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New Accounting Pronouncements (Tables)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]  
Schedule of New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Table Text Block]
The following table provides an overview of recently adopted or issued accounting pronouncements applicable to all the Registrants, unless otherwise noted.
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
ASU Number and Name
 
Description
 
Date of Adoption
 
Financial Statement Impact
upon Adoption
ASU 2014-09- Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) and related amendments
 
This standard provides a comprehensive new revenue recognition model that requires revenue to be recognized in a manner that depicts the transfer of goods or services to a customer at an amount that reflects the consideration expected to be received in exchange for those goods or services.
Transition method: modified retrospective

 
January 1, 2018
 
Note 4 addresses the disclosure requirements. Adoption of the standard did not result in significant changes to revenue recognition. A substantial amount of the Registrants’ revenues are tariff and/or derivative based, which were not significantly impacted by these ASUs.
ASU 2017-05- Other Income-Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets
 
This standard clarifies when and how to apply ASC 610-20, which was issued as part of ASU 2014-09. It amends or supersedes the guidance in ASC 350 and ASC 360 on determining a gain or loss recognized upon the derecognition of nonfinancial assets.
Transition method: modified retrospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
ASU 2017-05 eliminates industry specific guidance, including ASC 360-20 Property, Plant, and Equipment - Real Estate Sales, for the recognition of gains or losses upon the sale of in-substance real estate. CenterPoint Energy and CERC elected to apply the practical expedient upon adoption to only evaluate transactions that were not determined to be complete as of the date of adoption. Subsequent to adoption, gains or losses on sales or dilution events in CenterPoint Energy’s or CERC’s investment in Enable may result in gains or losses recognized in earnings. See Note 9 for further discussion.
ASU 2016-01-Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

ASU 2018-03-Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities
 
This standard requires equity investments that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method to be measured at fair value and to recognize any changes in fair value in net income unless the investments qualify for the new practicability exception. It does not change the guidance for classifying and measuring investments in debt securities and loans. It also changes certain disclosure requirements and other aspects related to recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities.
Transition method: cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings, and two features prospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Registrants’ financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The Registrants elected the practicability exception for investments without a readily determinable fair value to be measured at cost. This includes the Series A Preferred Units in Enable, which were previously accounted for under the cost method. See Note 9 for further discussion.
ASU 2016-15- Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments
 
This standard provides clarifying guidance on the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows and eliminates the variation in practice related to such classifications.
Transition method: retrospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption did not have a material impact on the Registrants’ financial position, results of operations or disclosures. However, CenterPoint Energy’s and Houston Electric’s Condensed Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows reflect an increase in investing activities and a corresponding decrease in operating activities of $1 million and $3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, due to the requirement that cash proceeds from COLI policies be classified as cash inflows from investing activity.
ASU 2016-18- Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash
 
This standard requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents. As a result, the statement of cash flows will no longer present transfers between cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents. When cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents are presented in more than one line item on the balance sheet, the new guidance requires a reconciliation of the totals in the statement of cash flows to the related captions in the balance sheet.
Transition method: retrospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Registrants’ financial position, results of operations or disclosures. However, CenterPoint Energy’s and Houston Electric’s Condensed Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows are reconciled to cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, resulting in a decrease in investing activities of $2 million and an increase in investing activities of $8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards
ASU Number and Name
 
Description
 
Date of Adoption
 
Financial Statement Impact
upon Adoption
ASU 2017-01- Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business
 
This standard revises the definition of a business. If substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, then under ASU 2017-01, the asset or group of assets is not a business. The guidance also requires a business to include at least one substantive process and narrows the definition of outputs to be more closely aligned with how outputs are described in ASC 606.
Transition method: prospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this revised definition will reduce the number of transactions that are accounted for as a business combination, and therefore may have a potential impact on the Registrants’ accounting for future acquisitions.
ASU 2017-04- Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment
 
