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GENERAL INFORMATION AND OTHER FINANCIAL DATA (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Principles of Consolidation
PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION
Sempra
Effective May 12, 2023, our company changed its legal name from Sempra Energy to Sempra. Sempra’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Sempra, a California-based holding company, and its consolidated entities. We have four separate reportable segments, which we discuss in Note 11. All references in these Notes to our reportable segments are not intended to refer to any legal entity with the same or similar name.
SDG&E
SDG&E’s common stock is wholly owned by Enova Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra.
SoCalGas
SoCalGas’ common stock is wholly owned by Pacific Enterprises, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra.
Basis of Presentation
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
This is a combined report of Sempra, SDG&E and SoCalGas. We provide separate information for SDG&E and SoCalGas as required. We have eliminated intercompany accounts and transactions within Sempra’s consolidated financial statements.
We have prepared our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP and in accordance with the interim period reporting requirements of Form 10-Q and applicable rules of the SEC. The financial statements reflect all adjustments that are necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. These adjustments are only of a normal, recurring nature. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year or for any other period. We evaluated events and transactions that occurred after September 30, 2023 through the date the financial statements were issued and, in the opinion of management, the accompanying statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation.
All December 31, 2022 balance sheet information in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements has been derived from our audited 2022 Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the interim period reporting provisions of U.S. GAAP and the SEC.
We describe our significant accounting policies in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report and the impact of the adoption of new accounting standards on those policies in Note 2 below. We follow the same accounting policies for interim period reporting purposes.
The information contained in this report should be read in conjunction with the Annual Report.
Regulated Operations
Regulated Operations
SDG&E, SoCalGas and Sempra Infrastructure’s natural gas distribution utility, Ecogas, prepare their financial statements in accordance with the provisions of U.S. GAAP governing rate-regulated operations. We discuss revenue recognition and the effects of regulation at our utilities in Notes 3 and 4 below and in Notes 1, 3 and 4 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report.
Our Sempra Texas Utilities segment is comprised of our equity method investments in holding companies that own interests in regulated electric transmission and distribution utilities in Texas.
Certain business activities at Sempra Infrastructure are regulated by the CRE and the FERC and meet the regulatory accounting requirements of U.S. GAAP. Pipeline projects currently under construction that meet the regulatory accounting requirements of U.S. GAAP record the impact of AFUDC related to equity. We discuss AFUDC below and in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Annual Report.
Credit Losses
We are exposed to credit losses from financial assets measured at amortized cost, including trade and other accounts receivable, amounts due from unconsolidated affiliates, our net investment in sales-type leases and a note receivable. We are also exposed to credit losses from off-balance sheet arrangements through Sempra’s guarantee related to Cameron LNG JV’s SDSRA, which we discuss in Note 5.
We regularly monitor and evaluate credit losses and record allowances for expected credit losses, if necessary, for trade and other accounts receivable using a combination of factors, including past-due status based on contractual terms, trends in write-offs, the age of the receivables and customer payment patterns, historical and industry trends, counterparty creditworthiness, economic conditions and specific events, such as bankruptcies, pandemics and other factors. We write off financial assets measured at amortized cost in the period in which we determine they are not recoverable. We record recoveries of amounts previously written off when it is known that they will be recovered.
Variable Interest Entity
VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES
We consolidate a VIE if we are the primary beneficiary of the VIE. Our determination of whether we are the primary beneficiary is based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, which assess:
the purpose and design of the VIE;
the nature of the VIE’s risks and the risks we absorb;
the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE; and
the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could be significant to the VIE.
We will continue to evaluate our VIEs for any changes that may impact our determination of whether an entity is a VIE and if we are the primary beneficiary.
Earnings Per Share Basic EPS is calculated by dividing earnings attributable to common shares by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS includes the potential dilution of common stock equivalent shares that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock.The potentially dilutive impact from stock options and RSUs is calculated under the treasury stock method. Under this method, proceeds based on the exercise price and unearned compensation are assumed to be used to repurchase shares on the open market at the average market price for the period, reducing the number of potential new shares to be issued and sometimes causing an antidilutive effect.
Interim Period Effective Tax Rate Sempra, SDG&E and SoCalGas record income taxes for interim periods utilizing a forecasted ETR anticipated for the full year. Unusual and infrequent items and items that cannot be reliably estimated are recorded in the interim period in which they occur, which can result in variability in the ETR.
