Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(All Registrants)

The following accounting policy disclosures represent updates to Note 1 to each indicated Registrant's 2015 Form 10-K and should be read in conjunction with those disclosures.

Accounts Receivable (PPL and PPL Electric)

In accordance with a PUC-approved purchase of accounts receivable program, PPL Electric purchases certain accounts receivable from alternative electricity suppliers at a discount, which reflects a provision for uncollectible accounts. The alternative electricity suppliers have no continuing involvement or interest in the purchased accounts receivable. The purchased accounts receivable are initially recorded at fair value using a market approach based on the purchase price paid and are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, PPL Electric purchased $365 million and $1.0 billion of accounts receivable from unaffiliated third parties. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, PPL Electric purchased $361 million and $968 million of accounts receivable from unaffiliated third parties. PPL Electric's purchases from PPL EnergyPlus for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 were $146 million. As a result of the June 1, 2015 spinoff of PPL Energy Supply and creation of Talen Energy, PPL EnergyPlus (renamed Talen Energy Marketing) is no longer an affiliate of PPL Electric. PPL Electric's purchases from Talen Energy Marketing subsequent to May 31, 2015 are included as purchases from an unaffiliated third party.

Discount Rate Change for U.K. Pension Plans (PPL)

In selecting the discount rate for its U.K. pension plans, WPD historically used a single weighted-average discount rate in the calculation of net periodic defined benefit cost. WPD began using individual spot rates to measure service cost and interest cost for the calculation of net periodic defined benefit cost in 2016. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, this change in discount rate resulted in lower net periodic defined benefit costs recognized on PPL's Statements of Income of $10 million ($8 million after-tax or $0.01 per share) and $31 million ($25 million after-tax or $0.04 per share).

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions (PPL)

WPD's functional currency is the GBP, which is the local currency in the U.K. As such, assets and liabilities are translated to U.S. dollars at the exchange rates on the date of consolidation and related revenues and expenses are generally translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period included in PPL's results of operations. Adjustments resulting from foreign currency translation are recorded in AOCI.

Certain financial information provided for future periods in PPL’s 2015 Form 10-K is impacted by the decrease in the GBP to U.S. dollar exchange rate that occurred subsequent to the U.K.'s vote on June 23, 2016 to withdraw from the European Union.

New Accounting Guidance Adopted (All Registrants)

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

Effective January 1, 2016, the Registrants adopted accounting guidance to simplify the accounting for share-based payment transactions. The guidance requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recorded as income tax benefit or expense on the statement of income, eliminates the requirement that excess tax benefits be realized before companies can recognize them and changes the threshold for statutory income tax withholding requirements to qualify for equity classification to the maximum statutory tax rates in the applicable jurisdictions. This guidance also changes the classification of excess tax benefits to an operating activity and employee taxes paid when shares are withheld to satisfy the employer's statutory income tax withholding obligation to a financing activity on the statement of cash flows and allows entities to make a policy election to either estimate forfeitures or recognize them when they occur. The adoption of this guidance had the following impacts:

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Using the required prospective method of transition, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, PPL recorded tax benefits of $1 million and $12 million ($0.02 per share), and for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, PPL Electric recorded tax benefits of $7 million, related to excess tax benefits for awards that were exercised and vested for the periods ending September 30, 2016. These amounts were recorded to Income taxes on the Statements of Income and Deferred income taxes on the Balance Sheets. The impact on LKE was not significant.


•	PPL elected to use the prospective method of transition for classifying excess tax benefits as an Operating activity on the Statement of Cash Flows. The amounts classified as Financing activities in the prior periods were not significant.


•	Upon adoption, using the required modified retrospective method of transition, PPL recorded a cumulative effect adjustment of $7 million to increase Earnings reinvested and decrease Deferred income taxes on the Balance Sheet related to prior period unrecognized excess tax benefits.


•	PPL has historically presented employee taxes paid for net settled awards as a Financing activity on the Statement of Cash Flows. Therefore, there is no transition impact for this requirement.


•	PPL has elected to recognize forfeitures when they occur. Due to past experience of insignificant forfeitures, there is no transition impact of this policy election.