Indexed Debt Securities (ZENS) and Securities Related to ZENS (CenterPoint Energy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Indexed Debt Securities [Abstract]

Indexed Debt Securities (ZENS) and Securities Related to ZENS (CenterPoint Energy) [Text Block]

Indexed Debt Securities (ZENS) and Securities Related to ZENS (CenterPoint Energy)

(a) Investment in Securities Related to ZENS

A subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy holds shares of certain securities detailed in the table below, which are classified as trading securities and are expected to be held to facilitate CenterPoint Energy’s ability to meet its obligation under the ZENS. Unrealized gains and losses resulting from changes in the market value of the ZENS-Related Securities are recorded in CenterPoint Energy’s Statements of Consolidated Income.

	Shares Held at December 31,
	2019	2018
AT&T Common	10,212,945	10,212,945
Charter Common	872,503	872,912

(b) ZENS

In September 1999, CenterPoint Energy issued ZENS having an original principal amount of $1.0 billion of which $828 million remained outstanding as of December 31, 2019. Each ZENS is exchangeable at the holder’s option at any time for an amount of cash equal to 95% of the market value of the reference shares attributable to such note. The number and identity of the reference shares attributable to each ZENS are adjusted for certain corporate events.

CenterPoint Energy’s reference shares for each ZENS consisted of the following:

	December 31,
	2019	2018
	(in shares)
AT&T Common	0.7185	0.7185
Charter Common	0.061382	0.061382

CenterPoint Energy pays interest on the ZENS at an annual rate of 2% plus the amount of any quarterly cash dividends paid in respect of the reference shares attributable to the ZENS. The principal amount of the ZENS is subject to increases or decreases to the extent that the annual yield from interest and cash dividends on the reference shares is less than or more than 2.309%. The adjusted principal amount is defined in the ZENS instrument as “contingent principal.” As of December 31, 2019, the ZENS, having an original principal amount of $828 million and a contingent principal amount of $75 million, were outstanding and were exchangeable, at the option of the holders, for cash equal to 95% of the market value of the reference shares attributable to the ZENS. As of December 31, 2019, the market value of such shares was approximately $822 million, which would provide an exchange amount of $944 for each $1,000 original principal amount of ZENS. At maturity of the ZENS in 2029, CenterPoint Energy will be obligated to pay in cash the higher of the contingent principal amount of the ZENS or an amount based on the then-current market value of the reference shares, which will include any additional publicly-traded securities distributed with respect to the current reference shares prior to maturity.

The ZENS obligation is bifurcated into a debt component and a derivative component (the holder’s option to receive the appreciated value of the reference shares at maturity). The bifurcated debt component accretes through interest charges annually up to the contingent principal amount of the ZENS in 2029. Such accretion will be reduced by annual cash interest payments, as described above. The derivative component is recorded at fair value and changes in the fair value of the derivative component are recorded in CenterPoint Energy’s Statements of Consolidated Income. Changes in the fair value of the ZENS-Related Securities held by CenterPoint Energy are expected to substantially offset changes in the fair value of the derivative component of the ZENS.

The following table sets forth summarized financial information regarding CenterPoint Energy’s investment in ZENS-Related Securities and each component of CenterPoint Energy’s ZENS obligation. 

	ZENS-Related Securities			Debt Component of ZENS			Derivative Component of ZENS
	(in millions)
Balance as of December 31, 2016	$	953		$	114		$	717
Accretion of debt component of ZENS	—			27			—
2% interest paid	—			(17		)	—
Distribution to ZENS holders	—			(2		)	—
Gain on indexed debt securities	—			—			(49		)
Gain on ZENS-Related Securities	7			—			—
Balance as of December 31, 2017	960			122			668
Accretion of debt component of ZENS	—			21			—
2% interest paid	—			(17		)	—
Sale of ZENS-Related Securities	(398		)	—			—
Distribution to ZENS holders	—			(102		)	(46		)
Gain on indexed debt securities	—			—			(21		)
Loss on ZENS-Related Securities	(22		)	—			—
Balance as of December 31, 2018	540			24			601
Accretion of debt component of ZENS	—			17			—
2% interest paid	—			(17		)	—
Distribution to ZENS holders	—			(5		)	—
Loss on indexed debt securities	—			—			292
Gain on ZENS-Related Securities	282			—			—
Balance as of December 31, 2019	$	822		$	19		$	893