XML 76 R17.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.19.3.a.u2

Investments In and Advances To Affiliates | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2019
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract] |
INVESTMENTS IN AND ADVANCES TO AFFILIATES | INVESTMENTS IN AND ADVANCES TO AFFILIATES The following table summarizes the relevant effective equity ownership interest and carrying values for the Company's investments accounted for under the equity method as of the periods indicated:
December 31, |  |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018
Affiliate | Country |  | Carrying Value (in millions) |  | Ownership Interest %
sPower | United States |  | $ | 442 |  |  | $ | 515 |  |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
OPGC | India |  | 212 |  |  | 293 |  |  | 49 | % |  | 49 | %
Guacolda (1) | Chile |  | 74 |  |  | 209 |  |  | 33 | % |  | 33 | %
Uplight (2) | United States |  | 91 |  |  | 33 |  |  | 32 | % |  | 63 | %
Eólica Mesa La Paz (3) | Mexico |  | 66 |  |  | 8 |  |  | 50 | % |  | 50 | %
Gas Natural del Este | Dominican Republic |  | 48 |  |  | — |  |  | 43 | % |  | — | %
Barry (4) | United Kingdom |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 100 | % |  | 100 | %
Other affiliates (5) | Various |  | 33 |  |  | 56 |  |  |  |  |
Total |  |  | $ | 966 |  |  | $ | 1,114 |  |  |  |  |
_____________________________
(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) | Simple Energy merged with Tendril on July 1, 2019 to form Uplight. Prior year information reported relates to Simple Energy.
(3) | The Eólica Mesa La Paz project received funding throughout 2019 and began operations during December 2019.
(4) | Represents a VIE in which the Company holds a variable interest, but is not the primary beneficiary.
(5) | Includes Bosforo, Fluence, Distributed Energy equity method investments, and others.
OPGC — In December 2019, an other-than-temporary impairment was identified at OPGC primarily due to the estimated market value of the Company's investment and other negative developments impacting future expected cash flows at the investee. A calculation of the fair value of the Company’s investment in OPGC was required to evaluate whether there was a loss in the carrying value of the investment. Based on management’s estimate of fair value of $212 million, the Company recognized an other-than-temporary impairment of $92 million in Other non-operating expense. The OPGC equity method investment is reported in the Eurasia SBU reportable segment. Guacolda — In October 2019, Guacolda management reviewed the recoverability of the Guacolda asset group and determined the undiscounted cash flows did not exceed the carrying amount. Guacolda recognized a long-lived asset impairment at the investee level, which negatively impacted the Company's Net equity in earnings (losses) of affiliates by $158 million. The Guacolda equity method investment is reported in the South America SBU reportable segment. In October 2018, an other-than-temporary impairment was identified at Guacolda primarily as a result of increased renewable generation in Chile lowering energy prices, impacting management's ability to re-contract Guacolda's generation after expiration of existing PPAs. A calculation of the fair value of Gener's investment in Guacolda was required to evaluate whether there was a loss in the carrying value of the investment. Based on management's estimate of fair value of $209 million, the Company recognized an other-than-temporary impairment of $144 million in Other non-operating expense. Gas Natural del Este — In September 2019, AES Andres completed an agreement with Energas Group to establish a joint venture for the purpose of selling natural gas and related terminal services, storage, regasification, and transportation to customers in the Dominican Republic. Gas Natural del Este, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the joint venture, acquired the Eastern Pipeline development project from AES Andres for total consideration of $55 million, resulting in a gain of $2 million. The transaction was considered a contribution of a nonfinancial asset in exchange for a noncontrolling interest in the joint venture. As the Company does not control the joint venture, it is accounted for as an equity method investment and is reported in the MCAC SBU reportable segment. Simple Energy — On July 1, 2019, Simple Energy merged with Tendril, a previously unrelated party, to form Uplight, a new company that offers a comprehensive platform for utility customer engagement. As part of this merger, the Company contributed its ownership interest in Simple Energy and $53 million of cash in exchange for an ownership interest in the merged company. This transaction resulted in a gain on sale of $12 million and a total investment in Uplight