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Commitments and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Power Purchase Agreements SCE entered into various agreements to purchase power, electric capacity and other energy products. At December 31, 2017, the undiscounted future expected payments for the SCE power purchase agreements (primarily related to renewable energy contracts), which were approved by the CPUC and met other critical contract provisions (including completion of major milestones for construction), were as follows:
(in millions) | Total
2018 | $ | 2,513 |
2019 | 2,513 |
2020 | 2,614 |
2021 | 2,582 |
2022 | 2,562 |
Thereafter | 27,093 |
Total future commitments | $ | 39,877 |
Additionally, SCE has signed contracts (including capacity reduction contracts with customers) that have not met the critical contract provisions that would increase contractual obligations by $29 million in 2018, $109 million in 2019, $231 million in 2020, $312 million in 2021, $301 million in 2022 and $3.8 billion thereafter, if all critical contract provisions are completed. Costs incurred for power purchase agreements were $3.6 billion in 2017, $3.3 billion in 2016 and $3.2 billion in 2015, which include costs associated with contracts with terms of less than one year. Certain power purchase agreements that SCE entered into with independent power producers are accounted for as leases. The following table shows the future minimum lease payments due under the contracts that are treated as operating and capital leases (these amounts are also included in the table above). Due to the inherent uncertainty associated with the reliability of the fuel source, expected purchases from most renewable energy contracts do not meet the definition of a minimum lease payment and have been excluded from the operating and capital lease table below but remain in the table above. The future minimum lease payments for capital leases are discounted to their present value in the table below using SCE's incremental borrowing rate at the inception of the leases. The amount of this discount is shown in the table below as the amount representing interest.
(in millions) | Operating Leases |  | Capital Leases
2018 | $ | 335 |  |  | $ | 2 |
2019 | 262 |  |  | 2 |
2020 | 234 |  |  | 2 |
2021 | 198 |  |  | 3 |
2022 | 174 |  |  | 3 |
Thereafter | 1,222 |  |  | 21 |
Total future commitments | $ | 2,425 |  |  | $ | 33 |
Amount representing executory costs |  |  |  | (15 | )
Amount representing interest |  |  |  | (8 | )
Net commitments |  |  |  | $ | 10 |
Operating lease expense for power purchase agreements was $2.3 billion in 2017, and $1.9 billion in 2016 and $1.7 billion in 2015 (including contingent rents of $1.8 billion in 2017, $1.4 billion in 2016 and $1.1 billion in 2015). Contingent rents for capital leases were $99 million in 2017, $109 million in 2016 and less than $1 million in 2015. The timing of SCE's recognition of the lease expense conforms to ratemaking treatment for SCE's recovery of the cost of electricity and is included in purchased power. Other Lease Commitments The following summarizes the estimated minimum future commitments for SCE's non-cancelable other operating leases (primarily related to vehicles, office space and other equipment):
(in millions) | Total
2018 | $ | 48 |
2019 | 37 |
2020 | 27 |
2021 | 20 |
2022 | 15 |
Thereafter | 99 |
Total future commitments | $ | 246 |
Operating lease expense for other leases were $59 million in 2017, $68 million in 2016 and $80 million in 2015. Certain leases on office facilities contain escalation clauses requiring annual increases in rent. The rentals payable under these leases may increase by a fixed amount each year, a percentage over base year, or the consumer price index. Other Commitments The following summarizes the estimated minimum future commitments for SCE's other commitments:
(in millions) | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2020 |  | 2021 |  | 2022 |  | Thereafter |  | Total
Other contractual obligations | $ | 127 |  |  | $ | 72 |  |  | $ | 69 |  |  | $ | 45 |  |  | $ | 46 |  |  | $ | 345 |  |  | $ | 704 |
Costs incurred for other commitments were $75 million in 2017, $141 million in 2016 and $182 million in 2015. SCE has fuel supply contracts for Palo Verde which require payment only if the fuel is made available for purchase. SCE also has commitments related to maintaining reliability and expanding SCE's transmission and distribution system. The table above does not include asset retirement obligations, which are discussed in Note 1. Indemnities Edison International and SCE have various financial and performance guarantees and indemnity agreements which are issued in the normal course of business. Edison International and SCE have provided indemnifications through contracts entered into in the normal course of business. These are primarily indemnifications against adverse litigation outcomes in connection with underwriting agreements, and indemnities for specified environmental liabilities and income taxes with respect to assets sold. Edison International's and SCE's obligations under these agreements may or may not be limited in terms of time and/or amount, and in some instances Edison International and SCE may have recourse against third parties. Edison International and SCE have not recorded a liability related to these indemnities. The overall maximum amount of the obligations under these indemnifications cannot be reasonably estimated. SCE has indemnified the City of Redlands, California