Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Parent Guarantees and Letters of Credit — In connection with certain project financings (including tax equity transactions), acquisitions and dispositions, power purchases, EPC contracts, and other agreements, the Parent Company has expressly undertaken limited obligations and commitments, most of which will only be effective or will be terminated upon the occurrence of future events. In the normal course of business, the Parent Company has entered into various agreements, mainly guarantees and letters of credit, to provide financial or performance assurance to third parties on behalf of AES businesses. These agreements are entered into primarily to support or enhance the creditworthiness otherwise achieved by a business on a stand-alone basis, thereby facilitating the availability of sufficient credit to accomplish their intended business purposes. Most of the contingent obligations relate to future performance commitments which the Company or its businesses expect to fulfill within the normal course of business. The expiration dates of these guarantees vary from less than one year to no more than 33 years.

The following table summarizes the Parent Company's contingent contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023. Amounts presented in the following table represent the Parent Company's current undiscounted exposure to guarantees and the range of maximum undiscounted potential exposure per individual agreement. The maximum exposure is not reduced by the amounts, if any, that could be recovered under the recourse or collateralization provisions in the guarantees.


Contingent Contractual Obligations	Maximum Exposure (in millions)		Number of Agreements	Maximum Exposure Range for Each Agreement (in millions)
Guarantees and commitments	$	3,978	90	< $1 — 970
Letters of credit under bilateral agreements	235		4	$54 — 64
Letters of credit under the unsecured credit facilities	188		31	< $1 — 70
Letters of credit under the revolving credit facility	124		17	< $1 — 40
Surety bonds	2		2	< $1 — 1

Total	$	4,527	144

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Parent Company paid letter of credit fees ranging from 1% to 3% per annum on the outstanding amounts of letters of credit.

Subsidiary Guarantees and Letters of Credit — In connection with certain project financings (including tax equity transactions), acquisitions and dispositions, power purchases, EPC contracts, and other agreements, certain of the Company's subsidiaries have expressly undertaken limited obligations and commitments, most of which will only be effective or will be terminated upon the occurrence of future events, or are customary payment guarantees for amounts due under existing contracts in the normal course of business. These contingent contractual obligations are issued at the subsidiary level and are non-recourse to the Parent Company. As of December 31, 2023, the maximum undiscounted potential exposure to guarantees issued by our subsidiaries was $2.8 billion, including $1.8 billion of customary payment guarantees under EPC contracts and other agreements, and $1 billion of tax equity financing related guarantees. In addition, as of December 31, 2023, our subsidiaries had $359 million of letters of credit outstanding.

Environmental — The Company periodically reviews its obligations as they relate to compliance with environmental laws, including site restoration and remediation. For the periods ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized liabilities of $9 million and $10 million, respectively, for projected environmental remediation costs. Due to the uncertainties associated with environmental assessment and remediation activities, future costs of compliance or remediation could be higher or lower than the amount currently accrued. Moreover, where no liability has been recognized, it is reasonably possible that the Company may be required to incur remediation costs or make expenditures in amounts that could be material but could not be estimated as of December 31, 2023. In aggregate, the Company estimates the range of potential losses related to environmental matters, where estimable, to be up to $13 million. The amounts considered reasonably possible do not include amounts accrued as discussed above.

Litigation — The Company is involved in certain claims, suits and legal proceedings in the normal course of business. The Company accrues for litigation and claims when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company has recognized aggregate liabilities for all claims of approximately $17 million and $22 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These amounts are reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets within Accrued and other liabilities and Other noncurrent liabilities. A significant portion of these accrued liabilities relate to regulatory matters and commercial disputes in international jurisdictions. There can be no assurance that these accrued liabilities will be adequate to cover all existing and future claims or that we will have the liquidity to pay such claims as they arise.

Where no accrued liability has been recognized, it is reasonably possible that some matters could be decided unfavorably to the Company and could require the Company to pay damages or make expenditures in amounts that could be material but could not be estimated as of December 31, 2023. The material contingencies where a loss is reasonably possible primarily include disputes with offtakers, suppliers and EPC contractors; alleged breaches of contract; alleged violation of laws and regulations; income tax and non-income tax matters with tax authorities; and regulatory matters. In aggregate, the Company estimates the range of potential losses, where estimable, related to these reasonably possible material contingencies to be between $146 million and $185 million. The amounts considered reasonably possible do not include the amounts accrued, as discussed above. These material contingencies do not include income tax-related contingencies which are considered part of our uncertain tax positions. See Note 23—Income Taxes for further information.