Regulatory Matters (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

Regulatory Matters

DMR

On October 20, 2017, the PUCO approved DP&L’s 2017 ESP.  On January 7, 2019, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio the 2017 ESP with respect to the bypassability of the Reconciliation Rider and the exclusion of the DMR from the SEET. That proceeding has been stayed pending an appeal in a related case involving another utility.

Pursuant to the 2017 ESP, on January 22, 2019, DP&L filed a request with the PUCO for a two-year extension of its DMR through October 2022, in the proposed amount of $199.0 million for each of the two additional years. The extension request was set at a level expected to reduce debt obligations at both DP&L and DPL and to position

DP&L to make capital expenditures to maintain and modernize its electric grid. DP&L’s DMP investments are contingent upon the PUCO approving the two-year extension of its DMR.

A rehearing process in DP&L's 2017 ESP case, including the DMR, remains pending. On August 1, 2019, DP&L filed a supplemental brief with the PUCO focused on the applicability of a recent court decision involving another Ohio utility’s DMR which is similar to, but not identical to, DP&L’s DMR.

Ohio House Bill 6

On July 23, 2019, the Governor of Ohio signed Ohio House Bill 6, which, among other things, does the following:

• beginning January 1, 2020, replaces DP&L’s non-bypassable Reconciliation Rider, permitting DP&L to defer, recover or credit the net proceeds from selling energy and capacity received as part of DP&L’s interest in OVEC and its OVEC-related costs through 2023, with a non-bypassable recovery mechanism for recovery of prudently incurred OVEC costs through 2030;

• eliminates the annual energy efficiency targets for Ohio utilities after 2020; and

• allows Ohio utilities to construct customer-sited renewable generation for mercantile customers or groups of mercantile customers, the costs of which may only be recovered from those customers.

Regulatory impact of tax reform

On January 10, 2018, the PUCO initiated a proceeding to consider the impacts of the TCJA to determine the appropriate course of action to pass benefits resulting from the legislation on to ratepayers. The PUCO also directed Ohio utilities to record deferred liabilities for the estimated reduction in federal income tax resulting from the TCJA beginning January 1, 2018. Beginning October 1, 2018, the new distribution rates approved in the DRO include the impacts of the decrease in current federal income taxes as a result of the TCJA. Under the terms of the stipulation approved in the DRO, DP&L agreed to file an application at the PUCO to refund eligible excess accumulated deferred income taxes and any related regulatory liability over a ten-year period. DP&L made such a filing on March 1, 2019. DP&L negotiated a unanimous stipulation with the parties in the proceeding, agreeing to return a total of $65.1 million, $83.2 million when including taxes associated with the refunds. This stipulation was approved by the PUCO on September 26, 2019. See Note 7 – Income Taxes for additional information. In connection with this stipulation, we reduced our long-term regulatory liability related to deferred income taxes by $23.4 million.

Subsidiaries [Member]

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

Regulatory Matters

DMR

On October 20, 2017, the PUCO approved DP&L’s 2017 ESP.  On January 7, 2019, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio the 2017 ESP with respect to the bypassability of the Reconciliation Rider and the exclusion of the DMR from the SEET. That proceeding has been stayed pending an appeal in a related case involving another utility.

Pursuant to the 2017 ESP, on January 22, 2019, DP&L filed a request with the PUCO for a two-year extension of its DMR through October 2022, in the proposed amount of $199.0 million for each of the two additional years. The extension request was set at a level expected to reduce debt obligations at both DP&L and DPL and to position DP&L to make capital expenditures to maintain and modernize its electric grid. DP&L’s DMP investments are contingent upon the PUCO approving the two-year extension of its DMR.

A rehearing process in DP&L's 2017 ESP case, including the DMR, remains pending. On August 1, 2019, DP&L filed a supplemental brief with the PUCO focused on the applicability of a recent court decision involving another Ohio utility’s DMR which is similar to, but not identical to, DP&L’s DMR.

Ohio House Bill 6

On July 23, 2019, the Governor of Ohio signed Ohio House Bill 6, which, among other things, does the following:

• beginning January 1, 2020, replaces DP&L’s non-bypassable Reconciliation Rider, permitting DP&L to defer, recover or credit the net proceeds from selling energy and capacity received as part of DP&L’s interest in OVEC and its OVEC-related costs through 2023, with a non-bypassable recovery mechanism for recovery of prudently incurred OVEC costs through 2030;

• eliminates the annual energy efficiency targets for Ohio utilities after 2020; and

• allows Ohio utilities to construct customer-sited renewable generation for mercantile customers or groups of mercantile customers, the costs of which may only be recovered from those customers.

Regulatory impact of tax reform

On January 10, 2018, the PUCO initiated a proceeding to consider the impacts of the TCJA to determine the appropriate course of action to pass benefits resulting from the legislation on to ratepayers. The PUCO also directed Ohio utilities to record deferred liabilities for the estimated reduction in federal income tax resulting from the TCJA beginning January 1, 2018. Beginning October 1, 2018, the new distribution rates approved in the DRO include the impacts of the decrease in current federal income taxes as a result of the TCJA. Under the terms of the stipulation approved in the DRO, DP&L agreed to file an application at the PUCO to refund eligible excess accumulated deferred income taxes and any related regulatory liability over a ten-year period. DP&L made such a filing on March 1, 2019. DP&L negotiated a unanimous stipulation with the parties in the proceeding, agreeing to return a total of $65.1 million, $83.2 million when including taxes associated with the refunds. This stipulation was approved by the PUCO on September 26, 2019. See Note 7 – Income Taxes for additional information. In connection with this stipulation, we reduced our long-term regulatory liability related to deferred income taxes by $23.4 million.