XML 33 R19.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.19.1

Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
--- | ---
Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies 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 agreed to provide 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 agreed to indemnify 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. As of March 31, 2019, there has been no groundwater contamination identified. Thus, 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 and Mudslides Approximately 35% of SCE's service territory is in areas identified as high fire risk by SCE. Multiple factors have contributed to increased wildfires, faster progression of wildfires and the increased damage from wildfires across SCE's service territory and throughout California. These include the buildup of dry vegetation in areas severely impacted by years of historic drought, lack of adequate clearing of hazardous fuels by responsible parties, higher temperatures, lower humidity, and strong Santa Ana winds. At the same time that wildfire risk has been increasing in Southern California, residential and commercial development has occurred and is occurring in some of the highest-risk areas. Such factors can increase the likelihood and extent of wildfires. In December 2017 and November 2018, wind-driven wildfires impacted portions of SCE's service territory, causing substantial damage to both residential and business properties and service outages for SCE customers. The investigating government agencies, the Ventura County Fire Department ("VCFD") and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ("CAL FIRE"), have determined that the largest of the 2017 fires originated on December 4, 2017, in the Anlauf Canyon area of Ventura County (the investigating agencies refer to this fire as the "Thomas Fire"), followed shortly thereafter by a second fire that originated near Koenigstein Road in the City of Santa Paula (the "Koenigstein Fire"). While the progression of these two fires remains under review, the December 4, 2017 fires eventually burned substantial acreage in both Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. According to CAL FIRE information, the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed or damaged an estimated 1,343 structures and resulted in two fatalities. The largest of the November 2018 fires, known as the Woolsey Fire, originated in Ventura County and burned acreage in both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. According to CAL FIRE information, the Woolsey Fire burned almost 100,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 1,643 structures, damaged an estimated 364 structures and resulted in three fatalities. As described below, multiple lawsuits related to the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and the Woolsey Fire have been initiated against SCE and Edison International. Some of the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires lawsuits claim that SCE and Edison International have responsibility for the damages caused by mudslides and flooding in Montecito and surrounding areas in January 2018 (the "Montecito Mudslides") based on a theory that SCE has responsibility for the Thomas and/or Koenigstein Fires and that the Thomas and/or Koenigstein Fires proximately caused the Montecito Mudslides. According to Santa Barbara County initial reports, the Montecito Mudslides destroyed an estimated 135 structures, damaged an estimated 324 structures, and resulted in 21 fatalities, with two additional fatalities presumed. The extent of liability for wildfire-related damages in actions against utilities depends on a number of factors, including whether SCE substantially caused or contributed to the damages and whether parties seeking recovery of damages will be required to show negligence in addition to causation. California courts have previously found utilities to be strictly liable for property damage along with associated interest and attorneys' fees, 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. If inverse condemnation is held to be inapplicable to SCE in connection with a wildfire, SCE still could be held liable for property damages and associated interest if the property damages were found to have been proximately caused by SCE's negligence. If SCE were to be found negligent, SCE could also be held liable for, among other things, fire suppression costs, business interruption losses, evacuation costs, clean-up costs, medical expenses, and personal injury/wrongful death claims. Additionally, SCE could potentially be subject to fines for alleged violations of CPUC rules and state laws in connection with the ignition of a wildfire. Final determinations of liability for the Thomas Fire, the Koenigstein Fire, the Montecito Mudslides and the Woolsey Fire (each a "2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Event," and, collectively, the "2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events"), including determinations of whether SCE was negligent, would only be made during lengthy and complex litigation processes. Even when investigations are still pending or liability is disputed, an assessment of likely outcomes, including through future settlement of disputed claims, may require a liability to be accrued under accounting standards. Based on information available to SCE and consideration of the risks associated with litigation, Edison International and SCE expect to incur a material loss in connection with the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events and accrued a liability of $4.