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San Onofre Issues | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Retirement Of Plant [Abstract] |
San Onofre Issues | 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. 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. CPUC Proceedings and Proposed Settlement 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 September 23, 2014, SCE entered into an Amended and Restated Settlement Agreement (the "San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement") with The Utility Reform Network ("TURN"), the CPUC's Office of Ratepayer Advocates ("ORA"), SDG&E, the Coalition of California Utility Employees ("CUE"), and Friends of the Earth ("FOE") (together, the "Settling Parties"). If implemented, the San Onofre OII Amended 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 Settling Parties agreed to amend the Settlement Agreement that was originally entered into in March 2014 in response to an Assigned Commissioner's and Administrative Judges’ Ruling that was issued on September 5, 2014. The San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement does not affect proceedings before the NRC or proceedings related to recoveries from third parties described below, but does describe how shareholders and customers will share any potential recoveries. Implementation of the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement is subject to the approval of the CPUC. The San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement is subject to termination by any of the Settling Parties if the CPUC has not approved it by December 23, 2014. On October 9, 2014, the Administrative Law Judges in the OII issued a Proposed Decision approving the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement. Under applicable rules, the CPUC cannot render a final decision for at least thirty days following the date of the Proposed Decision, but there can be no certainty of when or what the CPUC will actually decide. The parties to the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement have agreed to exercise their best efforts to obtain CPUC approval. Disallowances, Refunds and Rate Recoveries If the San Onofre OII Amended 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 exceeded CPUC-authorized operations and maintenance expense. These costs, net of invoices paid by the supplier of the RSGs, were previously expensed in SCE's 2012 financial results, although they remain subject to recovery from the RSG's supplier. Neither will SCE be allowed to recover in rates provisionally authorized operations and maintenance expense in 2013 that exceeds amounts 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 San Onofre OII Amended 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. A 5% incentive is provided for SCE to realize savings for ratepayers by selling materials and supplies and nuclear fuel, as well as reducing its nuclear fuel investment by contract cancellations. This incentive allows SCE to retain 5% of sales proceeds and to recover 5% of the excess of cancelled contract obligations over cancellation costs. The balance of sale proceeds and cancellation benefits is credited to ratepayers. 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 March 2014 San Onofre OII Settlement Agreement by the Settling Parties, SCE concluded that the outcome of the OII that is more likely than any other outcome is approval and implementation of that 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 OII 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 San Onofre OII 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.
At September 30, 2014, the San Onofre Regulatory Asset was $1.39 billion and the San Onofre regulatory liability for refunds of revenue was approximately $677 million. Such amounts do not reflect any recoveries from third parties by SCE. Under the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement, the unamortized portion of SCE's investment other than nuclear fuel may, at SCE's option, be excluded from SCE's capital structure for purposes of determining regulatory capital requirements and to allow SCE to finance those assets solely with debt. Had such exclusion applied as of September 30, 2014, SCE estimates that its common equity requirement would be reduced by more than $300 million. The terms of San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement provide that if SCE selects the debt financing option and finances these regulatory assets at a cost lower than the return authorized by the March 2014 San Onofre OII Settlement Agreement, the savings will be shared equally between ratepayers and SCE. As discussed above, the Proposed Decision approves the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement, which includes a requirement for SCE to make a contribution of $4 million per year, for a five-year period, to a University of California research, development and demonstration program to reduce greenhouse gases. If the CPUC approves the San Onofre Amended Settlement Agreement consistent with the Proposed Decision, SCE will accrue the contribution obligation and record a pre-tax charge. San Onofre OII Settlement Agreement Procedure On October 9, 2014, the Administrative Law Judges in the San Onofre OII issued a Proposed Decision approving the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement. Under its rules, the CPUC may not render a final decision for at least thirty days following the issuance of the Proposed Decision, but the rules do not otherwise provide for any fixed time period for the CPUC to act on the San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement. 