Acquisitions and Dispositions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Acquisitions and Dispositions

ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS

ACQUISITIONS

The Duke Energy Registrants consolidate assets and liabilities from acquisitions as of the purchase date and include earnings from acquisitions in consolidated earnings after the purchase date.

2016 Acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas

On October 3, 2016, Duke Energy acquired all outstanding common stock of Piedmont for a total cash purchase price of $5 billion and assumed Piedmont's existing long-term debt, which had a fair value of approximately $2 billion at the time of the acquisition. The acquisition provides a foundation for Duke Energy to establish a broader, long-term strategic natural gas infrastructure platform to complement its existing natural gas pipeline investments and regulated natural gas business in the Midwest. In connection with the closing of the acquisition, Piedmont became a wholly owned subsidiary of Duke Energy.

Accounting Charges Related to the Acquisition

Duke Energy incurred pretax transaction and integration costs associated with the acquisition of $84 million and $103 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, and 2017, respectively. Amounts recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Operations in 2018 and 2017 were primarily system integration costs of $78 million and $71 million, respectively, related to combining the various operational and financial systems of Duke Energy and Piedmont, including a one-time software impairment resulting from planned accounting system and process integration in 2017. A $7 million charge was recorded within Impairment Charges, with the remaining $64 million recorded within Operation, maintenance and other in 2017.

The majority of transition and integration activities were completed by the end of 2018.

DISPOSITIONS

On April 24, 2019, Duke Energy executed an agreement to sell a minority interest in a portion of certain renewable assets within the Commercial Renewables segment. The sale closed on September 6, 2019, and resulted in pretax proceeds to Duke Energy of $415 million. The portion of Duke Energy’s commercial renewables energy portfolio sold includes 49% of 37 operating wind, solar and battery storage assets and 33% of 11 operating solar assets across the U.S. Duke Energy retained control of these assets, and, therefore, no gain or loss was recognized on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The difference between the consideration received and the carrying value of the noncontrolling interest claim on net assets is $466 million, net of a tax benefit of $8 million, and was recorded in equity.