Equity Method Investments

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Equity Method Investments

Note 16 — Equity Method Investments

We account for privately held equity securities of entities without readily determinable fair values in which we do not have control, but have significant influence over operating and financial policies, under the equity method. Our equity method investments are primarily comprised of PennEast, Pennant and Pine Run.

Fiscal 2021 Developments

Pine Run. In February 2021, Pine Run, a company jointly owned by Stonehenge and UGI Pine Run, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Services, completed the acquisition of Pine Run Midstream, LLC from an affiliate of PennEnergy and minority partners for a preliminary purchase price of $205. Pine Run Midstream, LLC operates 43 miles of dry gas gathering pipeline and compression assets in Butler and Armstrong counties in western Pennsylvania. UGI Pine Run, LLC’s 49% membership interest in Pine Run totaled $59, as of June 30, 2021 and is accounted for as an equity method investment as we have the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the entity.

PennEast. UGI PennEast, LLC and four other members comprising wholly owned subsidiaries of Southern Company, New Jersey Resources, South Jersey Industries, and Enbridge, Inc., each hold a 20% membership interest in PennEast. In September 2019, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s Eleventh Amendment immunity barred PennEast from bringing an eminent domain lawsuit in federal court, under the Natural Gas Act, against New Jersey or its agencies. On February 3, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order granting PennEast’s petition for a writ of certiorari and the case was argued on April 28, 2021. On June 29, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of PennEast, overturning the Third Circuit’s decision that blocked PennEast from exercising federal eminent domain authority over lands in which a state has property rights interests.

Following the favorable Supreme Court decision, the partners of the PennEast project re-assessed the remaining legal and regulatory contingencies which must be resolved before construction can commence. Based on the significant remaining legal challenges and the expected further delays in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, which are preventing the commencement of construction and commercial operation of the project, the Company concluded that its investment in PennEast was impaired at June 30, 2021, and that such impairment was other-than-temporary. The estimated fair value of the Company’s investment in PennEast was measured using probability-weighted cash flows under an expected present value technique based on management's estimates and assumptions regarding the likelihood of certain outcomes (and the related timing) that would be used by market participants. These assumptions included the estimated fair value of the equipment acquired by the PennEast project (principally pipes, compressors and land) as well as the required regulatory approvals, satisfactory resolution of pending legal matters, the magnitude of construction costs, in-service dates, forecasted revenues and discount rates, as well as the probability weighting of the various scenarios associated with the PennEast project. The ultimate outcome of the PennEast construction project cannot be determined at this time.

Based upon this analysis, the Company recognized an other-than-temporary pretax impairment charge of $93 in June 2021, which is recorded in “(Loss) income from equity investees” in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company has established a full valuation allowance on the deferred tax asset recognized for the impairment, as it is not more likely than not at June 30, 2021 that such deferred tax asset will be realized. The estimated fair value of the Company’s investment in PennEast as of June 30, 2021 represents a nonrecurring, level 3 measurement within the fair value hierarchy as the significant unobservable inputs principally reflect the probability weightings assigned to the potential outcomes discussed above.