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 San Onofre OII Amended 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 San Onofre OII Amended 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 San Onofre OII Amended 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. Third-Party Recoveries San Onofre carries accidental property damage and carried accidental outage insurance issued by Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited ("NEIL") and has placed NEIL on notice of claims under both policies. The NEIL policies have a number of exclusions and limitations that NEIL may assert reduce or eliminate coverage, and SCE may choose to challenge NEIL's application of any such exclusions and limitations. The estimated total claims under the accidental outage insurance through June 28, 2014 are approximately $427 million (SCE's share of which is approximately $334 million.) Accidental outage policy benefits may be subject to reduction by up to 90% for the periods following announcement of the permanent retirement of the Units. The accidental outage insurance at San Onofre has been canceled prospectively as a result of the permanent retirement. SCE has not submitted a proof of loss under the accidental property damage insurance but reserves the right to do so. It is possible that the NEIL Board of Directors will make a coverage determination by the end of 2014, but it may take longer. SCE may challenge any reduction or denial of coverage. No amounts have been recognized in SCE's financial statements, pending NEIL's response. The San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement allocates to ratepayers 95% of SCE recoveries from NEIL under the accidental outage insurance policy, and 82.5% of other SCE recoveries against NEIL, in each case net of costs of recovery. SCE is also pursuing claims against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and related companies (together, "MHI"), which designed and supplied the RSGs. MHI warranted the RSGs for an initial period of 20 years from acceptance and is contractually obligated to repair or replace defective items with dispatch and to pay specified damages for certain repairs. MHI's liability under the purchase agreement is limited to $138 million and excludes consequential damages, defined to include "the cost of replacement power"; however, limitations in the contract are subject to applicable exceptions both in the contract and under law. SCE has advised MHI that it believes one or more of such exceptions apply and that MHI's liability is not limited to $138 million, and MHI has advised SCE that it disagrees. In October 2013, after a prescribed 90-day waiting period from the service of an earlier notice of dispute, SCE sent MHI a formal request for binding arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce in accordance with the purchase contract, seeking damages for all losses. In the request for arbitration, SCE alleges contract and tort claims and seeks at least $4 billion in damages on behalf of itself and its ratepayers and in its capacity as Operating Agent for San Onofre. MHI has denied any liability and has asserted counterclaims for $41 million, for which SCE has denied any liability. Each of the other co-owners sued MHI, alleging claims arising from MHI's supplying the faulty steam generators, which have been stayed pending the arbitration. The other co-owners (SDG&E and Riverside) have been added as additional claimants in the arbitration, with party status. The San Onofre OII Amended Settlement Agreement allocates recoveries from MHI net of recovery costs equally between SCE and its ratepayers as set forth in the agreement. 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 identified a "white" finding (low to moderate safety significance) for failing to ensure that MHI's modeling and analysis were adequate. SCE stated disagreements with the NRC's Report but chose not to challenge the "white" finding. 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 conducted an investigation of the accuracy and completeness of information SCE provided to the Augmented Inspection Team, and concluded that allegations against SCE regarding the accuracy and completeness of such information were not substantiated. On October 2, 2014, the NRC's Office of Inspector General ("OIG") published a report on the NRC's oversight of SCE's evaluation process for the RSGs, which was used to determine whether changes in the design of a component would require an amendment to the operating license of a nuclear power plant. The OIG determined that the NRC "missed opportunities" in connection with its 2009 inspection of SCE's evaluation process, and concluded that without further review of information concerning SCE's evaluation conclusions, there is no assurance that the NRC reached the correct conclusion in its 2009 inspection that San Onofre did not need a license amended for its steam generator replacement. The OIG Report also indicated that additional ongoing review of SCE's license amendment compliance by an NRC Staff Petition Review Board had been further deferred to February 2015. 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 for 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 proceedings by the NRC will be completed or whether inquiries by other government agencies will be initiated.

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