Regulatory Assets And Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]

PSE&G prepares its financial statements in accordance with GAAP for regulated utilities as described in Note 1. Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies. PSE&G has deferred certain costs based on rate orders issued by the BPU or FERC or based on PSE&G’s experience with prior rate proceedings. Most of PSE&G’s Regulatory Assets and Liabilities as of December 31, 2018 are supported by written orders, either explicitly or implicitly through the BPU’s treatment of various cost items. These costs will be recovered and amortized over various future periods.

Regulatory Assets and other investments and costs incurred under our various infrastructure filings and clause mechanisms are subject to prudence reviews and can be disallowed in the future by regulatory authorities. To the extent that collection of any infrastructure or clause mechanism revenue, Regulatory Assets or payments of Regulatory Liabilities is no longer probable, the amounts would be charged or credited to income.

PSE&G had the following Regulatory Assets and Liabilities:




	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	Millions
Regulatory Assets
Current
New Jersey Clean Energy Program	$	143	$	128
Electric Energy Costs—Basic Generation Service (BGS)	115		23
Storm Damage and Other	56		—
Green Program Recovery Charges (GPRC)	34		8
Weather Normalization Clause (WNC)	2		40
Other	39		12
Total Current Regulatory Assets	$	389	$	211
Noncurrent
Pension and OPEB Costs	$	1,090	$	1,488
Deferred Income Tax Regulatory Assets	896		282
Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Remediation Costs	321		358
Electric Transmission and Gas Cost of Removal	223		199
Storm Damage and Other	214		241
Remediation Adjustment Charge (RAC) (Other Societal Benefits Charge (SBC))	175		172
Asset Retirement Obligation	166		162
GPRC	95		98
Unamortized Loss on Reacquired Debt and Debt Expense	49		55
Gas Costs—BGSS	31		30
Other	139		137
Total Noncurrent Regulatory Assets	$	3,399	$	3,222
Total Regulatory Assets	$	3,788	$	3,433




	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
	Millions
Regulatory Liabilities
Current
Deferred Income Tax Regulatory Liabilities	$	299	$	—
Gas Costs —BGSS	—		30
Gas Margin Adjustment Clause	8		12
Other	4		5
Total Current Regulatory Liabilities	$	311	$	47
Noncurrent
Deferred Income Tax Regulatory Liabilities	$	3,170	$	2,868
Electric Distribution Cost of Removal	51		80
Total Noncurrent Regulatory Liabilities	$	3,221	$	2,948
Total Regulatory Liabilities	$	3,532	$	2,995

All Regulatory Assets and Liabilities are excluded from PSE&G’s rate base unless otherwise noted. The Regulatory Assets and Liabilities in the table above are defined as follows:


•	Asset Retirement Obligation: These costs represent the differences between rate-regulated cost of removal accounting and asset retirement accounting under GAAP. These costs will be recovered in future rates as assets are retired.


•	Deferred Income Tax Regulatory Assets: These amounts represent the portion of deferred income taxes that will be recovered through future rates, based upon established regulatory practices and orders from the BPU.

•

Deferred Income Tax Regulatory Liabilities: These amounts represent the future refunds to customers of PSE&G’s excess Accumulated Deferred Income Tax liabilities as a result of the reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate effective January 1, 2018 and the flow-back of tax repair-related accumulated deferred income taxes that PSE&G agreed to as part of the settlement of its 2018 distribution base rate proceeding.


•	Electric and Gas Cost of Removal: PSE&G accrues and collects in rates for the cost of removing, dismantling and disposing of its T&D assets upon retirement. The Regulatory Asset or Liability for non-legally required cost of removal represents the difference between amounts collected in rates and costs actually incurred.

•

Electric Energy Costs—BGS: These costs represent the over or under recovered amounts associated with BGS, as approved by the BPU. Pursuant to BPU requirements, PSE&G serves as the supplier of last resort for electric customers within its service territory that are not served by another supplier. Pricing for those services are set by the BPU as a pass-through, resulting in no margin for PSE&G’s operations. Over or under recovered balances with interest are returned or recovered through monthly filings.

•

Gas Costs—BGSS: These costs represent the over or under recovered amounts associated with BGSS, as approved by the BPU. Pursuant to BPU requirements, PSE&G serves as the supplier of last resort for gas customers within its service territory that are not served by another supplier. Pricing for those services are set by the BPU as a pass-through, resulting in no margin for PSE&G’s operations. Over or under collected balances are returned or recovered through an annual filing. Interest is accrued only on over recovered balances.

•

Gas Margin Adjustment Clause: This mechanism credits Firm delivery customers for net distribution margin revenue collected from Transportation Gas Service Non-Firm (TSG-NF) delivery customers. The balance represents the difference between the net margin collected from the TSG-NF Customers versus bill credits provided to Firm delivery customers. Over or under recovered balances with interest are returned or recovered through the subsequent annual filing.

•

GPRC: This amount represents costs of the over or under collected balances associated with various renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. PSE&G files annually with the BPU for recovery of amounts that include a return on and of its investment over the lives of the underlying investments and capital assets which range from five to ten years. Interest is accrued monthly on any over or under recovered balances. Components of the GPRC include: Carbon Abatement, Energy Efficiency Economic Stimulus Program (EEE), EEE Extension Program, EEE Extension II Program, the Demand Response Program, Solar Generation Investment Program (Solar 4 All^®), Solar 4 All^® Extension, Solar 4 All^® Extension II, Solar Loan II Program, Solar Loan III Program and the Energy Efficiency 2017 Program.


•	MGP Remediation Costs: Represents the low end of the range for the remaining environmental investigation and remediation program cleanup costs for MGPs that are probable of recovery in future rates. Once these costs are incurred, they are recovered through the RAC in the SBC over a seven year period with interest.


•	New Jersey Clean Energy Program: The BPU approved future funding requirements for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs through the first half of 2018. The BPU funding requirements are recovered through the SBC.

•

Pension and OPEB Costs: Pursuant to the adoption of accounting guidance for employers’ defined benefit pension and OPEB plans, PSE&G recorded the unrecognized costs for defined benefit pension and other OPEB plans on the balance sheet as a Regulatory Asset. These costs represent actuarial gains or losses and prior service costs which have not been expensed. These costs are amortized and recovered in future rates.


•	RAC (Other SBC): Costs incurred to clean up MGPs which are recovered over seven years with interest through an annual filing.

•

SBC: The SBC, as authorized by the BPU and the New Jersey Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act, includes costs related to PSE&G’s electric and gas business as follows: (1) the Universal Service Fund (USF); (2) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs; (3) Electric bad debt expense; and (4) the RAC for incurred MGP remediation expenditures. Over or under recovered balances with interest are to be returned or recovered through an annual filing.


•	Storm Damage and Other: Represents deferred costs, primarily comprised of storm costs incurred in the cleanup of major storms from 2010 through 2018, which are being amortized over five years.


•	Unamortized Loss on Reacquired Debt and Debt Expense: Represents losses on reacquired long-term debt and expenses associated with issuances of new debt, which are recovered through rates over the remaining life of the debt.

•

WNC: This represents the over or under recovery of gas margin which is filed annually with the BPU. The WNC requires PSE&G to calculate, at the end of each October-to-May period, the level by which margin revenues differed from what would have resulted if normal weather had occurred. Over recoveries are returned to customers in the next winter season while under recoveries (subject to an earnings cap) are recovered from customers in the next winter season.

Significant 2018 regulatory orders received and currently pending rate filings with FERC and the BPU by PSE&G are as follows:

•

Electric and Gas Distribution Base Rate Filings—In October 2018, the BPU issued an Order approving the settlement of PSE&G’s distribution base rate proceeding with new rates effective November 1, 2018. The settlement resulted in a net reduction in overall annual revenues of approximately $13 million, comprised of a $212 million increase in base revenues, including recovery of deferred storm costs, offset by the return of tax benefits of approximately $225 million. The tax benefits include the flow-back to customers of excess accumulated deferred income taxes resulting from the reduction of the federal income tax rates provided in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Tax Act) as well as the accumulated deferred income taxes from previously realized tax repair deductions and tax benefits from future tax repair deductions as realized. The Order provided for a $9.5 billion rate base, a 9.6% return on equity for PSE&G’s distribution business and a 54% equity component of its capitalization structure. In addition to the $13 million annual revenue reduction, the Order provided for a $28 million one-time refund to customers in November and December 2018 for taxes collected at the higher federal income tax rate for the January 1 to March 31, 2018 period. Previously, the BPU had approved a rate reduction effective April 1, 2018, to PSE&G’s then current electric and gas base rates of approximately $71 million and $43 million, respectively, on an annual basis, to reflect the lower federal income tax rate for the period April 1 and forward. As a result of the agreement to flow back tax repair-related accumulated deferred income taxes in the settlement, PSE&G has recognized a Regulatory Liability and a corresponding Regulatory Asset.

•

Transmission Formula Rate Filings—In October 2018, PSE&G made two FERC filings with respect to its Transmission Formula Rate. PSE&G filed its 2019 Annual Transmission Formula Rate Update with FERC requesting new rates for 2019 with an effective date of January 1, 2019. In addition, PSE&G filed a Section 205 filing that sought FERC approval to modify its existing Formula Rate template in order to refund approximately $114 million of transmission-related “unprotected excess deferred income tax benefits” in 2019. In December 2018, FERC approved PSE&G’s Section 205 filing, subject to the submission of a compliance filing which was submitted to FERC in January 2019. As a result, PSE&G filed a revised 2019 Annual Transmission Formula Rate Update to include the refund of the approved excess deferred income tax benefits. The revised 2019 Annual Transmission Formula Rate, as filed with FERC in January 2019, decreases overall annual transmission revenues by approximately $54 million, subject to true-up.

In June 2018, PSE&G filed its 2017 true-up adjustment pertaining to its transmission formula rates in effect for 2017. This resulted in an adjustment of $27 million more than the 2017 originally filed revenues, the impact of which PSE&G had primarily recognized in its Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2017.


•	Gas System Modernization Program I (GSMP I)—In December 2018, the BPU approved recovery of PSE&G’s GSMP I capital investment recovery petition for an annual gas revenue requirement increase of $21 million effective January 1, 2019.

•

RAC—In January 2019, PSE&G updated its RAC 26 recovery request with the BPU seeking recovery of $73 million of net MGP costs from August 1, 2017 through July 31, 2018. This matter is pending. In October 2018, the BPU approved PSE&G’s filing with respect to its RAC 25 petition allowing recovery of $63 million effective November 1, 2018 related to MGP expenditures from August 1, 2016 through July 31, 2017.


•	GPRC—In October 2018, the BPU approved PSE&G’s 2017 GPRC cost recovery petition requesting recovery of approximately $58 million and $15 million in electric and gas revenues, respectively, on an annual basis.

In June 2018, PSE&G filed its 2018 GPRC cost recovery petition requesting recovery of approximately $65 million and $6 million in electric and gas revenues, respectively, on an annual basis.

•

Energy Strong Program I (ES I) Recovery Filing—In August 2018, the BPU approved recovery of PSE&G’s ES I capital investment petition for an annual revenue requirement increase of $0.6 million and $0.1 million associated with electric and gas investment costs, respectively. This represents the final recovery of electric and gas ES I capital investment costs consistent with the BPU Order of Approval of the Energy Strong Program.

In February 2018, the BPU approved recovery of an annual revenue requirement of $8 million associated with electric ES I capital investment costs placed in service from June 1, 2017 through November 30, 2017.

•

WNC—In October 2018, the BPU approved PSE&G’s 2017-2018 WNC petition on a provisional basis allowing a net recovery of $14 million to be collected over the 2018-2019 Winter Period with the new rate effective November 1, 2018. The $14 million net recovery is the result of $9 million of excess revenues from the colder than normal 2017-2018 Winter Period offset by $23 million of remaining prior Winter Period undercollection.

In April 2018, the BPU gave final approval to PSE&G’s petition to collect $55 million in net deficiency gas revenues as a result of the warmer than normal 2016-2017 Winter Period, which resulted in a deficiency of $31 million, plus a carryover balance of $24 million from the 2015-2016 Winter Period.


•	SBC—In February 2018, the BPU approved PSE&G’s petition to increase electric rates by approximately $20 million on an annual basis and to decrease gas rates by approximately $0.8 million on an annual basis, in order to recover electric and gas costs incurred through May 31, 2017 under its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Social Programs. The new rates were effective April 1, 2018.


•	BGSS—In September 2018, the BPU provisionally approved PSE&G’s request to decrease its BGSS rates which will decrease annual BGSS revenues by $26 million. The BGSS rate decreased from approximately 37 cents to 35 cents per therm for residential gas customers effective October 1, 2018.

In April 2018, the BPU approved the final BGSS rates which were effective October 1, 2017.

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