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Edison International and SCE also recorded expected recoveries from insurance of $2.0 billion and expected recoveries through FERC electric rates of $135 million. The net charge to earnings recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $1.8 billion after-tax. The liability that was accrued corresponds to the lower end of the reasonably estimated range of expected potential losses that may be incurred in connection with the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events and is subject to change as additional information becomes available. Edison International and SCE will seek to offset any actual losses realized with recoveries from insurance policies in place at the time of the events and, to the extent actual losses exceed insurance, through electric rates. The CPUC and FERC may not allow SCE to recover uninsured losses through electric rates if it is determined that such losses were not reasonably or prudently incurred. See "—Loss Estimates for Third Party Claims and Potential Recoveries from Insurance and through Electric Rates" for additional information. External Investigations and Internal Review The VCFD and CAL FIRE have issued reports concerning their findings regarding the causes of the Thomas Fire and the Koenigstein Fire. The VCFD and CAL FIRE findings do not determine legal causation of or assign legal liability for the Thomas or Koenigstein Fires; final determinations of legal causation and liability would only be made during lengthy and complex litigation. The reports did not address the causes of the Montecito Mudslides. SCE expects that the VCFD and CAL FIRE will ultimately also issue a report concerning the departments' findings of origin and cause of the Woolsey Fire but cannot predict when this report will be released. The CPUC's Safety Enforcement Division ("SED") is also conducting investigations to assess SCE's compliance with applicable rules and regulations in areas impacted by the fires. SCE cannot predict when the SED's investigations will be completed. SCE's internal review into the facts and circumstances of each of the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events is complex and time consuming. SCE expects to obtain and review additional information and materials in the possession of third parties during the course of its internal reviews and the litigation processes. Thomas Fire On March 13, 2019, the VCFD and CAL FIRE issued a report concluding, after ruling out other possible causes, that the Thomas Fire was started by SCE power lines coming into contact during high winds, resulting in molten metal falling to the ground. However, the report does not state that molten metal was found on the ground in that location during their investigation. At this time, based on available information, SCE has not determined whether its equipment caused the Thomas Fire. Based on publicly available radar data showing a smoke plume in the Anlauf Canyon area emerging in advance of the report's indicated start time, SCE believes that the Thomas Fire started at least 12 minutes prior to any issue involving SCE's system and at least 15 minutes prior to the start time indicated in the report. SCE is continuing to assess the progression of the Thomas Fire and the extent of damages that may be attributable to that fire. Koenigstein Fire On March 20, 2019, the VCFD and CAL FIRE issued a report finding that the Koenigstein Fire was caused when an energized SCE electrical wire separated and fell to the ground along with molten metal particles and ignited the dry vegetation below. SCE has previously disclosed that SCE believed its equipment was associated with the ignition of the Koenigstein Fire. SCE is continuing to assess the progression of the Koenigstein Fire and the extent of damages that may be attributable to that fire. Montecito Mudslides SCE's internal review includes inquiry into whether the Thomas and/or Koenigstein Fires proximately caused or contributed to the Montecito Mudslides, whether, and to what extent, the Thomas and/or Koenigstein Fires were responsible for the damages in the Montecito area and other factors that potentially contributed to the losses that resulted from the Montecito Mudslides. Many other factors, including, but not limited to, weather conditions and insufficiently or improperly designed and maintained debris basins, roads, bridges and other channel crossings, could have proximately caused, contributed to or exacerbated the losses that resulted from the Montecito Mudslides. At this time, based on available information, SCE has not been able to determine whether the Thomas Fire or the Koenigstein Fire, or both, were responsible for the damages in the Montecito area. In the event that SCE is determined to have caused the fire that spread to the Montecito area, SCE cannot predict whether, if fully litigated, the courts would conclude that the Montecito Mudslides were caused or contributed to by the Thomas and/or Koenigstein Fires or that SCE would be liable for some or all of the damages caused by the Montecito Mudslides. Woolsey Fire SCE's internal review into the facts and circumstances of the Woolsey Fire is ongoing. SCE has reported to the CPUC that there was an outage on SCE's electric system in the vicinity of where the Woolsey Fire reportedly began on November 8, 2018. SCE is aware of witnesses who saw fire in the vicinity of SCE's equipment at the time the fire was first reported. While SCE did not find evidence of downed electrical wires on the ground in the suspected area of origin, it observed a pole support wire in proximity to an electrical wire that was energized prior to the outage. Whether the November 8, 2018 outage was related to contact being made between the support wire and the electrical