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Rate And Regulatory Matters | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2018
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
Entergy Arkansas [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
Entergy Louisiana [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
Entergy Mississippi [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
Entergy New Orleans [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
Entergy Texas [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.
System Energy [Member] |
Rate and Regulatory Matters | RATE AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy) Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for information regarding regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities in the Utility business presented on the balance sheets of Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries. The following are updates to that discussion. Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act See the “Other Tax Matters - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” section in Note 3 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for discussion of the effects of the enactment in December 2017 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), including its effects on Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ regulatory asset/liability for income taxes. After assessing the activity described in more detail below regarding the proposals the Registrant Subsidiaries have made to their regulators for the return of unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers, in the first quarter 2018, Entergy and each of the Registrant Subsidiaries reclassified from the regulatory liability for income taxes to current liabilities the portion of their unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes that they expect to return to customers over the next twelve months. Entergy Arkansas See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the APSC and Entergy Arkansas after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. The APSC granted Entergy Arkansas’s request for clarification regarding the APSC’s order issued after enactment of the Tax Act. The APSC states that its order was not a final determination and that the APSC has made no decision at this time on the appropriate final accounting or ratemaking treatment of the amounts in question. Consistent with its previously stated intent to return unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers as expeditiously as possible, Entergy Arkansas initiated a tariff docket in February 2018 proposing to establish a tax adjustment rider to provide retail customers with certain tax benefits associated with the Tax Act. For the residential customer class, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 21-month period from April 2018 through December 2019. For all other customer classes, the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes will be returned to customers over a 9-month period from April 2018 through December 2018. A true-up provision also was included, with any over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be credited or billed to customers during the billing month of January 2020, with any residual amounts of over- or under-returned unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to be flowed through Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider. In March 2018 the APSC approved the tax adjustment rider effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Louisiana See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the activity of the LPSC and Entergy Louisiana after enactment of the Tax Act in December 2017. At the March 2018 LPSC Business and Executive Session, the LPSC staff provided a report on the tax-related rulemaking and invited additional interventions and comments before a proposed rule is issued. The LPSC staff commented that the proposed rule would likely set forth a generic mechanism that can be used by utilities to reflect the effects of the Tax Act in rates and a process by which utilities can propose utility specific treatment, if desired. See the “Formula Rate Plan Extension Request” discussion below. In the formula rate plan settlement approved by the LPSC in April 2018 the parties agreed that Entergy Louisiana will return to customers one-half of its eligible unprotected excess deferred income taxes from May 2018 through December 2018 and return to customers the other half from January 2019 through August 2022. In addition, the parties agreed that in order to flow back to customers certain other tax benefits created by the Tax Act, Entergy Louisiana would establish a regulatory liability effective January 1, 2018 in the amount of $9.1 million per month until new base rates under the formula rate plan are established, and this regulatory liability will be returned to customers over the next formula rate plan rate-effective period. Entergy Louisiana recorded a $27 million regulatory liability in the first quarter 2018 pursuant to this provision of the settlement. The LPSC staff and intervenors in the settlement reserved the right to obtain data from Entergy Louisiana to confirm the determination of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act and analysis thereof as part of the formula rate plan review proceeding for the upcoming 2017 test year filing. Entergy Mississippi As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the MPSC ordered utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, that operate under a formula rate plan to file a description by February 26, 2018, of how the Tax Act will be reflected in the formula rate plan under which the utility operates. Entergy Mississippi's plan, as filed with the MPSC on February 26, 2018, included a request to reflect the changes related to the Tax Act in the 2018 formula rate plan filing. Entergy Mississippi filed its 2018 formula rate plan on March 15, 2018 and included a proposal to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to customers through rates or in exchange for other assets, or a combination of both, by the end of 2018. Also, in March 2018 the MPSC issued a subsequent order in its generic tax reform docket ordering utilities, including Entergy Mississippi, to explain the implementation of the utilities tax adjustment clause, or, in the alternative, why the tax adjustment clause is inapplicable; submit an analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act on current and future revenue requirements for rate schedules that include a gross-up for federal taxes; and make appropriate accounting entries to recognize the removal of excess deferred taxes from the balance of the utility’s accumulated deferred income tax account, or, in the alternative, explain why recording such entries is not appropriate. In April 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed its response to the MPSC stating that the tax adjustment clauses in its base rates are properly implemented through its formula rate plan. Entergy Mississippi also provided analysis of the ratemaking effects of the Tax Act. Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, after enactment of the Tax Act the City Council passed a resolution ordering Entergy New Orleans to, effective January 1, 2018, record deferred regulatory liabilities to account for the Tax Act’s effect on Entergy New Orleans’s revenue requirement and to make a filing by mid-March 2018 regarding the Tax Act’s effects on Entergy New Orleans’s operating income and rate base and potential mechanisms for customers to receive benefits of the Tax Act. In March 2018, Entergy New Orleans filed its response to that resolution stating that the Tax Act reduced income tax expense from what is presently reflected in rates by approximately $8.2 million annually for electric operations and by approximately $1.3 million annually for gas operations. In the filing, Entergy New Orleans proposed to return to customers from June 2018 through August 2019 the benefits of the reduction in income tax expense and its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes through a combination of bill credits and investments in energy efficiency programs, grid modernization, and Smart City projects. The City Council’s resolution also directed Entergy New Orleans to request that Entergy Services file with the FERC for revisions of the Unit Power Sales Agreement and MSS-4 replacement tariffs to address the return of excess accumulated deferred income taxes. Entergy has submitted filings of this type to the FERC. System Energy In a filing made with the FERC in March 2018, Entergy proposed revisions to the Unit Power Sales Agreement, among other agreements, to reflect the effects of the Tax Act. In the filing System Energy proposes to return all of its unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to its customers by the end of 2018. Fuel and purchased power cost recovery Entergy Arkansas Energy Cost Recovery Rider In March 2018, Entergy Arkansas filed its annual redetermination of its energy cost rate pursuant to the energy cost recovery rider, which reflected an increase in the rate from $0.01547 per kWh to $0.01882 per kWh. The Arkansas Attorney General filed a response to Entergy Arkansas’s annual redetermination filing requesting that the APSC suspend the proposed tariff to investigate the amount of the redetermination or, alternatively, to allow recovery subject to refund. Among the reasons the Arkansas Attorney General cited for suspension were questions pertaining to how Entergy Arkansas forecasted sales and potential implications of the Tax Act. Entergy Arkansas replied to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and stated that, to the extent there are questions pertaining to its load forecasting or the operation of the energy cost recovery rider, those issues exceed the scope of the instant rate redetermination. Entergy Arkansas also stated that potential effects of the Tax Act are appropriately considered in the APSC’s separate proceeding looking at potential implications of the new tax law. The APSC general staff filed a reply to the Arkansas Attorney General’s filing and agreed that Entergy Arkansas’s filing complied with the terms of the energy cost recovery rider. In April 2018 the APSC issued an order declining to suspend Entergy Arkansas’s energy cost recovery rider rate and declining to require further investigation of the issues suggested by the Attorney General in the proceeding at this time. The redetermined rate became effective with the first billing cycle of April 2018. Entergy Texas As discussed in the Form 10-K, in July 2015 certain parties filed briefs in an open PUCT proceeding asserting that Entergy Texas should refund to retail customers an additional $10.9 million in bandwidth remedy payments Entergy Texas received related to calendar year 2006 production costs. In October 2015 an ALJ issued a proposal for decision recommending that the additional bandwidth remedy payments be refunded to retail customers. In January 2016 the PUCT issued its order affirming the ALJ’s recommendation, and Entergy Texas filed a motion for rehearing of the PUCT’s decision, which the PUCT denied. In March 2016, Entergy Texas filed a complaint in Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas and a petition in the Travis County (State) District Court appealing the PUCT’s decision. The pending appeals did not stay the PUCT’s decision, and Entergy Texas refunded to customers the $10.9 million over a four-month period beginning with the first billing cycle of July 2016. The federal appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision was heard in December 2016, and the Federal District Court granted Entergy Texas’s requested relief. In January 2017 the PUCT and an intervenor filed petitions for appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the Federal District Court ruling. Oral argument was held before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in February 2018. In April 2018 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the decision of the Federal District Court, reinstating the original PUCT decision. Entergy Texas is considering its legal options. The State District Court appeal of the PUCT’s January 2016 decision remains pending. In December 2017, Entergy Texas filed an application for a fuel refund of approximately $30.5 million for the months of May 2017 through October 2017. Also in December 2017, the PUCT’s ALJ approved the refund on an interim basis. For most customers, the refunds flowed through bills beginning January 2018 and continued through March 2018. The fuel refund was approved by the PUCT in March 2018. Retail Rate Proceedings See Note 2 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for detailed information regarding retail rate proceedings involving the Utility operating companies. The following are updates to that information. Filings with the APSC (Entergy Arkansas) Internal Restructuring As discussed in the Form 10-K, in November 2017, Entergy Arkansas filed an application with the APSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Arkansas to a new entity, which would ultimately be owned by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the APSC, the FERC, and the NRC. Entergy Arkansas also filed a notice with the Missouri Public Service Commission in December 2017 out of an abundance of caution, although Entergy Arkansas does not serve any retail customers in Missouri. In April 2018 the Missouri Public Service Commission approved Entergy Arkansas’s filing. If the appropriate approvals are obtained, Entergy Arkansas expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. Filings with the LPSC (Entergy Louisiana) Retail Rates - Electric Formula Rate Plan Extension Request In August 2017, Entergy Louisiana filed a request with the LPSC seeking to extend its formula rate plan for three years (2017-2019) with limited modifications of its terms. Those modifications include: a one-time resetting of base rates to the midpoint of the band at Entergy Louisiana’s authorized return on equity of 9.95% for the 2017 test year; narrowing of the formula rate plan bandwidth from a total of 160 basis points to 80 basis points; and a forward-looking mechanism that would allow Entergy Louisiana to recover certain transmission-related costs contemporaneously with when those projects begin delivering benefits to customers. Several parties intervened in the proceeding and all parties participated in settlement discussions. In April 2018 the LPSC approved an unopposed joint motion filed by Entergy Louisiana and the LPSC staff that settles the matter. The settlement extends the formula rate plan for three years, providing for rates through at least August 2021. In addition to retaining the major features of the traditional formula rate plan, substantive features of the extended formula rate plan include:
• | a mid-point reset of formula rate plan revenues to a 9.95% earned return on common equity for the 2017 test year and for the St. Charles Power Station when it enters commercial operation;
• | a 9.8% target earned return on common equity for the 2018 and 2019 test years;
• | narrowing of the common equity bandwidth to plus or minus 60 basis points around the earned return on common equity;
• | a cap on potential revenue increase of $35 million for the 2018 evaluation period, and $70 million for the cumulative 2018 and 2019 evaluation periods, on formula rate plan cost of service rate increases (the cap excludes rate changes associated with the transmission recovery mechanism described below and rate changes associated with additional capacity);
• | a framework for the flow back of certain tax benefits created by the Tax Act to customers, as described in “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above; and
• | a transmission recovery mechanism providing for the opportunity to recover certain transmission related expenditures in excess of $100 million annually for projects placed in service up to one month prior to rate change outside of sharing that is designed to operate in a manner similar to the additional capacity mechanism.
Union Power Station and Deactivation or Retirement Decisions for Entergy Louisiana Plants As discussed in the Form 10-K, as a term of the LPSC-approved settlement authorizing the purchase of Power Blocks 3 and 4 of the Union Power Station, Entergy Louisiana agreed to make a filing with the LPSC to review its decisions to deactivate Ninemile 3 and Willow Glen 2 and 4 and its decision to retire Little Gypsy 1. In January 2016, Entergy Louisiana made its compliance filing with the LPSC. Entergy Louisiana, LPSC staff, and intervenors participated in a technical conference in March 2016 where Entergy Louisiana presented information on its deactivation/retirement decisions for these four units in addition to information on the current deactivation decisions for the ten-year planning horizon. No party contests the prudence of the decision to deactivate Willow Glen 2 and 4 or suggests reactivation of these units; however, issues have been raised related to Entergy Louisiana’s decision to give up its transmission service rights in MISO for Willow Glen 2 and 4 rather than placing the units into suspended status for the three-year term permitted by MISO. In March 2018 the LPSC adopted the ALJ’s recommended order finding that Entergy Louisiana did not demonstrate that its decision to permanently surrender transmission rights for the mothballed (not retired) Willow Glen 2 and 4 units was reasonable and that Entergy Louisiana should hold customers harmless from increased transmission expenses should those units be reactivated. Because no party or the LPSC suggested that Willow Glen 2 and 4 should be reactivated and because the cost to return those units to service far exceeds the revenue the units were expected to generate in MISO, Entergy Louisiana retired Willow Glen 2 and 4 in March 2018. Retail Rates - Gas 2017 Rate Stabilization Plan Filing In January 2018, Entergy Louisiana filed with the LPSC its gas rate stabilization plan for the test year ended September 30, 2017. The filing of the evaluation report for the test year 2017 reflected an earned return on common equity of 9.06%. This earned return is below the earnings sharing band of the rate stabilization plan and results in a rate increase of $0.1 million. Due to the enactment of the Tax Act in late-December 2017, Entergy Louisiana did not have adequate time to reflect the effects of this tax legislation in the rate stabilization plan. In April 2018 Entergy Louisiana filed a supplemental evaluation report for the test year ended September 2017, reflecting the effects of the Tax Act, including a proposal to use the unprotected excess accumulated deferred income taxes to offset storm restoration deferred operation and maintenance costs incurred by Entergy Louisiana in connection with the August 2016 flooding disaster in its gas service area. The supplemental filing reflects an earned return on common equity of 10.79%. If the as-filed rates from the supplemental filing are accepted by the LPSC, customers will receive a cost reduction of approximately $0.7 million effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of May 2018, as well as a $0.2 million prospective reduction in the gas infrastructure rider effective with bills rendered on and after the first billing cycle of July 2018. Filings with the MPSC (Entergy Mississippi) Formula Rate Plan In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi submitted its formula rate plan 2018 test year filing and 2017 look-back filing showing Entergy Mississippi’s earned return for the historical 2017 calendar year and projected earned return for the 2018 calendar year, in large part as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate effective in 2018, to be within the formula rate plan bandwidth, resulting in no change in rates. The filing is currently subject to MPSC review. See “Regulatory activity regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” above for additional discussion regarding the proposed treatment of the effects of the lower federal corporate income tax rate. Internal Restructuring In March 2018, Entergy Mississippi filed an application with the MPSC seeking authorization to undertake a restructuring that would result in the transfer of substantially all of the assets and operations of Entergy Mississippi to a new entity, which would ultimately be held by an existing Entergy subsidiary holding company. The restructuring is subject to regulatory review and approval by the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC. If the MPSC approves the restructuring by August 2018 and the restructuring closes on or before December 1, 2018, Entergy Mississippi proposed in its application to credit retail customers $27 million over six years, beginning in 2019. If the MPSC, the FERC, and the NRC approvals are obtained, Entergy Mississippi expects the restructuring will be consummated on or before December 1, 2018. It is currently contemplated that Entergy Mississippi would undertake a multi-step restructuring, which would include the following:
• | Entergy Mississippi would redeem its outstanding preferred stock, at the aggregate redemption price of approximately $21.2 million, including call premiums, plus accumulated and unpaid dividends, if any.
• | Entergy Mississippi would convert from a Mississippi corporation to a Texas corporation.
• | Under the Texas Business Organizations Code (TXBOC), Entergy Mississippi will allocate substantially all of its assets to a new subsidiary, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (Entergy Mississippi Power and Light), and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will assume substantially all of the liabilities of Entergy Mississippi, in a transaction regarded as a merger under the TXBOC. Entergy Mississippi will remain in existence and hold the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light.
• | Entergy Mississippi will contribute the membership interests in Entergy Mississippi Power and Light to an affiliate (Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and subsidiary of Entergy Corporation). As a result of the contribution, Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC.
• | Entergy Mississippi will change its name to Entergy Utility Enterprises, Inc., and Entergy Mississippi Power and Light will then change its name to Entergy Mississippi, LLC.
Upon the completion of the restructuring, Entergy Mississippi, LLC will hold substantially all of the assets, and will have assumed substantially all of the liabilities, of Entergy Mississippi. Entergy Mississippi may modify or supplement the steps to be taken to effectuate the restructuring. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Filings Entergy New Orleans As discussed in the Form 10-K, in February 2018 the City Council approved Entergy New Orleans’s application seeking a finding that Entergy New Orleans’s deployment of advanced electric and gas metering infrastructure is in the public interest. Deployment of the information technology infrastructure began in 2017 and deployment of the communications network is expected to begin later in 2018. In April 2018 the City Council adopted a resolution directing Entergy New Orleans to explore the options for accelerating the deployment of AMI. Entergy New Orleans is required to report its findings to the City Council by June 2018. System Agreement Cost Equalization Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in August 2017 the D.C. Circuit issued a decision denying the LPSC’s appeal of the FERC’s October 2011 and February 2014 orders, but also granting the request by all parties to the appeal for remand and agency reconsideration on the issue of whether the operating companies should be required to issue refunds for the 20-month period from September 2001 to May 2003. The matter was remanded back to the FERC and, in March 2018, the LPSC filed at the FERC its initial brief addressing the issue that the D.C. Circuit remanded back to the FERC in August 2017. In its brief, the LPSC argued that the FERC should require the Utility operating companies to issue refunds for the 20-month refund period from September 2001 to May 2003. Rough Production Cost Equalization Rates Consolidated 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Rate Filing Proceedings As discussed in the Form 10-K, in December 2014 the FERC consolidated the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 rate filings for settlement and hearing procedures. In May 2015, Entergy filed direct testimony in the consolidated rate filings and the LPSC filed direct testimony concerning its complaint proceeding that is consolidated with the rate filings, challenging certain components of the pending bandwidth calculations for prior years. Hearings occurred in November 2015, and the ALJ issued an initial decision in July 2016. In the initial decision, the ALJ generally agreed with Entergy’s bandwidth calculations with one exception on the accounting related to the Waterford 3 sale/leaseback. In March 2018 the FERC issued an order affirming the initial decision. In April 2018 the LPSC requested rehearing of the FERC’s March 2018 order affirming the ALJ’s initial decision. Based on the March 2018 FERC order, the following preliminary estimated payments/receipts were recorded in March 2018 among the Utility operating companies:
| Payments (Receipts)
| (In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas | $6
Entergy New Orleans | $2
Entergy Texas | ($8)
Entergy Services expects to file in May 2018 the bandwidth true-up payments and receipts for the 2011-2014 rate filings. Interruptible Load Proceedings See the Form 10-K for a discussion of the interruptible load proceedings. As discussed in the Form 10-K, the LPSC appealed the April and September 2016 orders to the D.C. Circuit. In March 2018 the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying the LPSC’s appeal and affirming the FERC’s decision that it would be inequitable to award refunds in the proceeding. In April 2018 the LPSC sought rehearing en banc of the D.C. Circuit’s order denying the LPSC’s appeal. Complaint Against System Energy As discussed in the Form 10-K, in January 2017 the APSC and the MPSC filed a complaint requesting that the FERC establish proceedings to investigate System Energy’s return on equity under the Unit Power Sales Agreement, establish a refund effective date, and establish a new and lower return on equity. In September 2017 the FERC established a refund effective date of January 23, 2017, consolidated the return on equity complaint with the proceeding described in “Unit Power Sales Agreement” in the Form 10-K, and directed the parties to engage in settlement proceedings before an ALJ. Settlement discussions are ongoing. The refund effective date in connection with the APSC/MPSC complaint expired on April 23, 2018. In April 2018 the LPSC filed a complaint with the FERC against System Energy seeking an additional fifteen-month refund period. The LPSC complaint requests similar relief from the FERC with respect to System Energy’s return on equity and also requests the FERC to investigate System Energy’s capital structure and application of System Energy’s allowed depreciation rates to plant additions associated with the Grand Gulf sale/leaseback transactions. System Energy expects to answer the LPSC complaint in May 2018.

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