Organization and Basis of Presentation (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Policy Text Block [Line Items]

Basis of Presentation

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Accordingly, these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all information and notes required by GAAP for annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Duke Energy Registrants’ combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The information in these combined notes relates to each of the Duke Energy Registrants as noted in the Index to Combined Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. However, none of the registrants make any representations as to information related solely to Duke Energy or the subsidiaries of Duke Energy other than itself.

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, in the opinion of the respective companies’ management, reflect all normal recurring adjustments necessary to fairly present the financial position and results of operations of each of the Duke Energy Registrants. Amounts reported in Duke Energy’s interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and each of the Subsidiary Registrants’ interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income are not necessarily indicative of amounts expected for the respective annual periods due to effects of seasonal temperature variations on energy consumption, regulatory rulings, timing of maintenance on electric generating units, changes in mark-to-market valuations, changing commodity prices and other factors.

In preparing financial statements that conform to GAAP, management must make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Basis of Consolidation and Noncontrolling Interest

BASIS OF CONSOLIDATION

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include, after eliminating intercompany transactions and balances, the accounts of the Duke Energy Registrants and subsidiaries or VIEs where the respective Duke Energy Registrants have control. See Note 11 for additional information on VIEs. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements also reflect the Duke Energy Registrants’ proportionate share of certain jointly owned generation and transmission facilities.

NONCONTROLLING INTEREST

Duke Energy maintains a controlling financial interest in certain less than wholly owned nonregulated subsidiaries. As a result, Duke Energy consolidates these subsidiaries and presents the third-party investors' portion of Duke Energy's net income (loss), net assets and comprehensive income (loss) as noncontrolling interest. Noncontrolling interest is included as a component of equity on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.

Several operating agreements of Duke Energy's subsidiaries with noncontrolling interest are subject to allocations of earnings, tax attributes and cash flows in accordance with contractual agreements that vary throughout the lives of the subsidiaries. Therefore, Duke Energy and the other investors' (the owners) interests in the subsidiaries are not fixed, and the subsidiaries apply the Hypothetical Liquidation at Book Value (HLBV) method in allocating income or loss and other comprehensive income or loss (all measured on a pretax basis) to the owners. The HLBV method measures the amounts that each owner would hypothetically claim at each balance sheet reporting date, including tax benefits realized by the owners over the IRS recapture period, upon a hypothetical liquidation of the subsidiary at the net book value of its underlying assets. The change in the amount that each owner would hypothetically receive at the reporting date compared to the amount it would have received on the previous reporting date represents the amount of income or loss allocated to each owner for the reporting period.

During September 2021, Duke Energy completed the initial minority interest investment in a portion of Duke Energy Indiana to an affiliate of GIC. GIC's ownership interest in Duke Energy Indiana represents a noncontrolling interest. See Note 2 for additional information on the sale.Other operating agreements of Duke Energy's subsidiaries with noncontrolling interest allocate profit and loss based on their pro rata shares of the ownership interest in the respective subsidiary. Therefore, Duke Energy allocates net income or loss and other comprehensive income or loss of these subsidiaries to the owners based on their pro rata shares.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASHDuke Energy, Progress Energy and Duke Energy Florida have restricted cash balances related primarily to collateral assets, escrow deposits and VIEs. See Notes 9 and 11 for additional information. Restricted cash amounts are included in Other within Current Assets and Other Noncurrent Assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

New Accounting Standards

NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

The following new accounting standard was adopted by the Duke Energy Registrants in 2021.

Leases with Variable Lease Payments. In July 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new accounting guidance requiring lessors to classify a lease with variable lease payments that do not depend on a reference index or rate as an operating lease if both of the following are met: (1) the lease would have to be classified as a sales-type or direct financing lease under prior guidance, and (2) the lessor would have recognized a day-one loss. Duke Energy elected to adopt the guidance immediately upon issuance of the new standard and will be applying the new standard prospectively to new lease arrangements meeting the criteria. Duke Energy does not currently have any lease arrangements that this new accounting guidance will materially impact.

The following accounting standard was adopted by the Duke Energy Registrants in 2020.

Current Expected Credit Losses. In June 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance for credit losses. Duke Energy adopted the new accounting guidance for credit losses effective January 1, 2020, using the modified retrospective method of adoption, which does not require restatement of prior year results. Duke Energy did not adopt any practical expedients.

Duke Energy recognizes allowances for credit losses based on management's estimate of losses expected to be incurred over the lives of certain assets or guarantees. Management monitors credit quality, changes in expected credit losses and the appropriateness of the allowance for credit losses on a forward-looking basis. Management reviews the risk of loss periodically as part of the existing assessment of collectability of receivables.