Flow-Through Rate-Making Treatment Tax
For SDG&E and SoCalGas, the CPUC requires flow-through rate-making treatment for the current income tax benefit or expense arising from certain property-related and other temporary differences between the treatment for financial reporting and income tax, which will reverse over time. Under the regulatory accounting treatment required for these flow-through temporary differences, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are not recorded to deferred income tax expense, but rather to a regulatory asset or liability, which impacts the ETR. As a result, changes in the relative size of these items compared to pretax income, from period to period, can cause variations in the ETR. The following items are subject to flow-through treatment:
repairs expenditures related to a certain portion of utility plant fixed assets
the equity portion of AFUDC, which is non-taxable
a portion of the cost of removal of utility plant assets
utility self-developed software expenditures
depreciation on a certain portion of utility plant assets
state income taxes
AFUDC related to equity recorded for regulated construction projects at Sempra Infrastructure has similar flow-through treatment.
Under the IRA, beginning in 2023, the scope of projects eligible for investment tax credits was expanded to include standalone energy storage projects. The IRA also provided an election that prospectively permits investment tax credits related to standalone energy storage projects to be returned to utility customers over a period that is shorter than the life of the applicable asset. Under this election, SDG&E recorded a regulatory liability to offset these investment tax credits, which reduced SDG&E’s and Sempra’s ETR in 2023.
In April 2023, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2023-15, which provides a safe harbor method of accounting for gas repairs expenditures. As a result of this Revenue Procedure, SoCalGas updated its assessment of prior years’ unrecognized income tax benefits and, in the nine months ended September 30, 2023, recorded an income tax benefit of $43 million for previously unrecognized income tax benefits pertaining to gas repairs expenditures. SoCalGas recorded an associated regulatory liability for the portion that will benefit customers in the future. We are assessing the potential future impacts of this Revenue Procedure.In the nine months ended September 30, 2022, we recognized income tax expense of $120 million for a deferred income tax liability related to outside basis differences in our foreign subsidiaries that we had previously considered to be indefinitely reinvested.
Derivative Financial Instruments
HEDGE ACCOUNTING
We may designate a derivative as a cash flow hedging instrument if it effectively converts anticipated cash flows associated with revenues or expenses to a fixed dollar amount. We may utilize cash flow hedge accounting for derivative commodity instruments, foreign currency instruments and interest rate instruments. Designating cash flow hedges is dependent on the business context in which the instrument is being used, the effectiveness of the instrument in offsetting the risk of variability of future cash flows of a given revenue or expense item, and other criteria.
ENERGY DERIVATIVES
Our market risk is primarily related to natural gas and electricity price volatility and the specific physical locations where we transact. We use energy derivatives to manage these risks. The use of energy derivatives in our various businesses depends on the particular energy market, and the operating and regulatory environments applicable to the business, as follows:
SDG&E and SoCalGas use natural gas derivatives and SDG&E uses electricity derivatives, for the benefit of customers, with the objective of managing price risk and basis risk, and stabilizing and lowering natural gas and electricity costs. These derivatives include fixed-price natural gas and electricity positions, options, and basis risk instruments, which are either exchange-traded or over-the-counter financial instruments, or bilateral physical transactions. This activity is governed by risk management and transacting activity plans limited by company policy. SDG&E’s risk management and transacting activity plans for electricity derivatives are also required to be filed with, and have been approved by, the CPUC. SoCalGas is also subject to certain regulatory requirements and thresholds related to natural gas procurement under the GCIM. Natural gas and electricity derivative activities are recorded as commodity costs that are offset by regulatory account balances and are recovered
in rates. Net commodity cost impacts on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations are reflected in Cost of Natural Gas or in Cost of Electric Fuel and Purchased Power.
SDG&E is allocated and may purchase CRRs, which serve to reduce the regional electricity price volatility risk that may result from local transmission capacity constraints. Unrealized gains and losses do not impact earnings, as they are offset by regulatory account balances. Realized gains and losses associated with CRRs, which are recoverable in rates, are recorded in Cost of Electric Fuel and Purchased Power on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Sempra Infrastructure may use natural gas and electricity derivatives, as appropriate, in an effort to optimize the earnings of its assets which support the following businesses: LNG, natural gas pipelines and storage, and power generation. Gains and losses associated with undesignated derivatives are recognized in Energy-Related Businesses Revenues on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
From time to time, our various businesses, including SDG&E and SoCalGas, may use other derivatives to hedge exposures such as GHG allowances.