in connection with the Mountainview power plant's California Energy Commission permit for cleanup or associated actions related to groundwater contaminated by perchlorate due to the disposal of filter cake at the City's solid waste landfill. The obligations under this agreement are not limited to a specific time period or subject to a maximum liability. SCE has not recorded a liability related to this indemnity. Contingencies In addition to the matters disclosed in these Notes, Edison International and SCE are involved in other legal, tax and regulatory proceedings before various courts and governmental agencies regarding matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Edison International and SCE believe the outcome of these other proceedings will not, individually or in the aggregate, materially affect its financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Southern California Wildfires In December 2017, several wind-driven wildfires (the "December 2017 Wildfires") impacted portions of SCE's service territory and caused substantial damage to both residential and business properties and service outages for SCE customers. The largest of these fires, known as the Thomas Fire, originated in Ventura County and burned acreage located in both Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. According to the most recent California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ("Cal Fire") incident information reports, the Thomas Fire burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 1,063 structures, damaged an estimated 280 structures and resulted in two fatalities. During 2017, SCE incurred approximately $35 million of capital expenditures related to restoration of service resulting from the December 2017 Wildfires. The causes of the December 2017 Wildfires are being investigated by Cal Fire and other fire agencies. SCE believes the investigations include the possible role of SCE's facilities. SCE expects that one or more of the fire agencies will ultimately issue reports concerning the origins and causes of the December 2017 Wildfires but cannot predict when these reports will be released or if any findings will be issued before the investigations are completed. Any potential liability of SCE for December 2017 Wildfire-related damages will depend on a number of factors, including whether SCE is determined to have substantially caused, or contributed to, the damages and whether parties seeking recovery of damages will be required to show negligence in addition to causation. Certain California courts have previously found utilities to be strictly liable for property damage, regardless of fault, by applying the theory of inverse condemnation when a utility's facilities were determined to be a substantial cause of a wildfire that caused the property damage. The rationale stated by these courts for applying this theory to investor-owned utilities is that property losses resulting from a public improvement, such as the distribution of electricity, can be spread across the larger community that benefited from such improvement. However, in December 2017, the CPUC issued a decision denying the investor-owned utility's request to include in its rates uninsured wildfire-related costs arising from several 2007 fires, finding that the investor-owned utility did not prudently manage and operate its facilities prior to or at the outset of the 2007 wildfires. In addition to liability for property damages, when inverse condemnation is found to be applicable to a utility, the utility may be held liable, without regard to fault, for associated interest and attorney's fees (collectively, "Property Losses"). If inverse condemnation is held to be inapplicable to SCE in connection with the December 2017 Wildfires, SCE could still be held liable for Property Losses if those losses were found to have been proximately caused by SCE’s negligence. If SCE was found negligent, SCE also could be held liable for fire suppression costs, business interruption losses, evacuation costs, medical expenses and personal injury/wrongful death claims. These potential liabilities, in the aggregate, could be substantial. Additionally, SCE could potentially be subject to fines for alleged violations of CPUC rules and laws in connection with the December 2017 Wildfires. SCE is aware of multiple lawsuits filed related to the December 2017 Wildfires naming SCE as a defendant. One of these lawsuits also named Edison International as a defendant. At least four of these lawsuits were filed as purported class actions. The lawsuits, which have been filed in the superior courts of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties allege, among other things, negligence, inverse condemnation, trespass, private nuisance, and violations of the public utility and health and safety codes. SCE expects to be the subject of additional lawsuits related to the December 2017 Wildfires. The litigation could take a number of years to be resolved because of the complexity of the matters and the time needed to complete the ongoing investigations. Given the preliminary stages of the investigations and the uncertainty as to the causes of the December 2017 Wildfires, and the extent and magnitude of potential damages, Edison International and SCE are currently unable to reasonably estimate whether SCE will incur material losses and, if so, the range of possible losses that could be incurred. SCE has approximately $1 billion of wildfire-specific insurance coverage, subject to a self-insured