Goodwill

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

22. GOODWILL

The change in goodwill for the year ended December 31 is due to the following:

millions of Canadian dollars		2017		2016
Balance, January 1	$	6,213	$	264
Acquisition of TECO Energy as at July 1, 2016 (note 4)		-		5,771
Change in foreign exchange rate		(408)		178
Balance, December 31	$	5,805	$	6,213

Goodwill on Emera’s Consolidated Balance Sheets relates to the acquisitions of TECO Energy (refer to note 4), Emera Maine and GBPC. Goodwill is subject to an annual assessment for impairment at the reporting unit level. Emera’s reporting units with goodwill are Tampa Electric, PGS, New Mexico Gas, Emera Maine and GBPC.

A qualitative assessment was performed for Tampa Electric, PGS, New Mexico Gas, and GBPC, concluding that the fair value of the reporting units exceeded their carrying value, and as such, no quantitative assessment was performed.

Emera elected to bypass the qualitative assessment for Emera Maine and used a discounted cash flow analysis to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. The discounted cash flow analysis relies on management’s best estimate of the reporting units’ projected cash flows. It includes an estimate of terminal values based on these expected cash flows using a methodology which derives a valuation using an assumed perpetual annuity based on the entity’s residual cash flows. The discount rate is a market participant rate based on a peer group of publicly traded comparable companies and represents the weighted average cost of capital of comparable companies.

The Company determined the fair value of reporting units exceed their book value and related goodwill carrying amounts at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, resulting in no impairment charge. Significant assumptions used in estimating the fair value include discount and growth rates, valuation of NOLs, utility sector market performance and transactions, projected operating and capital cash flows and the calculation of the terminal value. Adverse changes in assumptions described above could result in a future material impairment of the goodwill assigned to Tampa Electric, PGS, New Mexico Gas, Emera Maine or GBPC.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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