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Revenue Revenue from Contracts with Customers, Contract Balances (Policies) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue [Abstract] |
Contract with Customer, Asset and Liability [Table Text Block] | Contract Balances — The timing of revenue recognition, billings, and cash collections results in accounts receivable and contract liabilities. Accounts receivable represent unconditional rights to consideration and consist of both billed amounts and unbilled amounts typically resulting from sales under long-term contracts when revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed to the customer. We bill both generation and utilities customers on a contractually agreed-upon schedule, typically at periodic intervals (e.g., monthly). The calculation of revenue earned but not yet billed is based on the number of days not billed in the month, the estimated amount of energy delivered during those days and the estimated average price per customer class for that month. Our contract liabilities consist of deferred revenue which is classified as current or noncurrent based on the timing of when we expect to recognize revenue. The current portion of our contract liabilities is reported in Accrued and other liabilities and the noncurrent portion is reported in Other noncurrent liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The contract liabilities from contracts with customers were $109 million and $131 million as of December 31, 2018 and January 1, 2018, respectively. Of the $131 million of contract liabilities reported at January 1, 2018, $36 million was recognized as revenue during the period ended December 31, 2018. A significant financing arrangement exists for our Mong Duong plant in Vietnam. The plant was constructed under a build, operate, and transfer contract and will be transferred to the Vietnamese government after the completion of a 25 year PPA. The performance obligation to construct the facility was substantially completed in 2015. Approximately $1.4 billion of contract consideration related to the construction, but not yet collected through the 25 year PPA, was reflected as a loan receivable as of December 31, 2018.

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- Definition Revenue [Abstract] + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of contract balances and changes in contract balances. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 10 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109196051&loc=SL49130551-203045 + Details
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