Equity Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Investment in ATC [Text Block]

EQUITY INVESTMENTS

Investment in ATC. Our wholly-owned subsidiary, ALLETE Transmission Holdings, owns approximately 8 percent of ATC, a Wisconsin-based utility that owns and maintains electric transmission assets in portions of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. We account for our investment in ATC under the equity method of accounting. In the three months ended March 31, 2020, we invested $0.4 million in ATC, and on April 30, 2020, we invested an additional $0.8 million. We expect to make additional investments of $1.6 million in 2020.

ALLETE’s Investment in ATC
Millions
Equity Investment Balance as of December 31, 2019		$141.6
Cash Investments	0.4
Equity in ATC Earnings	5.2
Distributed ATC Earnings	(5.2		)
Amortization of the Remeasurement of Deferred Income Taxes	0.3
Equity Investment Balance as of March 31, 2020		$142.3

ATC’s authorized return on equity is 9.88 percent, or 10.38 percent including an incentive adder for participation in a regional transmission organization based on a November 2019 FERC order. (See Note 2. Regulatory Matters.)

Investment in Nobles 2. Our wholly-owned subsidiary, ALLETE South Wind, owns 49 percent of Nobles 2, the entity that will own and operate a 250 MW wind energy facility in southwestern Minnesota pursuant to a 20-year PPA with Minnesota Power. We account for our investment in Nobles 2 under the equity method of accounting. As of March 31, 2020, our equity investment in Nobles 2 was $83.4 million ($56.0 million at December 31, 2019). In the three months ended March 31, 2020, we invested $27.4 million in Nobles 2, and in April 2020 we invested an additional $21.7 million. We expect to make approximately $65 million in additional investments in 2020.