Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

The changes in Dominion's and Dominion Gas' carrying amount and segment allocation of goodwill are presented below:



	Dominion Generation				Dominion Energy				DVP		Corporate and Other⁽¹⁾		Total
(millions)
Dominion
Balance at December 31, 2013⁽²⁾	$	1,454		⁽³⁾	$	706		⁽³⁾	$	926	$	—	$	3,086
Asset disposition adjustment	(32		)	⁽⁴⁾	(10		)	⁽⁵⁾	—		—		(42		)
Balance at December 31, 2014⁽²⁾	$	1,422		⁽³⁾	$	696		⁽³⁾	$	926	$	—	$	3,044
DCG acquisition	—				250				—		—		250
Balance at December 31, 2015⁽²⁾	$	1,422			$	946			$	926	$	—	$	3,294
Dominion Gas
Balance at December 31, 2013⁽²⁾	$	—			$	545			$	—	$	—	$	545
Asset disposition adjustment	—				(3		)	⁽⁵⁾	—		—		(3		)
Balance at December 31, 2014⁽²⁾	$	—			$	542			$	—	$	—	$	542
No events affecting goodwill	—				—				—		—		—
Balance at December 31, 2015⁽²⁾	$	—			$	542			$	—	$	—	$	542


(1)	Goodwill recorded at the Corporate and Other segment is allocated to the primary operating segments for goodwill impairment testing purposes.


(2)	Goodwill amounts do not contain any accumulated impairment losses.


(3)	Recast to reflect nonregulated retail energy marketing operations in the Dominion Energy segment.


(4)	See Note 3 for a discussion of Dominion's dispositions and related goodwill write-offs.


(5)	Related to assets sold or contributed to an affiliate or Blue Racer.

Other Intangible Assets

The Companies' other intangible assets are subject to amortization over their estimated useful lives. Dominion's amortization expense for intangible assets was $78 million, $71 million and $72 million for 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In 2015, Dominion acquired $78 million of intangible assets, primarily representing software, with an estimated weighted-average amortization period of approximately 8 years. Amortization expense for Virginia Power's intangible assets was $25 million, $24 million and $22 million for 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In 2015, Virginia Power acquired $34 million of intangible assets, primarily representing software, with an estimated weighted-average amortization period of 6 years. Dominion Gas' amortization expense for intangible assets was $18 million, $17 million and $16 million for 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In 2015, Dominion Gas acquired $24 million of intangible assets, primarily representing software, with an estimated weighted-average amortization period of approximately 14 years. The components of intangible assets are as follows:



At December 31,	2015				2014
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
(millions)
Dominion
Software, licenses and other	$	942	$	372	$	887	$	317
Total	$	942	$	372	$	887	$	317
Virginia Power
Software, licenses and other	$	301	$	88	$	286	$	81
Total	$	301	$	88	$	286	$	81
Dominion Gas
Software, licenses and other	$	211	$	128	$	192	$	113
Total	$	211	$	128	$	192	$	113

Annual amortization expense for these intangible assets is estimated to be as follows:



	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
(millions)
Dominion	$	79	$	68	$	57	$	47	$	35
Virginia Power	$	25	$	22	$	19	$	15	$	9
Dominion Gas	$	18	$	15	$	14	$	13	$	13

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

+ References + Details