wire has not been determined. SCE believes that its equipment could be found to have been associated with the ignition of the Woolsey Fire. SCE expects to obtain and review additional information and materials in the possession of CAL FIRE and others during the course of its internal review and the Woolsey Fire litigation process, including SCE equipment that has been retained by CAL FIRE. Wildfire-related Litigation Multiple lawsuits related to the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events naming SCE as a defendant have been filed. A number of the lawsuits also name Edison International as a defendant and some of the 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 in the case of the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and the Montecito Mudslides, and in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties in the case of the Woolsey Fire, allege, among other things, negligence, inverse condemnation, trespass, private nuisance, personal injury, wrongful death, and violations of the California Public Utilities and Health and Safety Codes. SCE expects to be the subject of additional lawsuits related to the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events. The litigation could take a number of years to be resolved because of the complexity of the matters and number of plaintiffs. The Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and Montecito Mudslides lawsuits are being coordinated in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The Woolsey Fire lawsuits have also been coordinated in the Los Angeles Superior Court. On October 4, 2018, the Superior Court denied Edison International's and SCE's challenge to the application of inverse condemnation to SCE with respect to the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and, on February 26, 2019, the California Supreme Court denied SCE's petition to review the Superior Court's decision. In January 2019, SCE filed a cross-complaint against certain governmental entities alleging that failures by these entities, such as failure to adequately plan for flood hazards and build and maintain adequate debris basins, roads, bridges and other channel crossings, among other things, caused, contributed to or exacerbated the losses that resulted from the Montecito Mudslides. Additionally, in July 2018 and September 2018, two separate derivative lawsuits for breach of fiduciary duties and unjust enrichment were filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court against certain current and former members of the Boards of Directors of Edison International and SCE. Edison International and SCE are identified as nominal defendants in those actions. The derivative lawsuits generally allege that the individual defendants violated their fiduciary duties by causing or allowing SCE to operate in an unsafe manner in violation of relevant regulations, resulting in substantial liability and damage from the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and the Montecito Mudslides. In November 2018, a purported class action lawsuit alleging securities fraud and related claims was filed in the federal court against EIX, SCE and certain current and former officers of Edison International and SCE. The plaintiff alleges that Edison International and SCE made false and/or misleading statements in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by failing to disclose that SCE had allegedly failed to maintain its electric transmission and distribution networks in compliance with safety regulations, and that those alleged safety violations led to fires that occurred in 2018, including the Woolsey Fire. In January 2019, two separate derivative lawsuits alleging breach of fiduciary duties, securities fraud, misleading proxy statements, unjust enrichment, and related claims were filed in federal court against all current and certain former members of the Boards of Directors and certain current and former officers of Edison International and SCE. Edison International and SCE are named as nominal defendants in those actions. The derivative lawsuits generally allege that the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties and made misleading statements or allowed misleading statements to be made (i) between March 21, 2014 and August 10, 2015, with respect to certain ex parte communications between SCE and CPUC decision-makers concerning the settlement of the San Onofre Order Instituting Investigation proceeding (the "San Onofre OII") and (ii) from February 23, 2016 to the present, concerning compliance with applicable laws and regulations concerning electric system maintenance and operations related to wildfire risks. The lawsuits generally allege that these breaches of duty and misstatements led to substantial liability and damage resulting from the disclosure of SCE's ex parte communications in connection with the San Onofre OII settlement, and from the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events. For more information regarding the San Onofre OII, see Note 12 in the 2018 Form 10-K. Loss Estimates for Third Party Claims and Potential Recoveries from Insurance and through Electric Rates The process for estimating losses associated with wildfire litigation claims requires management to exercise significant judgment based on a number of assumptions and subjective factors, including but not limited to estimates based on currently available information and assessments, opinions regarding litigation risk, and prior experience with litigating and settling other wildfire cases. As additional information becomes available, management estimates and assumptions regarding the causes and financial impact of