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Investments In and Advances To Affiliates - Effective Equity Ownership Interest and Carrying Values (Details) - USD ($) | 12 Months Ended |  |
--- | --- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2018 | Dec. 31, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2016
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Investments in and advances to affiliates |  | $ 1,114,000,000 | $ 1,197,000,000 | $ 621,000,000
Equity Method Investment, Other than Temporary Impairment |  | 144,000,000 |  |
sPower [Member] |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Investments in and advances to affiliates |  | $ 515,000,000 | $ 508,000,000 |
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage |  | 50.00% | 50.00% |
Gener Subsidiary [Member] |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Parent |  | 67.00% |  |
Barry |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage |  | 100.00% |  |
Other Long-term Debt |  | $ 43,000,000 | $ 45,000,000 |
Guacolda Affiliate [Member] |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Investments in and advances to affiliates | [1] | $ 209,000,000 | $ 357,000,000 |
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage | [1] | 33.00% | 33.00% |
OPGC |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Investments in and advances to affiliates | [2] | $ 293,000,000 | $ 269,000,000 |
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage | [2] | 49.00% | 49.00% |
Other Affiliates [Member] |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Investments in and advances to affiliates |  | $ 97,000,000 | $ 63,000,000 |
Gener Subsidiary [Member] | Guacolda Affiliate [Member] |  |  |  |
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage |  | 50.00% |  |
[1] | The Company's ownership in Guacolda is held through AES Gener, a 67%-owned consolidated subsidiary. AES Gener owns 50% of Guacolda, resulting in an AES effective ownership in Guacolda of 33%.
[2] | OPGC has one coal-fired project under development which is an expansion of our existing OPGC business. The project started construction in April 2014 and is expected to begin operations in 2019.

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- Definition This item represents an other than temporary decline in value that has been recognized against an investment accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the investment represents the amount of the write down which is or was reflected in earnings. The written down value is a new cost basis with the adjusted value of the investment becoming its new carrying value subject to the equity accounting method. Evidence of a loss in value might include, but would not necessarily be limited to, absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment or inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity which would justify the carrying amount of the investment. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 35 -Paragraph 32 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114001220&loc=d3e32787-111569 + Details
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