retention of $10 million per occurrence, for wildfire-related claims for the period ending on May 31, 2018. SCE also has approximately $300 million of additional insurance coverage for wildfire-related occurrences for the period from December 31, 2017 to December 31, 2018 which may be used in addition to the $1 billion in wildfire insurance for wildfire events occurring on or after December 31, 2017 and on or before May 31, 2018, and would be available for new wildfire events, if any, occurring after May 31, 2018 and on or before December 30, 2018. Various coverage limitations within the policies that make up SCE's wildfire insurance coverage could result in material self-insured costs in the event of multiple wildfire occurrences during a policy period. SCE also has other general liability insurance coverage of approximately $450 million but it is uncertain whether these other policies would apply to liabilities alleged to be related to wildfires. Should responsibility for damages be attributed to SCE for a significant portion of the losses related to the December 2017 Wildfires, SCE's insurance may not be sufficient to cover all such damages. SCE or its vegetation management contractors may experience coverage reductions and/or increased insurance costs in future years. No assurance can be given that future losses will not exceed the limits of insurance coverage. In addition, SCE may not be authorized to recover its uninsured damages through customer rates if, for example, the CPUC finds that the damages were incurred because SCE was not a prudent manager of its facilities. The CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Division ("SED") is conducting an investigation to assess the compliance of SCE’s facilities with applicable rules and regulations in areas impacted by the December 2017 Wildfires. Edison International and SCE are pursuing legislative, regulatory and legal solutions to the application of a strict liability standard to wildfire-related damages without the ability to recover resulting costs from customers. Edison International and SCE cannot predict whether or when a solution mitigating the significant risk faced by a California investor-owned utility related to wildfires will be achieved. Montecito Mudslides In January 2018, torrential rains in Santa Barbara County produced mudslides and flooding in Montecito and surrounding areas (the "Montecito Mudslides"). According to Santa Barbara County, the Montecito Mudslides destroyed an estimated 135 structures, damaged an estimated 324 structures, and resulted in at least 21 fatalities, with two additional fatalities presumed. Six of the lawsuits mentioned above allege that SCE has responsibility for the Thomas Fire and that the Thomas Fire proximately caused the Montecito Mudslides, resulting in the plaintiffs' claimed damages. SCE expects that additional lawsuits related to the Montecito Mudslides will be filed. As noted above, the cause of the Thomas Fire has not been determined. In the event that SCE is determined to have liability for damages caused by the Thomas Fire, SCE cannot predict whether the courts will conclude that the Montecito Mudslides were caused by the Thomas Fire or that SCE is responsible or liable for damages caused by the Montecito Mudslides. As a result, Edison International and SCE are currently unable to reasonably estimate whether SCE will incur material losses and, if so, the range of possible losses that could be incurred. If it is determined that the Montecito Mudslides were caused by the Thomas Fire and that SCE is responsible or liable for damages caused by the Montecito Mudslides, then SCE's insurance coverage for such losses may be limited to its wildfire insurance. Additionally, if SCE is determined to be liable for a significant portion of costs associated with the Montecito Mudslides, SCE's insurance may not be sufficient to cover all such damages and SCE may be unable to recover any uninsured losses. If it is ultimately determined that SCE is legally responsible for losses caused by the Montecito Mudslides, SCE could be held liable for resulting Property Losses if inverse condemnation is found applicable. If SCE is determined to have been negligent, in addition to Property Losses, SCE could be liable for business interruption losses, evacuation costs, clean-up costs, medical expenses and personal injury/wrongful death claims associated with the Montecito Mudslides. These liabilities, in the aggregate, could be substantial. SCE cannot predict whether it will be subjected to regulatory fines related to the Montecito Mudslides. Permanent Retirement of San Onofre Replacement steam generators were installed at San Onofre in 2010 and 2011. On January 31, 2012, a 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 wear. Unit 2 was off-line for a planned outage when areas of unexpected tube wear were also discovered. On June 6, 2013, SCE decided to permanently retire Units 2 and 3. San Onofre CPUC Proceedings In November 2014, the CPUC approved the San Onofre OII Settlement Agreement by and among The Utility Reform Network ("TURN"), the CPUC's Office of Ratepayers Advocates ("ORA"), San Diego Gas & Electric ("SDG&E"), the Coalition of California Utility Employees, and Friends of the Earth (the "Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement"), which, at the time, resolved the CPUC's investigation regarding the steam generator replacement project at San Onofre and the related outages and subsequent shutdown of San Onofre. Subsequently, the San Onofre