This standard eliminates Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which required a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.
Transition method: prospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this standard will have an impact on CenterPoint Energy’s and CERC’s future calculation of goodwill impairments if an impairment is identified.
ASU 2017-07- Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost
 
This standard requires an employer to report the service cost component of the net periodic pension cost and postretirement benefit cost in the same line item(s) as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period; all other components will be presented separately from the line item(s) that includes the service cost and outside of any subtotal of operating income. In addition, only the service cost component will be eligible for capitalization in assets.
Transition method: retrospective for the presentation of the service cost component and other components; prospective for the capitalization of the service cost component
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Registrants’ financial position, results of operations, cash flows or disclosures; however, it resulted in the increases to operating income and corresponding decreases to other income reported in the table below. Other components previously capitalized in assets will be recorded as regulatory assets in the Registrants’ rate-regulated businesses, prospectively.
ASU 2017-09- Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting
 
This standard clarifies when changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award must be accounted for as a modification. Entities will apply the modification accounting guidance if the value, vesting conditions or classification of the award changes.
Transition method: prospective
 
January 1, 2018
 
The adoption of this standard will have an impact on CenterPoint Energy’s accounting for future changes to share-based payment awards.

The table below reflects the impact of adoption of ASU 2017-07:
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
2018
 
2017
 
CenterPoint Energy
 
Houston Electric
 
CERC
 
CenterPoint Energy
 
Houston Electric
 
CERC
 
(in millions)
Increase to operating income
$
15

 
$
8

 
$
4

 
$
17

 
$
7

 
$
6

Decrease to other income
15

 
8

 
4

 
17

 
7

 
6

 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2018
 
2017
 
CenterPoint Energy
 
Houston Electric
 
CERC
 
CenterPoint Energy
 
Houston Electric
 
CERC
 
(in millions)
Increase to operating income
$
29

 
$
15

 
$
8

 
$
34

 
$
15

 
$
11

Decrease to other income
29

 
15

 
8

 
34

 
15

 
11


Issued, Not Yet Effective Accounting Standards
ASU Number and Name
 
Description
 
Date of Adoption
 
Financial Statement Impact
upon Adoption
ASU 2016-02- Leases (Topic 842) and related amendments



ASU 2018-01- Leases (Topic 842) Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842
 
ASU 2016-02 provides a comprehensive new lease model that requires lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for most leases and would change certain aspects of lessor accounting.
Transition method: modified retrospective

ASU 2018-01 allows entities to elect not to assess whether existing land easements that were not previously accounted for in accordance with ASC 840 Leases under ASC 842 Leases when transitioning to the new leasing standard.
 
January 1, 2019 Early adoption is permitted
 
The Registrants will elect the practical expedient on existing easements provided by ASU 2018-01 and are evaluating other available transitional practical expedients. The Registrants are in the process of reviewing contracts to identify leases as defined in ASU 2016-02 and expect to recognize on the statements of financial position right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for the majority of their respective leases that are currently classified as operating leases. The Registrants are continuing to assess the impact that adoption of these standards will have on their financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures.
ASU 2017-12- Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities
 
This standard expands an entity’s ability to hedge nonfinancial and financial risk components and reduce complexity in fair value hedges of interest rate risk. The guidance eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness, eases certain documentation and assessment requirements and updates the presentation and disclosure requirements.
Transition method: cumulative-effect adjustment for elimination of the separate measurement of ineffectiveness; prospective for presentation and disclosure
 
January 1, 2019 Early adoption is permitted
 
The Registrants are currently assessing the impact that adoption of this standard will have on their financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures.
ASU 2018-02-Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
 
This standard allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the TCJA and requires entities to provide certain disclosures regarding stranded tax effects.
Transition method: either in the period of adoption or retrospective
 
January 1, 2019
Early adoption is permitted
 
The adoption of this standard will allow the Registrants to reclass stranded deferred tax adjustments primarily related to benefit plans from other comprehensive income to retained earnings. The Registrants are currently assessing the impact that adoption of this standard will have on their financial position and disclosures.