INVESTMENTS IN AND ADVANCES TO AFFILIATES

The following table summarizes the relevant effective equity ownership interest and carrying values for the Company's investments accounted for under the equity method as of the periods indicated:



December 31,		2017		2016		2017		2016
Affiliate	Country	Carrying Value (in millions)				Ownership Interest %
sPower	United States	$	508	$	—	50	%	—	%
Guacolda⁽¹⁾	Chile	357		362		33	%	33	%
OPGC⁽²⁾	India	269		195		49	%	49	%
Elsta ⁽³⁾	Netherlands	38		41		50	%	50	%
Equity method investments of Distributed Energy ⁽³⁾	United States	15		22		95	%	95	%
Barry ⁽³⁾	United Kingdom	—		—		100	%	100	%
Other affiliates	Various	10		1
Total		$	1,197	$	621

_____________________________


⁽¹⁾	The Company's ownership in Guacolda is held through AES Gener, a 67%-owned consolidated subsidiary. AES Gener owns 50% of Guacolda, resulting in an AES effective ownership in Guacolda of 33%.


⁽²⁾	OPGC has one coal-fired project under development which is an expansion of our existing OPGC business. The project started construction in April 2014 and is expected to begin operations in 2019.


⁽³⁾	Represent VIEs in which the Company holds a variable interest, but is not the primary beneficiary.

sPower — In February 2017, the Company and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (“AIMCo”) entered into an agreement to acquire FTP Power LLC (“sPower”). In July 2017, AES closed on the acquisition of its 48% ownership interest in sPower for $461 million. In November 2017, AES acquired an additional 2% ownership interest in sPower for $19 million. As the Company does not control sPower, it is accounted for as an equity method investment. The sPower portfolio includes solar and wind projects in operation, under construction, and in development located in the United States. The sPower equity method investment is reported in the US SBU reportable segment.

Guacolda — In September 2015, AES Gener and Global Infrastructure Partners ("GIP") executed a restructuring of Guacolda that increased Guacolda's tax basis in certain long-term assets and AES Gener's equity investment. As a result, AES Gener recorded $66 million in net equity in earnings of affiliates for the year ended December 31, 2015, of which $46 million is attributable to The AES Corporation.

AES Barry Ltd. — The Company holds a 100% ownership interest in AES Barry Ltd. ("Barry"), a dormant entity in the U.K. that disposed of its generation and other operating assets. Due to a debt agreement, no material financial or operating decisions can be made without the banks' consent, and the Company does not control Barry. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, other long-term liabilities included $45 million and $41 million related to this debt agreement.

Summarized Financial Information — The following tables summarize financial information of the Company's 50%-or-less-owned affiliates and majority-owned unconsolidated subsidiaries that are accounted for using the equity method (in millions):



	50%-or-less Owned Affiliates						Majority-Owned Unconsolidated Subsidiaries
Years ended December 31,	2017		2016		2015		2017			2016			2015
Revenue	$	762	$	586	$	641	$	16		$	23		$	24
Operating margin	165		145		152		5			9			11
Net income (loss)	72		64		210		(15		)	(2		)	6

December 31,	2017		2016				2017			2016
Current assets	$	418	$	308			$	70		$	16
Noncurrent assets	5,372		2,577				102			181
Current liabilities	633		626				10			10
Noncurrent liabilities	2,629		1,209				147			122
Stockholders' equity	2,527		1,048				15			65

At December 31, 2017, retained earnings included $254 million related to the undistributed earnings of the Company's 50%-or-less owned affiliates. Distributions received from these affiliates were $69 million, $24 million, and $18 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, the aggregate carrying amount of our investments in equity affiliates exceeded the underlying equity in their net assets by $46 million.