Order Instituting Investigation ("OII") proceeding record was reopened by a joint ruling of the Assigned Commissioner and the Assigned administrative law judge ("ALJ") to consider whether, in light of the Company not reporting certain ex parte communications on a timely basis, the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement remained reasonable, consistent with the law and in the public interest, which is the standard the CPUC applies in reviewing settlements submitted for approval. Entry into Revised Settlement and Utility Shareholder Agreements On January 30, 2018, SCE, SDG&E, The Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, The California Large Energy Consumers Association, California State University, Citizens Oversight dba Coalition to Decommission San Onofre, the Coalition of California Utility Employees, the Direct Access Customer Coalition, Ruth Henricks, ORA, TURN, and Women's Energy Matters (the "OII Parties") entered into a Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement in the San Onofre OII proceeding (the "Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement"). If approved by the CPUC, the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement will resolve all issues under consideration in the San Onofre OII and will modify the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement. If approved by the CPUC, the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement will also result in the dismissal of a federal lawsuit currently pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the CPUC's authority to permit rate recovery of San Onofre costs. The Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement was the result of multiple mediation sessions in 2017 and January 2018 and was signed on January 30, 2018 following a settlement conference in the OII, as required under CPUC rules. Implementation of the terms of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement is subject to the approval of the CPUC, as to which there is no assurance. The OII Parties have agreed to exercise their best efforts to obtain CPUC approval, but there can be no certainty of when or what the CPUC will actually decide. On February 6, 2018, the San Onofre OII Assigned Commissioner and Assigned ALJ issued a joint ruling advising the parties, among other things, that (i) the CPUC will need additional information and that the parties should be prepared to submit joint testimony in support of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement on March 26, 2018; (ii) there will be public participation hearings and at least one additional status conference; and (iii) another ruling will be issued with further direction. Disallowances, Refunds and Recoveries If the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement is approved by the CPUC, SCE and SDG&E (the "Utilities") will cease rate recovery of San Onofre costs as of the date their combined remaining San Onofre regulatory assets equal $775 million (the "Cessation Date"). SCE has previously requested the CPUC to authorize SCE to reduce the San Onofre regulatory asset by applying $72 million of proceeds received from litigation with the DOE related to DOE's failure to meet its obligation to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel from San Onofre. If that request is approved by the CPUC, the Cessation Date is estimated to be December 19, 2017. If that request is not approved by the CPUC, the Cessation Date is estimated to be April 21, 2018. The Utilities will refund to customers San Onofre-related amounts recovered in rates after the Cessation Date. SCE will retain amounts collected under the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement before the Cessation Date. SCE also will retain $47 million of proceeds received in 2017 from arbitration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ("MHI") over MHI's delivery of faulty steam generators. In the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement, SCE retains the right to sell its stock of nuclear fuel and not share such proceeds with customers, as was provided in the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement. SCE intends to sell its nuclear fuel inventory as market conditions warrant. Sales of nuclear fuel may be significant. Under the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement, the Utilities agreed to fund $25 million for a Research, Development and Demonstration program that is intended to develop technologies and methodologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ("GHG Reduction Program"). The Utilities' funding obligation is reduced to $12.5 million under the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement. If approved by the CPUC, the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement will also provide certain exclusions from the determination of SCE's ratemaking capital structure. Notwithstanding that SCE will no longer recover its San Onofre regulatory asset, the debt borrowed to finance the regulatory asset will continue to be excluded from SCE's ratemaking capital structure. Additionally, SCE may exclude the after-tax charge resulting from the implementation of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement from its ratemaking capital structure. Accounting and Financial Impacts Under the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement, GAAP required that previously incurred costs related to San Onofre Units 2 & 3 be reflected as a regulatory asset to the extent that management