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Acquisitions and Dispositions Acquisitions and Dispositions
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Business Acquisition [Line Items]  
Acquisitions and Dispositions [Text Block]
ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS (Entergy Corporation)

Acquisitions

Palisades Purchase Power Agreement

As discussed in the Form 10-K, Entergy’s purchase of the Palisades plant in 2007 included a unit-contingent, 15-year purchased power agreement (PPA) with Consumers Energy for 100% of the plant’s output, excluding any future uprates. Prices under the PPA range from $43.50/MWh in 2007 to $61.50/MWh in 2022, and the average price under the PPA is $51/MWh. For the PPA, which was at below-market prices at the time of the acquisition, Entergy will amortize a liability to revenue over the life of the agreement. The amount that will be amortized each period is based upon the present value, calculated at the date of acquisition, of each year’s difference between revenue under the agreement and revenue based on estimated market prices.
In December 2016, Entergy announced that it had reached an agreement with Consumers Energy to amend the existing PPA to terminate early, on May 31, 2018, subject to regulatory approvals. Entergy updated the liability amortization calculation to reflect the expected early termination of the PPA. In September 2017, Entergy and Consumers Energy terminated the PPA amendment agreement, and Entergy announced the decision to continue to operate the plant through the end of the PPA. Based on that decision, the amounts to be amortized to revenue for the next five years will be approximately $2 million for the remainder of 2017, $6 million in 2018, $10 million in 2019, $11 million in 2020, and $12 million in 2021.

Dispositions

FitzPatrick

In March 2017 the NRC approved the sale of the FitzPatrick plant, an 838 MW nuclear power plant owned by Entergy in the Entergy Wholesale Commodities segment, to Exelon. The transaction closed in March 2017 for a purchase price of $110 million, including the $10 million non-refundable signing fee paid in August 2016, in addition to the assumption by Exelon of certain liabilities related to the FitzPatrick plant, resulting in a pre-tax gain on the sale of $16 million. At the transaction close, Exelon paid an additional $8 million for the proration of certain expenses prepaid by Entergy.

As discussed in Note 10 to the financial statements herein, as a result of the sale of FitzPatrick on March 31, 2017, Entergy re-determined the plant’s tax basis, resulting in a $44 million income tax benefit in the first quarter 2017.

The assets and liabilities associated with the sale of FitzPatrick to Exelon were classified as held for sale on Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries’ Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2016. The disposition-date fair value of the decommissioning trust fund was $805 million, classified within other deferred debits, and the disposition-date fair value of the asset retirement obligation was $727 million, classified within other non-current liabilities. The transaction also included property, plant, and equipment with a net book value of zero, materials and supplies, and prepaid assets.

As discussed in Note 14 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K, Entergy entered into a reimbursement agreement with Exelon pursuant to which Exelon reimbursed Entergy for specified out-of-pocket costs associated with Entergy’s operation of FitzPatrick. In the first quarter 2017, Entergy billed Exelon for reimbursement of $98 million of other operation and maintenance expenses, $7 million in lost operating revenues, and $3 million in taxes other than income taxes, partially offset by a $10 million defueling credit to Exelon.