the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events may change. Such additional information is expected to become available from multiple external sources, during the course of litigation, and from SCE's ongoing internal review, including, among other things, information regarding the extent of damages that may be attributable to any fire determined to have been substantially caused by SCE's equipment, information that may be obtained from the equipment in CAL FIRE's possession, and information pertaining to fire progression, suppression activities, alleged damages and insurance claims. As described above, the $1.8 billion after-tax liability corresponds to the lower end of the reasonably estimated range of expected losses that may be incurred in connection with the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events and is subject to change as additional information becomes available. Edison International and SCE currently believe that it is reasonably possible that the amount of the actual loss will be greater than the amount accrued. However, Edison International and SCE are currently unable to reasonably estimate an upper end of the range of expected losses given the uncertainty as to the legal and factual determinations to be made during litigation, including uncertainty as to the contributing causes of the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events, the complexities associated with fires that merge, whether inverse condemnation will be held applicable to SCE with respect to damages caused by the Montecito Mudslides, and the preliminary nature of the litigation processes. For events that occurred in 2017 and early 2018, principally the Thomas and Koenigstein Fires and Montecito Mudslides, SCE has $1 billion of wildfire-specific insurance coverage, subject to a self-insured retention of $10 million per occurrence. SCE also had 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 the Montecito Mudslides. For the Woolsey Fire, SCE has an additional $1 billion of wildfire-specific insurance coverage, subject to a self-insured retention of $10 million per occurrence. Edison International and SCE record a receivable for insurance recoveries when recovery of a recorded loss is determined to be probable. At March 31, 2019, Edison International and SCE had recorded $2.0 billion for expected insurance recoveries associated with the recorded loss for the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events. SCE will seek to recover uninsured costs resulting from the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events through electric rates. The amount of the receivable is subject to change based on additional information. Recovery of these costs is subject to approval by regulators. Under accounting standards for rate-regulated enterprises, SCE defers costs as regulatory assets when it concludes that such costs are probable of future recovery in electric rates. SCE utilizes objectively determinable evidence to form its view on probability of future recovery. The only directly comparable precedent in which a California investor-owned utility has sought recovery for uninsured wildfire-related costs is SDG&E's requests for cost recovery related to 2007 wildfire activity, where FERC allowed recovery of all FERC-jurisdictional wildfire-related costs while the CPUC rejected recovery of all CPUC-jurisdictional wildfire-related costs based on a determination that SDG&E did not meet the CPUC's prudency standard. As a result, while SCE does not agree with the CPUC's decision, it believes that the CPUC's interpretation and application of the prudency standard to SDG&E creates substantial uncertainty regarding how that standard will be applied to an investor-owned utility in future wildfire cost-recovery proceedings. SCE will continue to evaluate the probability of recovery based on available evidence, including guidance that may be issued by the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery, and new judicial, legislative and regulatory decisions, including any CPUC decisions illustrating the interpretation and/or application of the prudency standard when making determinations regarding recovery of uninsured wildfire-related costs. While the CPUC has not made a determination regarding SCE's prudency relative to any of the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events, SCE is unable to conclude, at this time, that uninsured CPUC-jurisdictional wildfire-related costs are probable of recovery through electric rates. SCE would record a regulatory asset at the time it obtains sufficient information to support a conclusion that recovery is probable. SCE will seek recovery of the CPUC portion of any uninsured wildfire-related costs through its WEMA. See "—Recovery of Wildfire-Related Costs" below. Through the operation of its FERC Formula Rate, and based upon the precedent established in SDG&E's recovery of FERC-jurisdictional wildfire-related costs, SCE believes it is probable it will recover its FERC-jurisdictional wildfire and mudslide related costs and has recorded a regulatory asset of $135 million, the FERC portion of the $4.7 billion liability accrued. At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the balance sheets include estimated losses (established at the lower end of the reasonably estimated range of expected losses) of $4.7 billion for the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events. Current Wildfire Insurance Coverage SCE has approximately $1 billion of wildfire-specific insurance coverage, subject to a self-insured retention of $10 million per occurrence, for events (including the Woolsey fire) during the period June 30, 2018 through May 31, 2019. If the $1 billion of insurance