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Asset Retirement Obligations
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]  
Asset Retirement Obligations ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS
Duke Energy records an ARO when it has a legal obligation to incur retirement costs associated with the retirement of a long-lived asset and the obligation can be reasonably estimated. Certain assets of the Duke Energy Registrants have an indeterminate life, such as transmission and distribution facilities, and thus the fair value of the retirement obligation is not reasonably estimable. A liability for these AROs will be recorded when a fair value is determinable.
The Duke Energy Registrants’ regulated operations accrue costs of removal for property that does not have an associated legal retirement obligation based on regulatory orders from state commissions. These costs of removal are recorded as a regulatory liability in accordance with regulatory accounting treatment. The Duke Energy Registrants do not accrue the estimated cost of removal for any nonregulated assets. See Note 3 for the estimated cost of removal for assets without an associated legal retirement obligation, which are included in Regulatory liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The following table presents the AROs recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
December 31, 2020
DukeDukeDukeDukeDuke
DukeEnergyProgressEnergyEnergyEnergyEnergy
(in millions) EnergyCarolinasEnergyProgressFloridaOhioIndianaPiedmont
Decommissioning of nuclear power facilities(a)
$6,845 $2,695 $4,101 $3,642 $459 $— $— $— 
Closure of ash impoundments5,778 2,597 1,973 1,950 23 67 1,140 — 
Other381 58 75 43 32 44 36 20 
Total asset retirement obligation$13,004 $5,350 $6,149 $5,635 $514 $111 $1,176 $20 
Less: Current portion718 264 283 283 — 3 168 — 
Total noncurrent asset retirement obligation$12,286 $5,086 $5,866 $5,352 $514 $108 $1,008 $20 
(a)    Duke Energy amount includes purchase accounting adjustments related to the merger with Progress Energy.
Nuclear Decommissioning Liability
AROs related to nuclear decommissioning are based on site-specific cost studies. The NCUC, PSCSC and FPSC require updated cost estimates for decommissioning nuclear plants every five years.
The following table summarizes information about the most recent site-specific nuclear decommissioning cost studies. Decommissioning costs are stated in 2018 or 2019 dollars, depending on the year of the cost study, and include costs to decommission plant components not subject to radioactive contamination.
Annual FundingDecommissioning
(in millions)
Requirement(a)
Costs(a)
Year of Cost Study
Duke Energy$27 $9,105 2018 or 2019
Duke Energy Carolinas(b)(c)
— 4,365 2018
Duke Energy Progress(d)
27 4,181 2019
Duke Energy Florida(e)
— 559 N/A
(a)    Amounts for Progress Energy equal the sum of Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Florida.
(b)    Decommissioning cost for Duke Energy Carolinas reflects its ownership interest in jointly owned reactors. Other joint owners are responsible for decommissioning costs related to their interest in the reactors.
(c)    Duke Energy Carolinas' site-specific nuclear decommissioning cost study completed in 2018 was filed with the NCUC and PSCSC in 2019. A new funding study was also completed and filed with the NCUC and PSCSC in 2019.
(d)    Duke Energy Progress' site-specific nuclear decommissioning cost study completed in 2019 was filed with the NCUC and PSCSC in March 2020. Duke Energy Progress also completed a funding study, which was filed with the NCUC and PSCSC in July 2020.
(e)    During 2019, Duke Energy Florida reached an agreement to transfer decommissioning work for Crystal River Unit 3 to a third party and decommissioning costs are based on the agreement with this third party rather than a cost study. Regulatory approval was received from the NRC and the FPSC in April 2020 and August 2020, respectively. See Note 3 for more information.
Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Funds
Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Florida each maintain NDTFs that are intended to pay for the decommissioning costs of their respective nuclear power plants. The NDTF investments are managed and invested in accordance with applicable requirements of various regulatory bodies including the NRC, FERC, NCUC, PSCSC, FPSC and the IRS.
Use of the NDTF investments is restricted to nuclear decommissioning activities including license termination, spent fuel and site restoration. The license termination and spent fuel obligations relate to contaminated decommissioning and are recorded as AROs. The site restoration obligation relates to non-contaminated decommissioning and is recorded to cost of removal within Regulatory liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The following table presents the fair value of NDTF assets legally restricted for purposes of settling AROs associated with nuclear decommissioning. Duke Energy Florida entered into an agreement with a third party to decommission Crystal River Unit 3 and was granted an exemption from the NRC, which allows for use of the NDTF for all aspects of nuclear decommissioning. The entire balance of Duke Energy Florida's NDTF may be applied toward license termination, spent fuel and site restoration costs incurred to decommission Crystal River Unit 3 and is excluded from the table below. See Note 16 for additional information related to the fair value of the Duke Energy Registrants' NDTFs.