of $98 million. As the Company does not control Uplight, it is accounted for as an equity method investment and reported as part of Corporate and Other. In April 2018, the Company invested $35 million in Simple Energy, a provider of utility-branded marketplaces and omni-channel instant rebates, accounted for as an equity method investment. sPower — In April 2019, the Company closed on the sale of approximately 48% of its interest in a portfolio of sPower’s operating assets for $173 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, of which $58 million was retained at sPower to pay down debt. This sale resulted in a pre-tax gain on sale of business interests of $28 million. After the sale, the Company’s ownership interest in this portfolio of sPower’s operating assets decreased from 50% to approximately 26%. The sPower equity method investment is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment. Distributed Energy — In December 2018, Distributed Energy acquired the remaining equity interest in a partnership holding various solar projects for consideration of $23 million. This transaction resulted in a loss of $5 million, reported in Other expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The projects, previously recorded as equity method investments, have been consolidated. See Note 26—Acquisitions for further discussion. Fluence — On January 1, 2018, Siemens and AES closed on the creation of the Fluence joint venture with each party holding a 50% ownership interest. The Company contributed $7 million in cash and $20 million in non-cash assets from the AES Advancion energy storage development business as consideration for the transaction, and received an equity interest in Fluence with a fair value of $50 million. See Note 25—Held-for-Sale and Dispositions for further discussion. Fluence is a global energy storage technology and services company. As the Company does not control Fluence, the investment is accounted for as an equity method investment. The Fluence equity method investment is reported as part of Corporate and Other. AES Barry Ltd. — The Company holds a 100% ownership interest in AES Barry Ltd. ("Barry"), a dormant entity in the U.K. that disposed of its generation and other operating assets. Due to a debt agreement, no material financial or operating decisions can be made without the banks' consent, and the Company does not control Barry. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, other long-term liabilities included $44 million and $43 million related to this debt agreement. Summarized Financial Information — The following tables summarize financial information of the Company's 50%-or-less-owned affiliates and majority-owned unconsolidated subsidiaries that are accounted for using the equity method (in millions):
| 50%-or-less Owned Affiliates |  | Majority-Owned Unconsolidated Subsidiaries
Years ended December 31, | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Revenue | $ | 1,122 |  |  | $ | 962 |  |  | $ | 762 |  |  | $ | 49 |  |  | $ | 40 |  |  | $ | 16 |
Operating margin (loss) | 124 |  |  | 135 |  |  | 165 |  |  | (5 | ) |  | 3 |  |  | 5 |
Net income (loss) | (724 | ) |  | 14 |  |  | 72 |  |  | (7 | ) |  | (3 | ) |  | (15 | )
December 31, | 2019 |  | 2018 |  |  |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  |
Current assets | $ | 831 |  |  | $ | 558 |  |  |  |  | $ | 166 |  |  | $ | 89 |  |  |
Noncurrent assets | 7,220 |  |  | 5,918 |  |  |  |  | 982 |  |  | 41 |  |  |
Current liabilities | 1,271 |  |  | 546 |  |  |  |  | 141 |  |  | 35 |  |  |
Noncurrent liabilities | 3,966 |  |  | 3,309 |  |  |  |  | 1,052 |  |  | 122 |  |  |
Stockholders' equity | 2,814 |  |  | 2,622 |  |  |  |  | (45 | ) |  | (27 | ) |  |
At December 31, 2019, retained earnings included $14 million related to the undistributed earnings of the Company's 50%-or-less owned affiliates. Distributions received from these affiliates were $23 million, $83 million, and $69 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, the underlying equity in the net assets of our equity affiliates exceeded the aggregate carrying amount of our investments in equity affiliates by $225 million.

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

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for the information summarizing investments in and advances to majority-owned subsidiaries, other controlled companies, and other affiliates. It reflects specified information about ownership, financial results from, and financial position in such entities. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 946 -SubTopic 320 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=2324412 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_InvestmentsInAndAdvancesToAffiliatesScheduleOfInvestmentsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration