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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments – NEE and its subsidiaries have made commitments in connection with a portion of their projected capital expenditures. Capital expenditures at FPL include, among other things, the cost for construction of additional facilities and equipment to meet customer demand, as well as capital improvements to and maintenance of existing facilities. At NEER, capital expenditures include, among other things, the cost, including capitalized interest, for development, construction and maintenance of its competitive energy businesses. Also see Note 3 – Contingent Consideration.

At September 30, 2023, estimated capital expenditures, on an accrual basis, for the remainder of 2023 through 2027 were as follows:

 Remainder of 20232024202520262027Total
 (millions)
FPL:
Generation:(a)
New(b)
$645 $2,390 $2,750 $3,665 $3,195 $12,645 
Existing3901,3501,0251,3301,4655,560 
Transmission and distribution(c)
7903,4103,4153,1603,41514,190 
Nuclear fuel1151452002953001,055 
General and other2555105904655852,405 
Total$2,195 $7,805 $7,980 $8,915 $8,960 $35,855 
NEER:(d)
      
Wind(e)
$1,355 $2,135 $535 $85 $95 $4,205 
Solar(f)
1,225 2,225 1,210 10 4,675 
Other clean energy(g)
605 730 390 70 70 1,865 
Nuclear, including nuclear fuel
85 265 245 210 295 1,100 
Rate-regulated transmission(h)
230 700 1,180 835 20 2,965 
Other(i)
500 625 205 220 245 1,795 
Total$4,000 $6,680 $3,765 $1,430 $730 $16,605 
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(a)Includes AFUDC of approximately $40 million, $110 million, $75 million, $120 million and $115 million for the remainder of 2023 through 2027, respectively.
(b)Includes land, generation structures, transmission interconnection and integration and licensing.
(c)Includes AFUDC of approximately $15 million, $50 million, $50 million, $30 million and $30 million for the remainder of 2023 through 2027, respectively.
(d)Represents capital expenditures for which applicable internal approvals and also, if required, regulatory approvals have been received.
(e)Consists of capital expenditures for new wind projects and repowering of existing wind projects totaling approximately 3,730 MW, and related transmission.
(f)Includes capital expenditures for new solar projects (including solar plus battery storage projects) totaling approximately 6,565 MW and related transmission.
(g)Includes capital expenditures primarily for battery storage projects and renewable fuels projects.
(h)Includes AFUDC of approximately $5 million, $30 million, $90 million, $125 million and $5 million for the remainder of 2023 through 2027, respectively.
(i)Includes equity contributions in 2023 and 2024 for the construction of Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The above estimates are subject to continuing review and adjustment and actual capital expenditures may vary significantly from these estimates.

In addition to guarantees noted in Note 6 with regards to NEP, NEECH has guaranteed or provided indemnifications or letters of credit related to third parties, including certain obligations of investments in joint ventures accounted for under the equity method, totaling approximately $482 million at September 30, 2023. These obligations primarily related to guaranteeing the residual value of certain financing leases. Payment guarantees and related contracts with respect to unconsolidated entities for which NEE or one of its subsidiaries are the guarantor are recorded at fair value and are included in noncurrent other liabilities on NEE’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. Management believes that the exposure associated with these guarantees is not material.

Contracts – In addition to the commitments made in connection with the estimated capital expenditures included in the table in Commitments above, FPL has firm commitments under long-term contracts primarily for the transportation of natural gas with expiration dates through 2042.

At September 30, 2023, NEER has entered into contracts with expiration dates through 2033 primarily for the purchase of wind turbines, wind towers and solar modules and related construction and development activities, as well as for the supply of
uranium, and the conversion, enrichment and fabrication of nuclear fuel. Approximately $5.3 billion of related commitments are included in the estimated capital expenditures table in Commitments above. In addition, NEER has contracts primarily for the transportation and storage of natural gas with expiration dates through 2044.

The required capacity and/or minimum payments under contracts, including those discussed above, at September 30, 2023 were estimated as follows:
Remainder of 20232024202520262027Thereafter
(millions)
FPL(a)
$275 $1,070 $1,075 $1,075 $970 $8,565 
NEER(b)(c)(d)
$2,505 $3,260 $285 $165 $150 $1,690 
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(a)Includes approximately $105 million, $410 million, $405 million, $400 million, $400 million and $5,560 million for the remainder of 2023 through 2027 and thereafter, respectively, of firm commitments related to the natural gas transportation agreements with Sabal Trail and Florida Southeast Connection. The charges associated with these agreements are recoverable through the fuel clause. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, the charges associated with these agreements totaled approximately $104 million and $314 million, respectively, of which $25 million and $74 million, respectively, were eliminated in consolidation at NEE. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, the charges associated with these agreements totaled approximately $104 million and $314 million, respectively, of which $26 million and $77 million, respectively, were eliminated in consolidation at NEE.
(b)Includes equity contributions in 2023 and 2024 and a 20-year natural gas transportation agreement (approximately $70 million per year) with Mountain Valley Pipeline, a joint venture in which NEER has a 32.2% equity investment, that is constructing a natural gas pipeline. The transportation agreement commitments are subject to the completion of construction.
(c)Includes approximately $235 million of commitments to invest in technology and other investments through 2031. See Note 7 – Other.
(d)Includes approximately $565 million, $1,385 million, $5 million, $5 million, $0 million and $0 million for the remainder of 2023 through 2027 and thereafter, respectively, of joint obligations of NEECH and NEER.

Insurance – Liability for accidents at nuclear power plants is governed by the Price-Anderson Act, which limits the liability of nuclear reactor owners to the amount of insurance available from both private sources and an industry retrospective payment plan. In accordance with this Act, NEE maintains $450 million of private liability insurance per site, which is the maximum obtainable, except at Duane Arnold which obtained an exemption from the NRC and maintains a $100 million private liability insurance limit. Each site, except Duane Arnold, participates in a secondary financial protection system, which provides up to $16.1 billion of liability insurance coverage per incident at any nuclear reactor in the U.S. Under the secondary financial protection system, NEE is subject to retrospective assessments of up to $1,161 million ($664 million for FPL), plus any applicable taxes, per incident at any nuclear reactor in the U.S., payable at a rate not to exceed $173 million ($99 million for FPL) per incident per year. NextEra Energy Resources and FPL are contractually entitled to recover a proportionate share of such assessments from the owners of minority interests in Seabrook and St. Lucie Unit No. 2, which approximates $20 million and $25 million, plus any applicable taxes, per incident, respectively.

NEE participates in a nuclear insurance mutual company that provides $2.75 billion of limited insurance coverage per occurrence per site for property damage, decontamination and premature decommissioning risks at its nuclear plants and a sublimit of $1.5 billion for non-nuclear perils, except for Duane Arnold which has a limit of $50 million for property damage, decontamination risks and non-nuclear perils. NEE participates in co-insurance of 10% of the first $400 million of losses per site per occurrence, except at Duane Arnold. The proceeds from such insurance, however, must first be used for reactor stabilization and site decontamination before they can be used for plant repair. NEE also participates in an insurance program that provides limited coverage for replacement power costs if a nuclear plant is out of service for an extended period of time because of an accident. In the event of an accident at one of NEE's or another participating insured's nuclear plants, NEE could be assessed up to $163 million ($104 million for FPL), plus any applicable taxes, in retrospective premiums in a policy year. NextEra Energy Resources and FPL are contractually entitled to recover a proportionate share of such assessments from the owners of minority interests in Seabrook, Duane Arnold and St. Lucie Unit No. 2, which approximates $2 million, $2 million and $4 million, plus any applicable taxes, respectively.

Due to the high cost and limited coverage available from third-party insurers, NEE does not have property insurance coverage for a substantial portion of either its transmission and distribution property or natural gas pipeline assets. If FPL's storm restoration costs exceed the storm reserve, such storm restoration costs may be recovered, subject to prudence review by the FPSC, through surcharges approved by the FPSC or through securitization provisions pursuant to Florida law.

In the event of a loss, the amount of insurance available might not be adequate to cover property damage and other expenses incurred. Uninsured losses and other expenses, to the extent not recovered from customers in the case of FPL, would be borne by NEE and FPL and could have a material adverse effect on NEE's and FPL's financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
Legal Proceedings – FPL is the defendant in a purported class action lawsuit filed in February 2018 that seeks from FPL unspecified damages for alleged breach of contract and gross negligence based on service interruptions that occurred as a result of Hurricane Irma in 2017. There is currently no trial date set. The Miami-Dade County Circuit Court certified the case as a class action and FPL's appeal of that decision was denied by Florida's Third District Court of Appeal (3rd DCA) in March 2023. The certified class encompasses all persons and business owners who reside in and are otherwise citizens of the state of Florida that contracted with FPL for electrical services, were charged storm charges, experienced a power outage after Hurricane Irma and suffered consequential damages because of FPL’s alleged breach of contract or gross negligence. FPL filed a motion on March 31, 2023, for rehearing with the 3rd DCA claiming that the opinion upholding the class certification contains several errors that should be reheard by the full 3rd DCA. The motion is pending. Additionally, in July 2023, FPL filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that, among other things, it believes the FPSC has exclusive jurisdiction over any issues arising from a utility's preparation for and response to emergencies or disasters. FPL is vigorously defending against the claims in this proceeding.

NEE, along with certain current and former executives, are the named defendants in a purported shareholder securities class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in June 2023 that seeks from the defendants unspecified damages allegedly resulting from alleged lack of disclosures and misstatements regarding NEE's legal and reputational risk related to campaign finance allegations and other political activities. The alleged class of plaintiffs are all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired NEE securities between December 2, 2021 and February 1, 2023. NEE is vigorously defending against the claims in this proceeding.

NEE, along with certain current and former executives and directors are the named defendants in purported shareholder derivative action lawsuits filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida in July 2023 and in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in October 2023 that seek from the defendants unspecified damages allegedly resulting from, among other things, breaches of fiduciary duties and, in the latter case, violations of the federal securities laws, all purporting to relate to alleged campaign finance law violations and associated matters. NEE is vigorously defending against the claims in these proceedings. NEE also has received demand letters and books and records requests from counsel representing other purported shareholders and containing similar allegations. These demands seek, among other things, a Board of Directors investigation of, and/or documentation regarding, these allegations. NEE and one of the shareholders demanding an investigation have agreed to a specified stay of all material activities related to the demand.

In September 2023, a participant in the NEE Employee Retirement Savings Plan (Plan), purportedly on behalf of the Plan and all persons who were participants in or beneficiaries of the Plan, at any time between September 25, 2016 and September 25, 2023 (Plan participants), filed a putative ERISA class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against NEE. The complaint alleges that NEE violated its fiduciary duties under the Plan by permitting a third-party administrative recordkeeper to charge allegedly excessive fees for the services provided and allegedly by allowing a large volume of plan assets to be invested in NEE common stock. The plaintiff seeks declaratory, equitable and monetary relief on behalf of the Plan and Plan participants. NEE is vigorously defending against the claims in this proceeding.