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Variable Interest Entities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Schedule of Business Acquisitions, by Acquisition

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, Con Edison’s consolidated balance sheet included the following amounts associated with its VIEs:


	Tax Equity Projects
	Great Valley Solar (c)(d)		Copper Mountain - Mesquite Solar (c)(e)
(Millions of Dollars)	2020	2019	2020	2019
Non-utility property, less accumulated depreciation (f)(g)	284	293	446	461
Other assets	39	40	176	128
Total assets (a)	$323	$333	$622	$589
Other liabilities	13	17	71	18
Total liabilities (b)	$13	$17	$71	$18

(a)The assets of the Tax Equity Projects represent assets of a consolidated VIE that can be used only to settle obligations of the consolidated VIE.

(b)The liabilities of the Tax Equity Projects represent liabilities of a consolidated VIE for which creditors do not have recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary.

(c)Con Edison did not provide any financial or other support during the year that was not previously contractually required.

(d)Great Valley Solar consists of the Great Valley Solar 1, Great Valley Solar 2, Great Valley Solar 3 and Great Valley Solar 4 projects, for which the noncontrolling interest of the tax equity investor was $82 million and $62 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(e)Copper Mountain - Mesquite Solar consists of the Copper Mountain Solar 4, Mesquite Solar 2 and Mesquite Solar 3 projects for which the noncontrolling interest of the tax equity investor was $134 million and $126 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(f)Non-utility property is reduced by accumulated depreciation of $18 million for Great Valley Solar and $30 million for Copper Mountain - Mesquite Solar at December 31, 2020.

(g)Non-utility property is reduced by accumulated depreciation of $9 million for Great Valley Solar, $15 million for Copper Mountain - Mesquite Solar at December 31, 2019.

Summary of VIEs

The following table summarizes the VIEs into which the Clean Energy Businesses have entered as of December 31, 2020:


Project Name	Generating Capacity (a) (MW AC)	Power Purchase Agreement Term in Years	Year of Investment	Location	Maximum Exposure to Loss (Millions of Dollars) (b)
Great Valley Solar (c)	200	15-20	2018	California	$228
Copper Mountain - Mesquite Solar (c)	344	20-25	2018	Nevada and Arizona	417

(a)Represents ownership interest in the project.

(b)Maximum exposure is equal to the net assets of the project on the consolidated balance sheet less any applicable noncontrolling interest. Con Edison did not provide any financial or other support during the year that was not previously contractually required.

(c)For the projects comprising Great Valley Solar and Copper Mountain Mesquite Solar, refer to (d) and (e) in the table above.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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