December 31,
(in millions)20202019
Duke Energy$7,726 $6,766 
Duke Energy Carolinas4,381 3,837 
Duke Energy Progress3,345 2,929 
Nuclear Operating Licenses
Operating licenses for nuclear units are potentially subject to extension. The following table includes the current expiration of nuclear operating licenses.
UnitYear of Expiration
Duke Energy Carolinas
Catawba Units 1 and 22043
McGuire Unit 12041
McGuire Unit 22043
Oconee Units 1 and 22033
Oconee Unit 32034
Duke Energy Progress
Brunswick Unit 12036
Brunswick Unit 22034
Harris2046
Robinson2030
The NRC has acknowledged permanent cessation of operation and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel at Crystal River Unit 3. Therefore, the license no longer authorizes operation of the reactor. During 2019, Duke Energy Florida entered into an agreement for the accelerated decommissioning of Crystal River Unit 3. Regulatory approval was received from the NRC and the FPSC in April 2020 and August 2020, respectively. See Note 3 for more information.
Closure of Ash Impoundments
The Duke Energy Registrants are subject to state and federal regulations covering the closure of coal ash impoundments, including the EPA CCR rule and the Coal Ash Act, and other agreements. AROs recorded on the Duke Energy Registrants' Consolidated Balance Sheets include the legal obligation for closure of coal ash basins and the disposal of related ash as a result of these regulations and agreements.
The ARO amount recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets is based upon estimated closure costs for impacted ash impoundments. The amount recorded represents the discounted cash flows for estimated closure costs based upon specific closure plans. Actual costs to be incurred will be dependent upon factors that vary from site to site. The most significant factors are the method and time frame of closure at the individual sites. Closure methods considered include removing the water from ash basins, consolidating material as necessary and capping the ash with a synthetic barrier, excavating and relocating the ash to a lined structural fill or lined landfill or recycling the ash for concrete or some other beneficial use. The ultimate method and timetable for closure will be in compliance with standards set by federal and state regulations and other agreements. The ARO amount will be adjusted as additional information is gained through the closure and post-closure process, including acceptance and approval of compliance approaches, which may change management assumptions, and may result in a material change to the balance. See ARO Liability Rollforward section below for information on revisions made to the coal ash liability during 2020 and 2019.
Asset retirement costs associated with the AROs for operating plants and retired plants are included in Net property, plant and equipment and Regulatory assets, respectively, on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 3 for additional information on Regulatory assets related to AROs.
Cost recovery for future expenditures will be pursued through the normal ratemaking process with federal and state utility commissions, which permit recovery of necessary and prudently incurred costs associated with Duke Energy’s regulated operations. See Note 3 for additional information on recovery of coal ash costs.
ARO Liability Rollforward
The following tables present changes in the liability associated with AROs.
DukeDukeDukeDukeDuke
DukeEnergyProgressEnergyEnergyEnergyEnergy
(in millions) EnergyCarolinasEnergyProgressFloridaOhioIndianaPiedmont
Balance at December 31, 2018$10,467 $3,949 $5,411 $4,820 $591 $93 $722 $19 
Accretion expense(a)
508 235 252 227 25 3 28 1 
Liabilities settled(b)
(895)(329)(499)(460)(39)(12)(54)— 
Liabilities incurred in the current year25 18 7 — 7 — — — 
Revisions in estimates of cash flows(c)
3,213 1,861 1,300 1,306 (6)(4)136 (3)
Balance at December 31, 201913,318 5,734 6,471 5,893 578 80 832 17 
Accretion expense(a)
542 258 246 225 21 4 33 1 
Liabilities settled(b)
(724)(198)(451)(358)(93)(2)(74)— 
Liabilities incurred in the current year22 — 5 — 5 — — — 
Revisions in estimates of cash flows(d)
(154)(444)(122)(125)3 29 385 2 
Balance at December 31, 2020$13,004 $5,350 $6,149 $5,635 $514 $111 $1,176 $20 
(a)    Substantially all accretion expense for the years ended December 31, 2020, and 2019, relates to Duke Energy’s regulated operations and has been deferred in accordance with regulatory accounting treatment.
(b)    Amounts primarily relate to ash impoundment closures and nuclear decommissioning.
(c)    Amounts primarily relate to increases in closure estimates for certain ash impoundments as a result of the NCDEQ's April 1, 2019, Order and the related settlement agreement dated December 31, 2019.
(d)    Primarily relates to decreases due to revised basin closure cost estimates, partially offset by increases related to new closure plan approvals, post closure maintenance and beneficiation costs. Duke Energy Indiana estimates also include the impacts of closure estimates for certain ash impoundments due to the impact of Hoosier Environmental Council’s petition filed with the court challenging the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s partial approval of Duke Energy Indiana’s ash pond closure plan. See Note 4 for more information on Hoosier Environmental Council's petition. The incremental amount recorded represents the discounted cash flows for estimated closure costs based upon the probability weightings of the potential closure methods as evaluated on a site-by-site basis.