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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Organization and Basis of Presentation
Edison International is the parent holding company of Southern California Edison Company ("SCE") and Edison Energy Group, Inc. ("Edison Energy Group"). SCE is an investor-owned public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying and delivering electricity to an approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California. Edison Energy Group is a holding company for Edison Energy, LLC ("Edison Energy") which is engaged in the competitive business of providing energy services to commercial and industrial customers. Edison Energy's business activities are currently not material to report as a separate business segment. These combined notes to the consolidated financial statements apply to both Edison International and SCE unless otherwise described. Edison International's consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Edison International, SCE, and other wholly owned and controlled subsidiaries. References to Edison International refer to the consolidated group of Edison International and its subsidiaries. References to "Edison International Parent and Other" refer to Edison International Parent and its competitive subsidiaries and "Edison International Parent" refer to Edison International on a stand-alone basis, not consolidated with its subsidiaries. SCE's consolidated financial statements include the accounts of SCE and its wholly owned and controlled subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements.
Edison International's and SCE's significant accounting policies were described in the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" included in Edison International's and SCE's combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the "2018 Form 10-K"). This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in the 2018 Form 10-K.
In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of recurring accruals, have been made that are necessary to fairly state the consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") for the periods covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. The results of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year.
The December 31, 2018 financial statement data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
Cash equivalents include investments in money market funds. Generally, the carrying value of cash equivalents equals the fair value, as these investments have original maturities of three months or less. The cash equivalents were as follows:
 
 
Edison International
 
SCE
(in millions)
 
March 31,
2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
March 31,
2019
 
December 31, 2018
Money market funds
 
$
285

 
$
116

 
$
266

 
$
1


Cash is temporarily invested until required for check clearing. Checks issued, but not yet paid by the financial institution, are reclassified from cash to accounts payable at the end of each reporting period as follows:
 
 
Edison International
 
SCE
(in millions)
 
March 31,
2019
 
December 31, 2018
 
March 31,
2019
 
December 31, 2018
Book balances reclassified to accounts payable
 
$
38

 
$
65

 
$
37

 
$
65


The following table sets forth the cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash included in the consolidated statements of cash flows:
(in millions)
 
March 31, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
Edison International:
 
 
 
 
 Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
328

 
$
144

 Short-term restricted cash1
 
57

 
8

Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
 
$
385

 
$
152

SCE:
 
 
 