INTEREST RATE DERIVATIVES
We are exposed to interest rates primarily as a result of our current and expected use of financing. SDG&E and SoCalGas, as well as Sempra and its other subsidiaries and JVs, periodically enter into interest rate derivative agreements intended to moderate our exposure to interest rates and to lower our overall costs of borrowing. In addition, we may utilize interest rate swaps, typically designated as cash flow hedges, to lock in interest rates on outstanding debt or in anticipation of future financings.
In December 2022, Sempra Infrastructure entered into an undesignated contingent interest rate swap to lock in interest rates on up to $3.5 billion of the variable rate indebtedness from anticipated future project-level debt financing that would be used to pay for construction costs of the PA LNG Phase 1 project. The contingent interest rate swap had a 25-year tenor, and its settlement was conditional upon the closing of project-level debt financing with respect to the PA LNG Phase 1 project. In March 2023, we closed on the project-level debt financing and, shortly thereafter, paid $14 million to cash settle the contingent interest rate swap.
As we discuss in Note 6, a minimum of 60% of the projected amount of term loans outstanding is required to be hedged under the Port Arthur LNG term loan facility agreement. In March 2023, Port Arthur LNG entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swaps with 17 counterparties to hedge the variability in cash flows related to the SOFR-based component of interest payments on forecasted loans outstanding under the agreement. The notional amounts of the interest rate swaps generally increase in proportion to the forecasted borrowings up to a maximum amount of $4.2 billion prior to the maturity of the term loans on March 20, 2030. Under the interest rate swaps, which are designated as cash flow hedges, Port Arthur LNG receives interest at Term SOFR and pays interest at a fixed rate of 3.23% based on amortizing notional amounts maturing in 2048.
FOREIGN CURRENCY DERIVATIVES
We may utilize cross-currency swaps to hedge exposure related to Mexican peso-denominated debt at our Mexican subsidiaries and JVs. These cash flow hedges exchange our Mexican peso-denominated principal and interest payments into the U.S. dollar and swap Mexican fixed interest rates for U.S. fixed interest rates. From time to time, Sempra Infrastructure and its JVs may use other foreign currency derivatives to hedge exposures related to cash flows associated with revenues from contracts denominated in Mexican pesos that are indexed to the U.S. dollar.
We are also exposed to exchange rate movements at our Mexican subsidiaries and JVs, which have U.S. dollar-denominated cash balances, receivables, payables and debt (monetary assets and liabilities) that give rise to Mexican currency exchange rate movements for Mexican income tax purposes. They also have deferred income tax assets and liabilities denominated in the Mexican peso, which must be translated to U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. In addition, monetary assets and liabilities and certain nonmonetary assets and liabilities are adjusted for Mexican inflation for Mexican income tax purposes. We may utilize foreign currency derivatives as a means to manage the risk of exposure to significant fluctuations in our income tax expense and equity earnings from these impacts; however, we generally do not hedge our deferred income tax assets and liabilities or for inflation.
CREDIT RISK RELATED CONTINGENT FEATURES
For Sempra, SDG&E and SoCalGas, certain of our derivative instruments contain credit limits which vary depending on our credit ratings. Generally, these provisions, if applicable, may reduce our credit limit if a specified credit rating agency reduces our ratings. In certain cases, if our credit ratings were to fall below investment grade, the counterparty to these derivative liability instruments could request immediate payment or demand immediate and ongoing full collateralization.
For Sempra, SDG&E and SoCalGas, some of our derivative contracts contain a provision that would permit the counterparty, in certain circumstances, to request adequate assurance of our performance under the contracts. Such additional assurance, if needed, is not material and is not included in the amounts above.
Fair Value Measurement We have not changed the valuation techniques or types of inputs we use to measure recurring fair value since December 31, 2022.
The fair value of commodity derivative assets and liabilities is presented in accordance with our netting policy, as we discuss in Note 7 under “Financial Statement Presentation.”
The determination of fair values, shown in the tables below, incorporates various factors, including but not limited to, the credit standing of the counterparties involved and the impact of credit enhancements (such as cash deposits, letters of credit and priority interests).
Our financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis in the tables below include the following:
Nuclear decommissioning trusts reflect the assets of SDG&E’s NDT, excluding accounts receivable and accounts payable. A third-party trustee values the trust assets using prices from a pricing service based on a market approach. We validate these prices by comparison to prices from other independent data sources. Securities are valued using quoted prices listed on nationally recognized securities exchanges or based on closing prices reported in the active market in which the identical security is traded (Level 1). Other securities are valued based on yields that are currently available for comparable securities of issuers with similar credit ratings (Level 2).