concluded the costs were probable of recovery through future rates. GAAP also requires that amounts collected that are probable of refund to customers be recorded as regulatory liabilities. In the fourth quarter of 2017, regulatory assets and liabilities were adjusted based on the probable approval of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement. In connection with the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement, and in exchange for the release of certain San Onofre-related claims, the Utilities entered into an agreement ("Utility Shareholder Agreement") in which SCE has agreed to pay SDG&E the amounts SDG&E would have received in rates under the Prior San Onofre Settlement Agreement but will not receive upon implementation of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement. As of December 19, 2017, SDG&E's regulatory asset was approximately $151 million. In the fourth quarter of 2017, SCE recorded an accrued liability of $143 million for the estimated present value of this obligation. The following table summarizes the financial impact of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement and the Utility Shareholder Agreement:
(in millions) |
San Onofre base regulatory asset | $ | 696 |
DOE litigation regulatory liability | (72 | )
MHI Arbitration regulatory liability | (47 | )
GHG Reduction Program | (10 | )
Other | 6 |
Present value of Utility Shareholder Agreement | 143 |
Total pre-tax charge | $ | 716 |
Total after-tax charge | $ | 448 |
Additional Challenges related to the Settlement of San Onofre CPUC Proceedings A federal lawsuit challenging the CPUC's authority to permit rate recovery of San Onofre costs and an application to the CPUC for rehearing of its decision approving the San Onofre OII Settlement Agreement were filed in November and December 2014, respectively. In April 2015, the federal lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice and the plaintiffs in that case appealed the dismissal to the Ninth Circuit in May 2015. In light of the San Onofre OII meet-and-confer sessions, the Ninth Circuit cancelled the hearing that had been scheduled for February 9, 2017 and ordered the parties to notify the Ninth Circuit of the status of the San Onofre OII by May 1, 2017 and periodically thereafter. In October 2017, the Ninth Circuit scheduled a hearing for February 13, 2018 and directed the parties to file a status report on January 30, 2018. As part of the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement, the plaintiffs agreed to dismiss this case with prejudice. In July 2015, a purported securities class action lawsuit was filed in federal court against Edison International, its then Chief Executive Officer and its then Chief Financial Officer. The complaint was later amended to include SCE's former President as a defendant. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the securities laws by failing to disclose that Edison International had ex parte contacts with CPUC decision-makers regarding the San Onofre OII that were either unreported or more extensive than initially reported. The initial complaint purports to be filed on behalf of a class of persons who acquired Edison International common stock between March 21, 2014 and June 24, 2015 (the "Class Period"). In September 2016, the federal court granted defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint, with an opportunity for plaintiff to amend the complaint. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, which the federal court dismissed again with an opportunity for the plaintiff to amend the complaint. Plaintiff filed a third amended complaint and defendants again moved to dismiss the complaint in October 2016. Also in July 2015, a federal shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against members of the Edison International Board of Directors for breach of fiduciary duty and other claims. The federal derivative lawsuit is based on similar allegations to the federal class action securities lawsuit and seeks monetary damages, including punitive damages, and various corporate governance reforms. An additional federal shareholder derivative lawsuit making essentially the same allegations was filed in August 2015 and was subsequently consolidated with the July 2015 federal derivative lawsuit. In September 2016, the federal court granted defendants' motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint, with an opportunity for plaintiff to amend the complaint. Plaintiff did not file an amended complaint by the required date. Plaintiffs' deadline to appeal the federal court's order granting defendants' motion to dismiss lapsed in March 2017 and no appeal was filed. In October 2015, a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed in California state court against members of the Edison International Board of Directors for breach of fiduciary duty and other claims, making similar allegations to those in the federal derivative lawsuits discussed above. In light of the ruling in the parallel federal derivative lawsuit discussed above, plaintiff requested that the court voluntarily dismiss the state court action. The action was dismissed in April 2017. In November 2015, a purported securities class action lawsuit was filed in federal court against Edison International, its then Chief Executive Officer and its Treasurer by an Edison International employee, alleging claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The complaint purports to be filed on behalf of a class of Edison International employees who were participants in the Edison 401(k) Savings Plan and invested in the Edison International Stock Fund between March 27, 2014 and June 24, 2015. The complaint alleges that defendants breached their fiduciary duties because they knew or should have known that investment in the Edison International Stock Fund was imprudent because the price of Edison International common stock was artificially inflated due to Edison International's alleged failure to disclose certain ex parte communications with CPUC decision-makers related to the San Onofre OII. In July 2016, the federal court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the lawsuit with an opportunity for the plaintiff to amend her complaint. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in July 2016, that dismissed Edison International as a named defendant and the remaining defendants filed a motion to dismiss in August 2016. These defendants' motion was heard by the court in November 2016. In June 2017, the federal court again granted defendants' motion to dismiss the lawsuit with an opportunity for the plaintiff to amend her complaint. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in early July 2017. Defendants have filed motion to dismiss the amended complaint, which was heard by the court in October 2017, and are awaiting a ruling. Edison International and SCE cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings. Environmental Remediation SCE records its environmental remediation liabilities when site assessments and/or remedial actions are probable and a range of reasonably likely cleanup costs can be estimated. SCE reviews its sites and measures the liability quarterly, by assessing a range of reasonably likely costs for each identified site using currently available information, including existing technology, presently enacted laws and regulations, experience gained at similar sites, and the probable level of involvement and financial condition of other potentially responsible parties. These estimates include costs for site investigations, remediation, operation and maintenance, monitoring and site closure. Unless there is a single probable amount, SCE records the lower end of this reasonably likely range of costs (reflected in "Other long-term liabilities") at undiscounted amounts as timing of cash flows is uncertain. At December 31, 2017, SCE's recorded estimated minimum liability to remediate its 20 identified material sites (sites with a liability balance as of December 31, 2017, in which the upper end of the range of the costs is at least $1 million) was $146 million, including $93 million related to San Onofre. In addition to these sites, SCE also has 16 immaterial sites with a liability balance at December 31, 2017 for which the total minimum recorded liability was $4 million. Of the $150 million total environmental remediation liability for SCE, $144 million has been recorded as a regulatory asset. SCE expects to recover $49 million through an incentive mechanism that allows SCE to recover 90% of its environmental remediation costs at certain sites (SCE may request to include additional sites) and $95 million through a mechanism that allows SCE to recover 100% of the costs incurred at certain sites through customer rates. SCE's identified sites include several sites for which there is a lack of currently available information, including the nature and magnitude of contamination, and the extent, if any, that SCE may be held responsible for contributing to any costs incurred for remediating these sites. Thus, no reasonable estimate of cleanup costs can be made for these sites. The ultimate costs to clean up SCE's identified sites may vary from its recorded liability due to numerous uncertainties inherent in the estimation process, such as: the extent and nature of contamination; the scarcity of reliable data for identified sites; the varying costs of alternative cleanup methods; developments resulting from investigatory studies; the possibility of identifying additional sites; and the time periods over which site remediation is expected to occur. SCE believes that, due to these uncertainties, it is reasonably possible that cleanup costs at the identified material sites and immaterial sites could exceed its recorded liability by up to $129 million and $8 million, respectively. The upper limit of this range of costs was estimated using assumptions least favorable to SCE among a range of reasonably possible outcomes. SCE expects to clean up and mitigate its identified sites over a period of up to 30 years. Remediation costs for each of the next 4 years are expected to range from $5 million to $21 million. Costs incurred for years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $9 million, $4 million and $5 million, respectively. Based upon the CPUC's regulatory treatment of environmental remediation costs incurred at SCE, SCE believes that costs ultimately recorded will not materially affect its results of operations, financial position or cash flows. There can be no assurance, however, that future developments, including additional information about existing sites or the identification of new sites, will not require material revisions to estimates. Nuclear Insurance Federal law limits public offsite liability claims for bodily injury and property damage from a nuclear incident to the amount of available financial protection, which is currently approximately $13.4 billion. As of January 1, 2017, SCE and other owners of San Onofre and Palo Verde have