 
 Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
297

 
$
21

 Short-term restricted cash1
 
49

 
1

Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
 
$
346

 
$
22

1 
Reflected in "Other current assets" on Edison International's and SCE's consolidated balance sheets. Restricted cash at March 31, 2019 primarily relates to funds held by SCE that were used in April 2019 for nuclear decommissioning activities at San Onofre.
Revenue Recognition
Regulatory Proceedings
2018 General Rate Case
In February 2018, SCE updated its 2018 General Rate Case ("GRC") application for the impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Reform") resulting in a requested 2018 base rate revenue requirement of $5.534 billion, a decrease of $106 million over the 2017 GRC authorized revenue requirement.
In April 2019, the CPUC issued a 2018 GRC proposed decision, which if adopted, would result in a base rate revenue requirement of $5.102 billion in 2018, a decrease of $432 million from SCE's requested revenue requirement, primarily related to a reduction in authorized rate base, depreciation and operation and maintenance expenses. The proposed decision also identifies changes to certain balancing accounts, including the expansion of the TAMA to include the impacts of all differences between forecast and recorded tax expense. The proposed decision would also disallow certain historical spending, largely related to certain infrastructure replacement programs and corporate real estate.
The CPUC did not issue a decision on the 2018 GRC application during 2018 or during the first quarter of 2019, therefore SCE recognized revenue based on the 2017 authorized revenue requirement, adjusted for items SCE has determined to be probable of occurring, primarily the July 2017 cost of capital decision and Tax Reform. The CPUC has approved the establishment of a GRC memorandum account and the 2018 and 2019 revenue requirements ultimately adopted by the CPUC will be effective as of January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019, respectively. See Note 11 for further details. The proposed decision, if adopted as drafted, would have a significant impact on SCE and Edison International’s reported results, including an impairment of utility property, plant and equipment of up to $257 million ($185 million after-tax) related to disallowed historical capital expenditures and an increase to earnings of approximately $130 million from application of the decision to revenue, depreciation and income tax expense retroactively for 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.
The proposed decision would allow a post-test year rate making mechanism that escalates capital additions by 2.49% for both 2019 and 2020. It would also allow operation and maintenance expenses to be escalated for 2019 and 2020 through the use of various escalation factors for labor, non-labor and medical expenses. The methodology set forth in the proposed decision would, if adopted by the CPUC, result in a revenue requirement of $5.422 billion in 2019 and $5.823 billion in 2020.
SCE will file comments on the proposed decision in May 2019 and SCE cannot predict when a final decision will be issued. A final decision could result in material changes to the proposed decision.
FERC Formula Rate
In October 2017, SCE filed its new formula rate with the FERC. In December 2017, the FERC issued an order setting the effective date of SCE's new FERC formula rate as of January 1, 2018, subject to settlement procedures and refund. In November 2018, SCE filed its 2019 annual update with the FERC with the proposed rates effective January 1, 2019, subject to settlement procedures and refund, and requested a decrease in transmission revenue requirement of $131 million, or 11% from amounts currently authorized in rates. Pending resolution of the FERC formula rate proceedings, SCE recognized revenue in 2018 and during the first quarter of 2019 based on the FERC formula rate adjusted for the impact of Tax Reform and other adjustments.
In April 2019, SCE filed an application with FERC to amend the formula rate associated with its transmission facilities in 2019. In the revised formula rate, SCE seeks a base return on equity of 17.12% ("FERC Base ROE"), compared to its proposed base ROE of 10.30% for its 2018 formula rate. The requested FERC Base ROE reflects a conventional ROE of 11.12% and an additional ROE of 6% to compensate investors for current wildfire risk. SCE would seek to reduce or remove the additional wildfire risk ROE if there is a material reduction in its wildfire cost recovery risk due to regulatory or legislative reform. SCE's total ROE request, inclusive of project incentives and a 0.5% incentive for CAISO participation, is approximately 18.4%.
If the new formula rate is accepted by FERC, it will supersede the existing formula rate, including the 2019 annual update, and could become effective as early as 60 days from the filing date. FERC has the authority to, and may, suspend new rates for up to five months. If the new formula rate is suspended by FERC, the 2019 transmission revenue requirement rate established in the 2019 annual update will continue to be effective, subject to refund, from January 1, 2019 until the end of the suspension of the new formula rate. The new formula rate would likely be subject to refund from the end of the suspension until it is ultimately approved by FERC.
If the revised formula rate becomes effective on June 12, 2019 (the effective date requested by SCE), SCE's proposed revisions to its formula rate will result in a projected increase in its retail base transmission revenue requirement in 2019 of approximately $290 million from the currently effective retail base transmission revenue requirement of approximately $1 billion.
See Note 7 for further information on SCE's revenue.
Earnings Per Share
Edison International computes earnings per common share ("EPS") using the two-class method, which is an earnings allocation formula that determines EPS for each class of common stock and participating security. Edison International's participating securities are stock-based compensation awards payable in common shares, including restricted stock units, which earn dividend equivalents on an equal basis with common shares once the awards are vested. EPS attributable to Edison International common shareholders was computed as follows:
 
 
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions, except per-share amounts)
 
2019
 
2018
Basic earnings per share – continuing operations:
 
 
 
 
Income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders
 
$
278

 
$
218

Participating securities dividends
 

 

Income from continuing operations available to common shareholders
 
$
278

 
$
218

Weighted average common shares outstanding
 
326

 
326

Basic earnings per share – continuing operations
 
$
0.85

 
$
0.67

Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations:
 
 
 
 
Income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders
 
$
278

 
$
218

Participating securities dividends
 

 

Income from continuing operations available to common shareholders
 
$
278

 
$
218

Income impact of assumed conversions
 

 

Income from continuing operations available to common shareholders and assumed conversions
 
$
278

 
$
218

Weighted average common shares outstanding
 
326

 
326

Incremental shares from assumed conversions
 
1

 
1

Adjusted weighted average shares – diluted
 
327

 
327

Diluted earnings per share – continuing operations
 
$
0.85

 
$
0.67


In addition to the participating securities discussed above, Edison International also may award stock options, which are payable in common shares and are included in the diluted earnings per share calculation. Stock option awards to purchase 7,719,306 and 6,222,294 shares of common stock for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were outstanding, but were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because the effect would have been antidilutive.
New Accounting Guidance
Accounting Guidance Adopted
On January 1, 2019, Edison International and SCE adopted accounting standards updates that require lessees to recognize a lease on the balance sheet as a right-of-use ("ROU") asset and related lease liability and classify the lease as either operating or finance. Edison International and SCE adopted this guidance using the modified retrospective approach for leases that existed as of the adoption date and elected the optional transition method not to restate periods prior to the adoption date. Edison International and SCE also elected the package of practical expedients not to reassess prior conclusions related to contracts containing leases, lease classification and initial direct costs, and the practical expedient not to reassess existing land easements. Adoption of this standard increased ROU assets and lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets by $956 million and $951 million as of January 1, 2019 for Edison International and SCE, respectively. The standard did not materiality impact the consolidated statements of income for Edison International or SCE.
Based on accounting standards adopted at January 1, 2019, a lease is defined as a contract, or part of a contract, that conveys the right to control the use of identified assets for a period of time in exchange for consideration. This occurs when an entity has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from and has the right to direct the use of the identified asset. SCE determines if an arrangement is a lease at contract inception, and for all classes of assets, SCE includes both lease and non-lease components as a single component and accounts for it as a lease. Lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the lease payments over the lease term at the commencement date. Lease ROU assets are based on the liability, subject to adjustments, such as lease incentives. In measuring lease assets and liabilities, SCE excludes variable lease payments, other than those that depend on an index, a rate or are in substance fixed payments and includes lease payments made at or before the commencement date. SCE's lease terms include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that such options will be exercised. Operating leases are included in operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. Finance leases are included in property, plant and equipment and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 13 for further information.
In February 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to provide entities an election to reclassify stranded tax effects resulting from Tax Reform from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. Stranded tax effects originated in December 2017 when deferred taxes were re-measured at the lower federal corporate tax rate with the impact included in operating income, while the tax effects of items within accumulated other comprehensive income were not similarly adjusted. Edison International and SCE adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019 and reclassified stranded tax effects of $10 million and $5 million, respectively, from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. See Notes 2 and 14 for further information.
In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to remove, modify, and add certain disclosure requirements related to fair value measurement. Edison International and SCE adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on Edison International and SCE's disclosures. See Note 4 for further information.
Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted
The FASB issued an accounting standards update in June 2016, and further amended the guidance in November 2018, related to the impairment of financial instruments, effective January 1, 2020. The new guidance provides an impairment model, known as the current expected credit loss model, which is based on expected credit losses rather than incurred losses over the remaining life of most financial assets measured at amortized cost, including trade and other receivables. The guidance also requires use of an allowance to record estimated credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities. Edison International and SCE are currently evaluating the impact of this new guidance and do not expect the adoption of the guidance will have material impact on Edison International and SCE.
In January 2017, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to simplify the accounting for goodwill impairment by changing the procedural steps to apply the goodwill impairment test. After the adoption of this accounting standards update, goodwill impairment will be measured as the amount by which a reporting unit's carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. Edison International will apply this guidance to goodwill impairment tests beginning in 2020.
In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update which aligns the requirement for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. The guidance also clarified presentation requirements for reporting implementation costs in the financial statements. The guidance is effective January 1, 2020 with early adoption permitted. Edison International and SCE are currently evaluating the impact of the guidance.
In August 2018, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to remove, modify, and add certain disclosure requirements related to employer-sponsored defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The guidance is effective January 1, 2021, with early adoption permitted. Edison International and SCE are currently evaluating the impact of the guidance and do not expect the adoption of this standard will materially affect disclosures.