XML 16 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.6.0.2

Description of Business | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Description of Business | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS Fortis Inc. (“Fortis” or the “Corporation”) is principally an international electric and gas utility holding company. Fortis segments its utility operations by franchise area and, depending on regulatory requirements, by the nature of the assets. Fortis also holds investments in non-regulated energy infrastructure, which is treated as a separate segment. The Corporation’s reporting segments allow senior management to evaluate the operational performance and assess the overall contribution of each segment to the long-term objectives of Fortis. Each entity within the reporting segments operates with substantial autonomy, assumes profit and loss responsibility and is accountable for its own resource allocation. The following summary describes the operations included in each of the Corporation’s reportable segments. REGULATED UTILITIES Electric & Gas Utilities - United States
a. | ITC: Primarily comprised of ITC Holdings Corp. (“ITC Holdings”) and the electric transmission operations of its regulated operating subsidiaries, which include International Transmission Company (“ITCTransmission”), Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (“METC”), ITC Midwest LLC (“ITC Midwest”), and ITC Great Plains, LLC (“ITC Great Plains”), (collectively “ITC”). ITC was acquired by Fortis in October 2016, with Fortis owning 80.1% of ITC and an affiliate of GIC Private Limited (“GIC”) owning a 19.9% minority interest (Notes 21 and 27).
ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission lines serving a system peak load exceeding 26,000 megawatts (“MW”) along approximately 25,000 kilometres in Michigan’s lower peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that transmit electricity from approximately 570 generating stations to local distribution facilities connected to ITC’s systems.
b. | UNS Energy: Primarily comprised of Tucson Electric Power Company (“TEP”), UNS Electric, Inc. (“UNS Electric”) and UNS Gas, Inc. (“UNS Gas”), (collectively “UNS Energy”).
TEP, UNS Energy’s largest operating subsidiary, is a vertically integrated regulated electric utility. TEP generates, transmits and distributes electricity to retail customers in southeastern Arizona, including the greater Tucson metropolitan area in Pima County, as well as parts of Cochise County. TEP also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States. UNS Electric is a vertically integrated regulated electric utility, which generates, transmits and distributes electricity to retail customers in Arizona’s Mohave and Santa Cruz counties. TEP and UNS Electric currently own generation resources with an aggregate capacity of 2,994 MW, including 54 MW of solar capacity. Several of the generating assets in which TEP and UNS Electric have an interest are jointly owned. As at December 31, 2016, approximately 47% of the generating capacity was fuelled by coal. UNS Gas is a regulated gas distribution utility, serving retail customers in Arizona’s Mohave, Yavapai, Coconino, Navajo and Santa Cruz counties.
c. | Central Hudson: Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (“Central Hudson”) is a regulated transmission and distribution (“T&D”) utility, serving eight counties of New York State’s Mid-Hudson River Valley. The Company owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totalling 64 MW.
Gas & Electric Utilities - Canadian
a. | FortisBC Energy: FortisBC Energy Inc. (“FortisBC Energy” or “FEI”) is the largest distributor of natural gas in British Columbia, serving more than 135 communities. Major areas served by the Company are the Mainland, Vancouver Island and Whistler regions of British Columbia. FEI provides T&D services to customers, and obtains natural gas supplies on behalf of most residential, commercial and industrial customers. Gas supplies are sourced primarily from northeastern British Columbia and, through FEI’s Southern Crossing pipeline, from Alberta.
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS (cont’d) Gas & Electric Utilities - Canadian (cont’d)
b. | FortisAlberta: FortisAlberta Inc. (“FortisAlberta”) owns and operates the electricity distribution system in a substantial portion of southern and central Alberta. The Company does not own or operate generation or transmission assets and is not involved in the direct sale of electricity.
c. | FortisBC Electric: Includes FortisBC Inc. (“FortisBC Electric”), an integrated electric utility operating in the southern interior of British Columbia. FortisBC Electric owns four hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW. Also included in the FortisBC Electric segment are the operating, maintenance and management services relating to five hydroelectric generating facilities in British Columbia primarily owned by third parties, one of which is the 335-MW Waneta Expansion hydroelectric generating facility (“Waneta Expansion”), owned by Fortis and Columbia Power Corporation and Columbia Basin Trust (“CPC/CBT”).