coverage is exhausted as a result of liabilities related to the Woolsey Fire, SCE has approximately $735 million of wildfire-specific insurance coverage for wildfire events during the period February 1, 2019 through May 31, 2019, subject to a self-insured retention of $35 million per occurrence and up to $15 million of co-insurance, which results in net coverage of approximately $685 million. SCE has also obtained approximately $1.2 billion of wildfire-specific insurance coverage for events that may occur during the period June 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, subject to up to $115 million of co-insurance and $50 million of self-insured retention, which results in net coverage of approximately $1 billion. SCE expects its coverage for this period to be subject to an initial self-insured retention of $10 million per occurrence, but, based on policies currently in place, SCE's coverage for the period is subject to a self-insurance retention of $50 million per occurrence. SCE may obtain additional wildfire-specific insurance for this time period in the future. Various coverage limitations within the policies that make up SCE's wildfire insurance coverage could result in additional material self-insured costs in the event of multiple wildfire occurrences during a policy period or with a single wildfire with damages in excess of the policy limits. SCE's cost of obtaining wildfire insurance coverage has increased significantly as a result of, among other things, the number of recent and significant wildfire events throughout California and the application of inverse condemnation to investor-owned utilities. As such, SCE may not be able to obtain sufficient wildfire insurance at a reasonable cost. Based on policies currently in effect, SCE anticipates that its wildfire insurance expense, prior to any regulatory deferrals, will total approximately $399 million during 2019. Wildfire insurance expense will increase in 2019 if SCE obtains additional wildfire-specific insurance. In February 2019, the CPUC approved recovery of $107 million of the costs incurred by SCE to obtain a 12-month, $300 million wildfire insurance policy in December 2017. As a result of this decision, SCE will recover these insurance premiums during 2019. As of March 31, 2019, SCE had regulatory assets of $148 million related to wildfire insurance costs and believes that such amounts are probable of recovery. While SCE believes that amounts deferred are probable of recovery, there is no assurance that SCE will be allowed to recover costs that have been incurred, or costs incurred in the future for additional wildfire insurance, in electric rates. Recovery of Wildfire-Related Costs California courts have previously found investor-owned 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 damages resulting from a public improvement, such as the distribution of electricity, can be spread across the larger community that benefited from such improvement through recovery of uninsured wildfire-related costs in electric rates. However, in November 2017, the CPUC issued a decision denying SDG&E's request to include in its rates uninsured wildfire-related costs arising from several 2007 wildfires, finding that SDG&E did not prudently manage and operate its facilities prior to or at the outset of the 2007 wildfires. In July 2018, the CPUC denied both SDG&E's application for rehearing on its cost recovery request and a joint application for rehearing filed by SCE and PG&E limited to the applicability of inverse condemnation principles in the same proceeding. The California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court have denied SDG&E's petitions for review of the CPUC's denial of SDG&E's application. In September 2018, California Senate Bill 901 ("SB 901") was signed by the Governor of California. Although SB 901 does not address the strict liability standard imposed by courts in inverse condemnation actions, the bill as enacted introduces a number of considerations the CPUC can apply to determine whether costs are recoverable in electric rates for wildfires occurring on or after January 1, 2019, including, among other things, the utility's actions, circumstances beyond the utility's control and the impact of extreme climate conditions. SB 901 requires investor-owned utilities to prepare annually, for CPUC approval, wildfire risk mitigation plans, and compliance with an approved plan is one of the factors that the CPUC can consider in addressing cost recovery. On February 6, 2019, in compliance with SB 901, SCE filed its wildfire mitigation plan for 2019. While SCE takes the position in its wildfire mitigation plan that substantial compliance with the plan, once approved, will demonstrate that SCE prudently operated its system and met the CPUC's prudent manager standard regarding wildfire risk mitigation, the CPUC may not agree with SCE's position. Pursuant to the requirements of SB 901, a Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery was formed in January 2019 to examine, among other things, the socialization of catastrophic wildfire costs in an equitable manner. SB901 also provides an opportunity for utilities to securitize costs that are deemed just and reasonable by the CPUC for wildfires that occur after January 1, 2019 and, to the extent costs exceed the maximum amount the utility can pay without harming ratepayers or materially impacting the utility's ability to provide adequate and safe services, for wildfires that occurred in 2017. Based on events and information available to date, SCE believes it is unlikely that it will seek to use this mechanism to securitize costs incurred in connection with the 2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events. Edison