addition, FE holds all of the outstanding equity of other direct subsidiaries including: AE Supply, FirstEnergy Properties, Inc., FEV, FELHC, Inc., Allegheny Ventures, Inc., and Suvon, LLC, doing business as both FirstEnergy Home and FirstEnergy Advisors.

FE and its subsidiaries are principally involved in the transmission, distribution and generation of electricity. FirstEnergy’s ten utility operating companies comprise one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, based on serving over six million customers in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. FirstEnergy’s transmission operations include approximately 24,000 miles of lines and two regional transmission operation centers. AGC and MP control 3,580 MWs of total capacity.
PN, as lessee of the property of its subsidiary, The Waverly Electric Light & Power Company, serves approximately 4,000 customers in the Waverly, New York vicinity. On February 10, 2021, PN entered into an agreement to transfer its customers and the related assets in Waverly, New York to Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative. PN and Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative have jointly decided not to move forward with the transfer. As a result, on September 30, 2022 both parties notified the NYPSC that the transaction would not occur.
These interim financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Certain information and disclosures normally included in financial statements and notes prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

FE and its subsidiaries follow GAAP and comply with the related regulations, orders, policies and practices prescribed by the SEC, FERC, and, as applicable, the PUCO, the PPUC, the MDPSC, the NYPSC, the WVPSC, the VSCC and the NJBPU. The accompanying interim financial statements are unaudited, but reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair statement of the financial statements. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make periodic estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The reported results of operations are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for any future period. FE and its subsidiaries have evaluated events and transactions for potential recognition or disclosure through the date the financial statements were issued.

FE and its subsidiaries consolidate all majority-owned subsidiaries over which they exercise control and, when applicable, entities for which they have a controlling financial interest. Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation as appropriate and permitted pursuant to GAAP. FE and its subsidiaries consolidate a VIE when it is determined that it is the primary beneficiary. Investments in affiliates over which FE and its subsidiaries have the ability to exercise significant influence, but do not have a controlling financial interest, follow the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method, the interest in the entity is reported as an investment in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and the percentage of FE’s ownership share of the entity’s earnings is reported in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

Capitalized Financing Costs

For the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, capitalized financing costs on FirstEnergy’s Consolidated Statements of Income include $15 million and $13 million, respectively, of allowance for equity funds used during construction and $8 million and $7 million, respectively, of capitalized interest. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, capitalized financing costs on FirstEnergy’s Consolidated Statements of Income include $39 million and $34 million, respectively, of allowance for equity funds used during construction and $20 million of capitalized interest for both periods.

Economic Conditions

Economic conditions following the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased lead times across numerous material categories, with some as much as doubling from previous times. Some key suppliers have struggled with labor shortages and raw material availability, which along with increasing inflationary pressure, have increased the costs of certain materials, equipment and contractors. FirstEnergy has taken steps to mitigate these risks and does not currently expect service disruptions or any material impact on its capital spending plan. However, the situation remains fluid and a prolonged continuation or further increase in supply chain disruptions could have an adverse effect on FirstEnergy’s results of operations, cash flow and financial condition.
Goodwill
FirstEnergy evaluates goodwill for impairment annually on July 31 and more frequently if indicators of impairment arise. For 2022, FirstEnergy performed a qualitative assessment of the Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission reporting units' goodwill, assessing economic, industry and market considerations in addition to the reporting units' overall financial performance. Key factors used in the assessment included: growth rates, interest rates, expected capital expenditures, utility sector market performance, regulatory and legal developments, and other market considerations. It was determined that the fair values of these reporting units were, more likely than not, greater than their carrying values and a quantitative analysis was not necessary.
Sale of Minority Interest in FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC

On November 6, 2021, FirstEnergy, along with FET, entered into the FET P&SA, with Brookfield and Brookfield Guarantors, pursuant to which FET agreed to issue and sell to Brookfield at the closing, and Brookfield agreed to purchase from FET, certain newly issued membership interests of FET, such that Brookfield will own 19.9% of the issued and outstanding membership interests of FET, for a purchase price of $2.375 billion. The transaction closed on May 31, 2022. The difference between the cash consideration received, net of transaction costs of approximately $37 million, and the carrying value of the noncontrolling interest of $451 million was recorded as an increase to OPIC. KATCo, which was a subsidiary of FET, became a wholly owned subsidiary of FE prior to the closing of the transaction and remains in the Regulated Transmission segment.

Pursuant to the terms of the FET P&SA, on May 31, 2022, Brookfield, FET and FE entered into the FET LLC Agreement. The FET LLC Agreement, among other things, provides for the governance, exit, capital and distribution, and other arrangements for FET from and following the closing. Under the FET LLC Agreement, Brookfield is entitled to appoint a number of directors to the FET Board, in approximate proportion to Brookfield’s ownership percentage in FET (rounded to the next whole number). The FET Board now consists of five directors, one appointed by Brookfield and four appointed by FE. The FET LLC Agreement contains certain investor protections, including, among other things, requiring Brookfield's approval for FET and its subsidiaries to take certain major actions. Under the terms of the FET LLC Agreement, for so long as Brookfield holds a 9.9% interest in FET, Brookfield’s consent is required for FET or any of its subsidiaries to incur indebtedness (other than the refinancing of existing indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms reflecting then-current credit market conditions) that would reasonably be expected to result in FET’s consolidated Debt-to-Capital Ratio (as defined in the FET LLC Agreement) equaling or exceeding (i) prior to the fifth anniversary of the effective date, 65%, and (ii) thereafter, 70%.
New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Pronouncements - The following new authoritative accounting guidance issued by the FASB has not yet been adopted. Unless otherwise indicated, FirstEnergy is currently assessing the impact such guidance may have on its financial statements and disclosures, as well as the potential to early adopt where applicable. FirstEnergy has assessed other FASB issuances of new standards not described below based upon the current expectation that such new standards will not significantly impact FirstEnergy's financial reporting.

ASU 2022-03, "Fair Value Measurements of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions " (Issued in June 2022): ASU 2022-03 clarifies current guidance in Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, when measuring the fair value of an equity security subject to contractual restrictions that prohibit the sale of an equity security, and introduces new disclosure requirements for those equity securities subject to contractual restrictions. For FirstEnergy, the guidance will be effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2023, with early adoption permitted.