Duke Energy reviews the credit quality of its counterparties as part of its regular risk management process and requires credit enhancements, such as deposits or letters of credit, as appropriate and as allowed by regulators.

Duke Energy recorded cumulative effects of changes in accounting principles related to the adoption of the new credit loss standard for allowances for credit losses of trade and other receivables, insurance receivables and financial guarantees. These amounts are included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in Receivables, Receivables of VIEs, Other Noncurrent Assets and Other Noncurrent Liabilities. See Notes 4 and 12 for more information.

Duke Energy recorded an adjustment for the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle due to the adoption of this standard on January 1, 2020, as shown in the table below:

	January 1, 2020
			Duke				Duke		Duke
	Duke		Energy		Progress		Energy		Energy
(in millions)	Energy		Carolinas		Energy		Progress		Florida		Piedmont
Total pretax impact to Retained Earnings	$	120	$	16	$	2	$	1	$	1	$	1

The following new accounting standard has been issued but not yet adopted by the Duke Energy Registrants as of September 30, 2021.

Reference Rate Reform. In March 2020, the FASB issued new accounting guidance for reference rate reform. This guidance is elective and provides expedients to facilitate financial reporting for the anticipated transition away from the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other interbank reference rates by the end of 2022. The optional expedients are effective for modification of existing contracts or new arrangements executed between March 12, 2020, through December 31, 2022.

Duke Energy has variable-rate debt and manages interest rate risk by entering into financial contracts including interest rate swaps that are generally indexed to LIBOR. Impacted financial arrangements extending beyond 2022 may require contractual amendment or termination to fully adapt to a post-LIBOR environment. Duke Energy is assessing these financial arrangements and is evaluating the use of optional expedients outlined in the new accounting guidance. Alternative index provisions are also being assessed and incorporated into new financial arrangements that extend beyond 2022. The full outcome of the transition away from LIBOR cannot be determined at this time, but is not expected to have a material impact on the financial statements.

Environmental Costs

Liabilities are recorded when losses become probable and are reasonably estimable.Costs are typically expensed as Operation, maintenance and other on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations unless regulatory recovery of the costs is deemed probable.

Derivatives

Duke Energy’s interest rate swaps for its regulated operations employ regulatory accounting. With regulatory accounting, the mark-to-market gains or losses on the swaps are deferred as regulatory liabilities or regulatory assets, respectively. Regulatory assets and liabilities are amortized consistent with the treatment of the related costs in the ratemaking process. The accrual of interest on the swaps is recorded as Interest Expense on the Duke Energy Registrant's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

Cash Flow Hedges

For derivatives designated as hedging the exposure to variable cash flows of a future transaction, referred to as a cash flow hedge, the derivative's gain or loss is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income and subsequently reclassified into earnings once the future transaction impacts earnings. Gains and losses reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, and 2020, were not material. Duke Energy’s commodity derivatives designated as hedges include long-term electricity sales in the Commercial Renewables segment.

Undesignated Contracts

For the Subsidiary Registrants, bulk power electricity and natural gas purchases flow through fuel adjustment clauses, formula-based contracts or other cost-sharing mechanisms. Differences between the costs included in rates and the incurred costs, including undesignated derivative contracts, are largely deferred as regulatory assets or regulatory liabilities. Piedmont policies allow for the use of financial instruments to hedge commodity price risks. The strategy and objective of these hedging programs are to use the financial instruments to reduce natural gas costs volatility for customers.

Investments

As a result, the ability to hold investments in unrealized loss positions is outside the control of the Duke Energy Registrants. Accordingly, all unrealized losses associated with debt securities within the Investment Trusts are recognized immediately and deferred to regulatory accounts where appropriate.Unrealized gains and losses on all other AFS securities are included in other comprehensive income until realized, unless it is determined the carrying value of an investment has a credit loss. The Duke Energy Registrants analyze all investment holdings each reporting period to determine whether a decline in fair value is related to a credit loss. If a credit loss exists, the unrealized credit loss is included in earnings.

Revenue from Contract with Customer

Duke Energy earns substantially all of its revenues through its reportable segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables.

Earnings Per Share

Basic EPS is computed by dividing net income available to Duke Energy common stockholders, as adjusted for distributed and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities and accumulated preferred dividends, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS is computed by dividing net income available to Duke Energy common stockholders, as adjusted for distributed and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities and accumulated preferred dividends, by the diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other agreements to issue common stock, such as equity forward sale agreements, were exercised or settled. Duke Energy’s participating securities are restricted stock units that are entitled to dividends declared on Duke Energy common stock during the restricted stock unit’s vesting periods. Dividends declared on preferred stock are recorded on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as a reduction of net income to arrive at net income available to Duke Energy common stockholders. Dividends accumulated on preferred stock are an adjustment to net income used in the calculation of basic and diluted EPS.