d. | Eastern Canadian: Comprised of Newfoundland Power Inc. (“Newfoundland Power”), Maritime Electric Company, Limited (“Maritime Electric”) and FortisOntario Inc. (“FortisOntario”). Newfoundland Power is an integrated electric utility and the principal distributor of electricity on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland Power has an installed generating capacity of 139 MW, of which 97 MW is hydroelectric generation. Maritime Electric is an integrated electric utility and the principal distributor of electricity on Prince Edward Island (“PEI”). Maritime Electric also maintains on-Island generating facilities with a combined capacity of 145 MW. FortisOntario is comprised of three electric utilities that provide service to customers in Fort Erie, Cornwall, Gananoque, Port Colborne and the District of Algoma in Ontario.
Electric Utilities – Caribbean The Electric Utilities – Caribbean segment includes the Corporation’s approximate 60% controlling ownership interest in Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (“Caribbean Utilities”) (December 31, 2015 - 60%), Fortis Turks and Caicos, and the Corporation’s 33% equity investment in Belize Electricity Limited (“Belize Electricity”) (Note 9). Caribbean Utilities is an integrated electric utility and the sole provider of electricity on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. The Company has an installed diesel-powered generating capacity of 161 MW. Caribbean Utilities is a public company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) (TSX:CUP.U). Fortis Turks and Caicos is comprised of two integrated electric utilities that provide electricity to certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The utilities have a combined diesel-powered generating capacity of 82 MW. Belize Electricity is an integrated electric utility and the principal distributor of electricity in Belize. NON-REGULATED - ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE Non-Regulated - Energy Infrastructure is primarily comprised of long-term contracted generation assets in British Columbia and Belize, and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility (“Aitken Creek”). Generating assets in British Columbia include the Corporation’s 51% controlling ownership interest in the 335-MW Waneta Expansion, conducted through the Waneta Expansion Limited Partnership (“Waneta Partnership”), with CPC/CBT holding the remaining 49% interest. The output is sold to BC Hydro and FortisBC Electric under 40-year contracts. Generating assets in Belize are comprised of three hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW, conducted through the Corporation’s indirectly wholly owned subsidiary Belize Electric Company Limited (“BECOL”). The output is sold to Belize Electricity under 50-year power purchase agreements (“PPAs”). Aitken Creek Gas Storage ULC (“ACGS”), acquired by Fortis in April 2016, owns 93.8% of Aitken Creek, with the remaining share owned by BP Canada Energy Company (Note 27). Aitken Creek is the only underground natural gas storage facility in British Columbia and has a total working gas capacity of 77 billion cubic feet. In 2016 the Corporation sold its 16-MW run-of-river Walden hydroelectric generating facility (“Walden”) and in 2015 the Corporation sold its non-regulated generation assets in Upstate New York and Ontario (Note 28). 1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS (cont’d) NON-REGULATED - NON-UTILITY The Non-Utility segment previously included Fortis Properties Corporation (“Fortis Properties”). Fortis Properties completed the sale of its commercial real estate and hotel assets in 2015 (Note 28). CORPORATE AND OTHER The Corporate and Other segment captures expense and revenue items not specifically related to any reportable segment and those business operations that are below the required threshold for reporting as separate segments. The Corporate and Other segment includes net corporate expenses of Fortis and non-regulated holding company expenses of FortisBC Holdings Inc. (“FHI”), CH Energy Group, Inc. (“CH Energy Group”), and UNS Energy Corporation. Also included in the Corporate and Other segment are the financial results of FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc. (“FAES”). FAES is a wholly owned subsidiary of FHI that provides alternative energy solutions, including thermal-energy and geo-exchange systems.

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for the business description and basis of presentation concepts. Business description describes the nature and type of organization including but not limited to organizational structure as may be applicable to holding companies, parent and subsidiary relationships, business divisions, business units, business segments, affiliates and information about significant ownership of the reporting entity. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_BusinessDescriptionAndBasisOfPresentationTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration