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San Onofre Issues (Notes) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2014
Retirement Of Plant [Abstract] |
Permanent Retirement of San Onofre | San Onofre Issues Replacement steam generators were installed at San Onofre in 2010 and 2011. On January 31, 2012, a water leak suddenly occurred in one of the heat transfer tubes in San Onofre's Unit 3 steam generators. The Unit was safely taken off-line and subsequent inspections revealed excessive tube to tube wear. At the time, Unit 2 was off-line for a planned outage when areas of unexpected tube to support structure wear were found. Later, evidence of tube to tube wear in Unit 2 was also discovered. On June 6, 2013, SCE decided to permanently retire Units 2 and 3. Entry Into Settlement Agreement with Certain OII Parties In October 2012 the CPUC issued an Order Instituting Investigation (“OII”) that consolidated all San Onofre issues in related CPUC regulatory proceedings to consider appropriate cost recovery for all San Onofre costs, including among other costs, the cost of the steam generator replacement project, substitute market power costs, capital expenditures, and operation and maintenance costs. On March 27, 2014, SCE entered into a Settlement Agreement with The Utility Reform Network ("TURN"), the CPUC's Office of Ratepayer Advocates ("ORA") and SDG&E, which was later joined by the Coalition of California Utility Employees ("CUE") and Friends of the Earth ("FOE") (together, the “Settling Parties”). If implemented, the Settlement Agreement will constitute a complete and final resolution of the CPUC’s OII and related proceedings regarding the Steam Generator Replacement Project (“SGRP”) at San Onofre and the related outage and subsequent shutdown of San Onofre. The Settlement Agreement does not affect proceedings before the NRC or proceedings related to recoveries from third parties described below. Implementation of the Settlement Agreement is subject to the approval of the CPUC. The parties to the Settlement Agreement have agreed to exercise their best efforts to obtain CPUC approval. The Settlement Agreement is subject to termination by any of the Settling Parties if the CPUC has not approved it within six months of submission, but there can be no certainty of when or what the CPUC will actually decide. Disallowances, Refunds and Rate Recoveries If the Settlement Agreement is approved, SCE will not be allowed to recover in rates its capitalized costs for the SGRP as of February 1, 2012 or a return on such investment after such date. As of February 1, 2012, SCE’s net book value in the SGRP was approximately $597 million. Additionally, SCE will not be allowed to recover in rates approximately $99 million of incremental inspection and repair costs incurred for the replacement steam generators (“RSGs”) in 2012 that were in excess of CPUC-authorized operations and maintenance expense. These costs, net of invoices paid, were previously expensed in SCE’s 2012 financial results, although they remain subject to recovery from the supplier of the RSGs. Neither will SCE be allowed to recover in rates provisionally authorized operations and maintenance expense in 2013 that exceeds amounts included in recorded operations and maintenance expense (including severance and incremental repair and inspection costs); such excess had not been recognized in 2013 earnings. Subject to the foregoing, SCE will be authorized to recover in rates its remaining investment in San Onofre, including base plant, materials and supplies, nuclear fuel inventory and contracts and construction work in progress (“CWIP”), generally over a ten-year period commencing February 1, 2012. Additionally, SCE will be authorized to recover in rates its provisionally authorized operations and maintenance expenses for 2012, recorded costs for the 2012 refueling outage of Unit 2, recorded operations and maintenance expenses for 2013, and recorded operations and maintenance expenses for 2014 subject to customary prudency review. Finally, SCE will also be authorized to recover in rates through its fuel and purchased power balancing account (“ERRA”) all costs incurred to purchase electric power in the market related to the outage and shutdown of San Onofre, and to recover by December 31, 2015 any San Onofre-related ERRA undercollections. Estimated market power costs through June 6, 2013 (the date of San Onofre’s retirement) were approximately $680 million using the methodology followed in the OII. To the extent that amounts otherwise recoverable in rates under the Settlement Agreement are recovered from SCE’s Decommissioning Trust as a decommissioning cost, the amounts otherwise recoverable in rates will be reduced with no impact on earnings. The portion of SCE’s San Onofre investment in base plant, CWIP and materials and supplies, which SCE is entitled to recover from February 1, 2012, will earn a return equal to the weighted average of SCE’s authorized return on debt and 50% of its authorized return on preferred equity, pro-rated to the percentage of the investment that equals SCE’s percentage of debt and preferred equity in its authorized capital structure. SCE will not earn a return on common equity on its amortizable San Onofre investment. Accordingly, SCE will be allowed to earn a rate of return of 2.95% in 2012, 2.62% for the period 2013 –2014 and a rate that will float during the amortization period thereafter with changes in SCE’s authorized return on debt and preferred equity. SCE’s investment in nuclear fuel will earn a return equal to commercial paper rates that SCE pays from time to time. Accounting and Financial Impact Due to the decision to early retire San Onofre Units 2 and 3, GAAP required reclassification of the amounts recorded in property, plant and equipment and related tangible operating assets to a regulatory asset to the extent that management concluded it was probable of recovery through future rates. Regulatory assets may also be recorded to the extent management concludes it is probable that direct and indirect costs incurred to retire Units 2 and 3 as of each reporting date are recoverable through future rates. In accordance with these requirements and as a result of its decision to retire San Onofre Units 2 and 3, SCE reclassified $1,521 million of its total investment in San Onofre at May 31, 2013 to a regulatory asset (“San Onofre Regulatory Asset”) and recorded an impairment charge of $575 million ($365 million after tax) in the second quarter of 2013. As of December 31, 2013, SCE had recorded a net regulatory asset of approximately $1.3 billion, comprised of $1.56 billion of property, plant and equipment, less $266 million for estimated refunds of authorized revenue recorded in excess of SCE’s costs of service. As a result of the execution of the Settlement Agreement by the Settling Parties, SCE has concluded that the outcome of the OII that is more likely than any other outcome is approval and implementation of the Settlement Agreement, although approval by the CPUC remains uncertain. As a result, in the first quarter of 2014, SCE recorded an additional pre-tax charge of approximately $231 million (approximately $96 million after-tax). Including the amounts recorded during the first quarter of 2014 and the amounts previously recorded in 2013, the total impact of the San Onofre Settlement is estimated at $806 million (approximately $461 million after-tax). The total pre-tax charge is due to:
• | the disallowance of the SGRP investment ($542 million as of May 31, 2013);
• | refund of revenue related to the SGRP previously recognized of $159 million; and
• | implementation of the other terms of the Settlement Agreement, including a refund of flow through tax benefits of $71 million and a refund of the authorized return in excess of the return allowed for non-SGRP investments. The refund was offset by recognition of tax benefits in an equal amount. The after-tax impact of the settlement was $96 million.
At March 31, 2014, the San Onofre Regulatory Asset was $1.37 billion and the San Onofre regulatory liability for refunds of revenue was approximately $371 million. Such amounts do not reflect any recoveries from third parties by SCE. Settlement Agreement Procedure On April 3, 2014, the Settling Parties filed a motion in the OII requesting the CPUC to approve the Settlement Agreement without change, find the Settlement Agreement reasonable and expedite consideration of the Settlement Agreement in order to provide the benefits of it as soon as possible. The Settling Parties also urged the CPUC to stay further proceedings in the OII pending a determination on the Settlement Agreement and to withdraw the November 19, 2013 Proposed Decision on Phase 1 and Phase 1A issues in the OII. During the pendency of proceedings regarding the Settlement Agreement, the Settling Parties are further bound to support and mutually defend the Settlement Agreement in its entirety, oppose any modifications proposed by any non-settling party to the OII unless all Settling Parties agree, and cooperate reasonably on all submissions. The Settling Parties further agree to review any CPUC orders regarding the Settlement Agreement to determine if the CPUC has changed or modified it, deleted a term or imposed a new term. If any Settling Party is unwilling to accept any such change, modification, deletion or addition of a new term, then the Settling Parties will negotiate in good faith to seek a resolution acceptable to all Settling Parties. If they are unable to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of all Settling Parties or to obtain prompt CPUC approval of an agreed upon resolution, then any Settling Party can terminate the Settlement Agreement upon prompt notice. Under CPUC rules, parties in the OII will have an opportunity to comment on the Settlement Agreement, and if there are objections raising factual issues, then the CPUC’s review may include evidentiary proceedings. CPUC rules do not provide for any fixed time period for the CPUC to act on the Settlement Agreement. The CPUC has stated that it will hold an evidentiary hearing in mid-May 2014 and has directed the Settling Parties to hold a community meeting in June 2014 to present the settlement to the public. Pursuant to the CPUC’s rules, no settlement becomes binding on the parties to it unless the CPUC approves the settlement based on a finding that it is reasonable in light of the whole record, consistent with law, and in the public interest. The CPUC has discretion to approve or disapprove a settlement, or to condition its approval on changes to the settlement, which the parties may accept or reject. Accordingly, there can be no assurance regarding the timing of any CPUC decision or that the CPUC will approve the Settlement Agreement or refrain from making changes to it that are not acceptable to all the Settling Parties. Thus, there can be no assurance that the OII proceeding will provide for recoveries as currently estimated by SCE in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, including the recovery of costs recorded as a regulatory asset, or that the CPUC does not order refunds to customers above those contemplated by the Settlement Agreement. Therefore, the amount recorded for the San Onofre Regulatory Asset is subject to further change based upon future developments and the application of SCE’s judgment to those events. Continuing NRC Proceedings As part of the NRC's review of the San Onofre outage and proceedings related to the possible restart of Unit 2, the NRC appointed an Augmented Inspection Team to review SCE's performance. In December 2013, the NRC finalized an Inspection Report in connection with The Augmented Inspection Team’s review and SCE’s response to an earlier NRC Confirmatory Action Letter. The NRC’s report contained a preliminary “white” finding (low to moderate safety significance) and an apparent violation regarding the steam generators in Unit 3 and a preliminary “green” finding (very low safety significance) for Unit 2’s steam generators for failing to ensure that MHI’s modeling and analysis were adequate. The NRC also issued an Inspection Report to MHI containing a Notice of Nonconformance for its flawed computer modeling in the design of San Onofre’s steam generators. In addition, the NRC's Office of Investigations has been conducting an investigation into the accuracy and completeness of information SCE provided to the Augmented Inspection Team. SCE has also been made aware of an investigation related to San Onofre by the NRC's Office of Inspector General, which generally reviews internal NRC affairs. Certain anti-nuclear groups and individual members of Congress have alleged that SCE knew of deficiencies in the steam generators when they were installed or otherwise did not correctly follow NRC requirements in connection with the design and installation of the replacement steam generators, something which SCE has vigorously denied, and have called for investigations, including by the Department of Justice. SCE cannot predict when or whether ongoing inquiries or investigations by the NRC will be completed or whether inquiries by other government agencies will be initiated. Should the NRC find a deficiency in SCE's provision of information, SCE could be subject to additional NRC actions, including the imposition of penalties, and the findings could be taken into consideration in the CPUC regulatory proceedings described above.

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