purchased the maximum private primary insurance available ($450 million) through a Facility Form issued by American Nuclear Insurers ("ANI"). The balance is covered by a loss sharing program among nuclear reactor licensees. If a nuclear incident at any licensed reactor in the United States results in claims and/or costs which exceed the primary insurance at that plant site, all nuclear reactor licensees could be required to contribute their share of the liability in the form of a deferred premium. The ANI Facility Form coverage includes broad liability protection for bodily injury or offsite property damage caused by the nuclear energy hazard at San Onofre, or while in transit to or from San Onofre. The Facility Form, however, includes several exclusions. First, it excludes onsite property damage to the nuclear facility itself and onsite cleanup costs, but as discussed below SCE maintains separate Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited ("NEIL") property damage coverage for such events. Second, tort claims of onsite workers are excluded, but SCE also maintains an ANI Master Worker Form policy that provides coverage for non-licensee workers. This program provides a shared industry aggregate limit of $450 million. Industry losses covered by this program could reduce limits available to SCE. Third, offsite environmental costs arising out of government orders or directives, including those issued under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA, are excluded, with minor exceptions from clearly identifiable accidents. Based on its ownership interests, SCE could be required to pay a maximum of approximately $255 million per nuclear incident. However, it would have to pay no more than approximately $38 million per incident in any one year. If the public liability limit above is insufficient, federal law contemplates that additional funds may be appropriated by Congress. This could include an additional assessment on all licensed reactor operators as a measure for raising further federal revenue. NEIL, a mutual insurance company owned by entities with nuclear facilities, issues nuclear property damage and accidental outage insurance policies. The amount of nuclear property insurance purchased for San Onofre and Palo Verde exceeds the minimum federal requirement of $1.06 billion. These policies include coverage for decontamination liability. Property damage insurance also covers damages caused by acts of terrorism up to specified limits. Additional outage insurance covers part of replacement power expenses during an accident-related nuclear unit outage. The accidental outage insurance at San Onofre has been canceled as a result of the permanent retirement, but that insurance continues to be in effect at Palo Verde. If losses at any nuclear facility covered by the arrangement were to exceed the accumulated funds for these insurance programs, SCE could be assessed retrospective premium adjustments of up to approximately $52 million per year. Insurance premiums are charged to operating expense. Spent Nuclear Fuel Under federal law, the DOE is responsible for the selection and construction of a facility for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The DOE has not met its contractual obligation to accept spent nuclear fuel. Extended delays by the DOE have led to the construction of costly alternatives and associated siting and environmental issues. Currently, both San Onofre and Palo Verde have interim storage for spent nuclear fuel on site sufficient for their current license period. In June 2010, the United States Court of Federal Claims issued a decision granting SCE and the San Onofre co-owners damages of approximately $142 million (SCE share $112 million) to recover costs incurred through December 31, 2005 for the DOE's failure to meet its obligation to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel from San Onofre. SCE received payment from the federal government in the amount of the damage award. In April 2016, SCE, as operating agent, settled a lawsuit on behalf of the San Onofre owners against the DOE for $162 million, including reimbursement for legal costs (SCE share $124 million) to compensate for damages caused by the DOE's failure to meet its obligation to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel for the period from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2013. The settlement also provides for a claim submission/audit process for expenses incurred from 2014 – 2016, where SCE will submit a claim for damages caused by the DOE failure to accept spent nuclear fuel each year, followed by a government audit and payment of the claim. This process will make additional legal action to recover damages incurred in 2014 – 2016 unnecessary. The first such claim covering damages for 2014 – 2015 was filed on September 30, 2016 for approximately $56 million. In February 2017, the DOE reviewed the 2014 – 2015 claim submission and reduced the original request to approximately $43 million (SCE share was approximately $34 million) primarily due to DOE allocation limits. SCE accepted the DOE's determination, and the government paid the 2014 – 2015 claim under the terms of the settlement. In October 2017, SCE filed a claim covering damages for 2016 for approximately $59 million. All damages recovered by SCE are subject to CPUC review as to how these amounts would be distributed among customers, shareholders, or to offset fuel decommissioning or storage costs.

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