For commodity contracts, interest rate instruments and foreign exchange instruments, we primarily use a market or income approach with market participant assumptions to value these derivatives. Market participant assumptions include those about risk, and the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation techniques. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated, or generally unobservable. We have exchange-traded derivatives that are valued based on quoted prices in active markets for the identical instruments (Level 1). We also may have other commodity derivatives that are valued using industry standard models that consider quoted forward prices for commodities, time value, current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments, volatility factors, and other relevant economic measures (Level 2). Level 3 recurring items relate to CRRs and long-term, fixed-price electricity positions at SDG&E, as we discuss below in “Level 3 Information – SDG&E.”
Rabbi Trust investments include short-term investments that consist of money market and mutual funds that we value using a market approach based on closing prices reported in the active market in which the identical security is traded (Level 1).
As we discuss in Note 5, in July 2020, Sempra entered into a Support Agreement for the benefit of CFIN. We measure the Support Agreement, which includes a guarantee obligation, a put option and a call option, net of related guarantee fees, at fair value on a recurring basis. We use a discounted cash flow model to value the Support Agreement, net of related guarantee fees. Because some of the inputs that are significant to the valuation are less observable, the Support Agreement is classified as Level 3, as we describe below in “Level 3 Information – Sempra Infrastructure.”
CRRs are recorded at fair value based almost entirely on the most current auction prices published by the California ISO, an objective source. Annual auction prices are published once a year, typically in the middle of November, and are the basis for valuing CRRs settling in the following yearRealized gains and losses associated with CRRs and long-term, fixed-price electricity positions, which are recoverable in rates, are recorded in Cost of Electric Fuel and Purchased Power on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Because unrealized gains and losses are recorded as regulatory assets and liabilities, they do not affect earnings.Fair Value of Financial InstrumentsThe fair values of certain of our financial instruments (cash, accounts receivable, amounts due to/from unconsolidated affiliates with original maturities of less than 90 days, dividends and accounts payable, short-term debt and customer deposits) approximate their carrying amounts because of the short-term nature of these instruments. Investments in life insurance contracts that we hold in support of our Supplemental Executive Retirement, Cash Balance Restoration and Deferred Compensation Plans are carried at cash surrender values, which represent the amount of cash that could be realized under the contracts.
Gains and Losses on NDTs Net unrealized gains and losses, as well as realized gains and losses that are reinvested in the NDT, are included in noncurrent Regulatory Liabilities on Sempra’s and SDG&E’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We determine the cost of securities in the trusts on the basis of specific identification.
Legal Proceedings
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We accrue losses for a legal proceeding when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. However, the uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings make it difficult to reasonably estimate the costs and effects of resolving these matters. Accordingly, actual costs incurred may differ materially from amounts accrued, may exceed, and in some cases have exceeded, applicable insurance coverage and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and/or prospects. Unless otherwise indicated, we are unable to reasonably estimate possible losses or a range of losses in excess of any amounts accrued.
Segment Information
We have four separately managed reportable segments, as follows:
SDG&E provides electric service to San Diego and southern Orange counties and natural gas service to San Diego County.
SoCalGas is a natural gas distribution utility, serving customers throughout most of Southern California and part of central California.
Sempra Texas Utilities holds our investment in Oncor Holdings, which owns an 80.25% interest in Oncor, a regulated electricity transmission and distribution utility serving customers in the north-central, eastern, western and panhandle regions of Texas; and our indirect, 50% interest in Sharyland Holdings L.P., which owns Sharyland Utilities, L.L.C., a regulated electric transmission utility serving customers near the Texas-Mexico border.
Sempra Infrastructure includes the operating companies of our subsidiary, SI Partners, as well as a holding company and certain services companies. Sempra Infrastructure develops, builds, operates and invests in energy infrastructure to help enable the energy transition in North American markets and globally.
We evaluate each segment’s performance based on its contribution to Sempra’s reported earnings and cash flows. SDG&E and SoCalGas operate in essentially separate service territories, under separate regulatory frameworks and rate structures set by the CPUC and, in the case of SDG&E, the FERC.
The cost of common services shared by the business segments is assigned directly or allocated based on various cost factors, depending on the nature of the service provided. Interest income and expense is recorded on intercompany loans. The loan balances and related interest are eliminated in consolidation.