International and SCE continue to pursue legislative, regulatory and legal strategies to address the application of a strict liability standard to wildfire-related damages without the ability to recover resulting costs in electric rates. In April 2019, a strike force formed by California Governor Gavin Newsom released a report entitled Wildfires and Climate Change: California's Energy Future that sets forth, among other things, guiding principles for potential reform of California policies regarding wildfire liability. While this report recommended that the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery, the California legislature and the strike force continue working to develop a solution for consideration by the Governor and the legislature, Edison International and SCE cannot predict whether or when there will be a comprehensive solution mitigating the significant risk faced by California investor-owned utilities related to wildfires. In April 2019, in addition to other requested increases to its CPUC and FERC returns on common equity, SCE requested from both the CPUC and FERC an additional 6% return on common equity to compensate investors for current wildfire risk. SCE would seek to reduce or remove this additional return on common equity if there is a material reduction in its wildfire cost recovery risk due to regulatory or legislative reform. 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 March 31, 2019, SCE's recorded estimated minimum liability to remediate its 21 identified material sites (sites with a liability balance at March 31, 2019, in which the upper end of the range of the costs is at least $1 million) was $136 million, including $89 million related to San Onofre. In addition to these sites, SCE also has 15 immaterial sites with a liability balance as of March 31, 2019, for which the total minimum recorded liability was $4 million. Of the $140 million total environmental remediation liability for SCE, $135 million has been recorded as a regulatory asset. SCE expects to recover $43 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 $92 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 $138 million and $7 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 five years are expected to range from $7 million to $24 million. Costs incurred for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 were $2 million and $4 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 SCE is a member of NEIL, a mutual insurance company owned by entities with nuclear facilities. NEIL provides insurance for nuclear property damage, including damages caused by acts of terrorism up to specified limits, and for accidental outages for active facilities. The amount of nuclear property damage insurance purchased for San Onofre and Palo Verde exceeds the minimum federal requirement of $50 million and $1.06 billion, respectively. If NEIL 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. 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 $14.1 billion for Palo Verde and $560 million for San Onofre. SCE and other owners of San Onofre and Palo Verde have purchased the maximum private primary insurance available through a Facility Form issued by American Nuclear Insurers ("ANI"). SCE withdrew from participation in the secondary insurance pool for San Onofre for offsite liability insurance effective January 5, 2018. Based on its ownership interests in Palo Verde, SCE could be required to pay a maximum of approximately $65 million per nuclear incident for future incidents. However, it would have to pay no more than approximately $10 million per future incident in any one year. SCE could be required to pay a maximum of approximately $255 million per nuclear incident and a maximum of $38 million per year per incident for liabilities arising from events prior to January 5, 2018, although SCE is not aware of any such events. 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's 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 (SCE's share $124 million, which included reimbursement for approximately $2 million in legal and other costs), 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. In August 2018, the CPUC approved SCE's proposal to return the SCE share of the award to customers based on the amount that customers actually contributed for fuel storage costs; resulting in approximately $105.6 million of the SCE share being returned to customers and the remaining $16.6 million being returned to shareholders. Of the $105.6 million, $71.6 million was applied against the remaining San Onofre Regulatory Asset in accordance with the Revised San Onofre Settlement Agreement. The April 2016 settlement also provided for a claim submission/audit process for expenses incurred from 2014 – 2016, where SCE may 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 made 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's share was approximately $34 million). 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 $58 million. In May 2018, the DOE approved reimbursement of approximately $45 million (SCE's share was approximately $35 million) of SCE's 2016 damages, disallowing recovery of approximately $13 million. SCE accepted the DOE's determination, and the government paid the 2016 claim under the terms of the settlement. The damages awards are subject to CPUC review as to how the amounts will be refunded among customers, shareholders, or to offset other costs.

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

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2127136 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2144648 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration