Significant Accounting Policies and Responsibility for Financial Statements

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Significant Accounting Policies and Responsibility for Financial Statements

Significant Accounting Policies and Responsibility for Financial Statements

Financial Statement Preparation

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all normal and recurring accruals and adjustments that are necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, and the consolidated results of operations and comprehensive income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could ultimately differ from those estimated. Weather causes the Company’s results of operations to be seasonal in nature and the results of operations presented in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are not necessarily representative of operations for an entire year.

The Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include disclosures for PNMR, PNM, and TNMP. This report uses the term “Company” when discussing matters of common applicability to PNMR, PNM, and TNMP. Discussions regarding only PNMR, PNM, or TNMP are so indicated. Certain amounts in the 2019 Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto have been reclassified to conform to the 2020 financial statement presentation.

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the annual audited Consolidated Financial Statements have been condensed or omitted, as permitted under the applicable rules and regulations. Readers of these financial statements should refer to PNMR’s, PNM’s, and TNMP’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto that are included in their respective 2019 Annual Reports on Form 10-K.

GAAP defines subsequent events as events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. Based on their nature, magnitude, and timing, certain subsequent events may be required to be reflected at the balance sheet date and/or required to be disclosed in the financial statements. The Company has evaluated subsequent events as required by GAAP.

Principles of Consolidation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of each of PNMR, PNM, and TNMP include their accounts and those of subsidiaries in which that entity owns a majority voting interest. PNM also consolidates Valencia. See Note 6. PNM owns undivided interests in several jointly-owned power plants and records its pro-rata share of the assets, liabilities, and expenses for those plants. The agreements for the jointly-owned plants provide that if an owner were to default on its payment obligations, the non-defaulting owners would be responsible for their proportionate share of the obligations of the defaulting owner. In exchange, the non-defaulting owners would be entitled to their proportionate share of the generating capacity of the defaulting owner. There have been no such payment defaults under any of the agreements for the jointly-owned plants.

PNMR shared services’ expenses, which represent costs that are primarily driven by corporate level activities, are charged to the business segments. These services are billed at cost and are reflected as general and administrative expenses in the business segments. Other significant intercompany transactions between PNMR, PNM, and TNMP include interest and income tax sharing payments, as well as equity transactions, and interconnection billings. See Note 15. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Dividends on Common Stock

Dividends on PNMR’s common stock are declared by the Board. The timing of the declaration of dividends is dependent on the timing of meetings and other actions of the Board. This has historically resulted in dividends attributable to the second quarter of each year being declared through actions of the Board during the third quarter of the year. The Board declared dividends on common stock considered to be for the second quarter of $0.3075 per share in July 2020 and $0.2900 per share in July 2019, which are reflected as being in the second quarter within "Dividends Declared per Common Share" on the PNMR Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

PNM paid cash dividends on its common stock to PNMR of $40.7 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 that were declared in the three months ended March 31, 2020. PNM did not pay cash dividends on its common stock to PNMR in the three and sixth months ended June 30, 2019. TNMP declared and paid cash dividends on its common stock to PNMR of $7.1 million and $18.4 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and paid $4.1 million and $14.8 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Information concerning recently issued accounting pronouncements that have not been adopted by the Company is presented below. The Company does not expect difficulty in adopting these standards by their required effective dates.

Accounting Standards Update 2018-14 – Compensation – Retirement Benefits – Defined Benefit Plans (Topic 715) Disclosure Framework: Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14 to improve benefit plan sponsors’ disclosures for defined benefit pension and other post-employment benefit plans. ASU 2018-14 removes the requirement to disclose the amounts in other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as benefit cost over the next fiscal year and the requirement to disclose the impact of a one-percentage-point change in the assumed health care cost trend rate; clarifies the disclosure requirements for plans with assets that are less than their projected benefit, or accumulated benefit obligation; and requires significant gains and losses affecting benefit obligations during the period be disclosed. ASU 2018-14 is effective for the Company on December 31, 2020, although early adoption is permitted, and requires retrospective application. As discussed in Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2019 Annual Reports on Form 10-K and in Note 10, PNM and TNMP maintain qualified defined benefit, other postretirement benefit plans providing medical and dental benefits, and executive retirement programs. The Company is in the process of evaluating the requirements of ASU 2018-14 but does not anticipate these changes will have a significant impact on the Company’s defined benefit and other postretirement benefit plan disclosures.

Accounting Standards Update 2019-12 – Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12 as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards. The amendments in ASU 2019-12 simplify accounting for income taxes by removing several accounting exceptions to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 also eliminates or simplifies other income tax accounting requirements, including a requirement that entities recognize franchise tax (or similar tax) that is partially based on income as an income-based tax. ASU 2019-12 is effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2021 and allows for early adoption. ASU 2019-12 is to be applied prospectively or retrospectively in the period of adoption depending on the type of amendment. The Company is in the process of analyzing the impacts of this new standard.