Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions (Exelon and Generation)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions

Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions (Exelon and Generation)

CENG Put Option (Exelon and Generation)

Generation owns a 50.01% membership interest in CENG, a joint venture with EDF, which wholly owns the Calvert Cliffs and Ginna nuclear stations and Nine Mile Point Unit 1, in addition to an 82% undivided ownership interest in Nine Mile Point Unit 2. CENG is 100% consolidated in Exelon's and Generation's financial statements. See Note 22 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.

On April 1, 2014, Generation and EDF entered into various agreements including a Nuclear Operating Services Agreement, an amended LLC Operating Agreement, an Employee Matters Agreement, and a Put Option Agreement, among others. Under the amended Operating Agreement, CENG made a $400 million special distribution to EDF

and committed to make preferred distributions to Generation until Generation has received aggregate distributions of $400 million plus a return of 8.50% per annum. Under the Put Option Agreement, EDF has the option to sell its 49.99% equity interest in CENG to Generation exercisable beginning on January 1, 2016 and thereafter until June 30, 2022. On November 20, 2019, Generation received notice of EDF’s intention to exercise the put option to sell its interest in CENG to Generation and the put automatically exercised on January 19, 2020 at the end of the sixty-day advance notice period.

Under the terms of the Put Option Agreement, the purchase price is to be determined by agreement of the parties, or absent such agreement, by a third-party arbitration process. The third parties determining fair market value of EDF’s 49.99% interest are to take into consideration all rights and obligations under the LLC Operating Agreement and Employee Matters Agreement including but not limited to Generation’s rights with respect to any unpaid aggregate preferred distributions and the related return. As of December 31, 2019, the total unpaid aggregate preferred distributions and related return owed to Generation is $571 million. At this time, Generation cannot reasonably predict the ultimate purchase price that will be paid to EDF for its interest in CENG. The transaction will require approval by the NYPSC, the FERC and the NRC. The process and regulatory approvals could take one to two years or more to complete.

Acquisition of James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Generating Station (Exelon and Generation)

On March 31, 2017, Generation acquired the single-unit James A. FitzPatrick (FitzPatrick) nuclear generating station located in Scriba, New York from Entergy Nuclear FitzPatrick LLC (Entergy) for a total purchase price of $289 million, which consisted of a cash purchase price of $110 million and a net cost reimbursement to and on behalf of Entergy of $179 million. As part of the transaction, Generation received the FitzPatrick NDT fund assets and assumed the obligation to decommission FitzPatrick. The NRC license for FitzPatrick expires in 2034. An after-tax bargain purchase gain of $233 million was included within Exelon's and Generation's Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income which primarily reflects differences in strategies between Generation and Entergy for the intended use and ultimate decommissioning of the plant.

Exelon and Generation incurred $57 million of merger and integration related costs for FitzPatrick for the year ended December 31, 2017 which are included within Operating and maintenance expense in Exelon's and Generation's Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

Disposition of Oyster Creek (Exelon and Generation)

On July 31, 2018, Generation entered into an agreement with Holtec International (Holtec) and its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Oyster Creek Environmental Protection, LLC (OCEP), for the sale and decommissioning of Oyster Creek located in Forked River, New Jersey, which permanently ceased generation operations on September 17, 2018. Completion of the transaction contemplated by the sale agreement was subject to the satisfaction of several closing conditions, including approval of the license transfer from the NRC and other regulatory approvals, and a private letter ruling from the IRS, which were satisfied in the second quarter 2019. The sale was completed on July 1, 2019. Exelon and Generation recognized a loss on the sale in the third quarter, which was immaterial.

Under the terms of the transaction, Generation transferred to OCEP substantially all the assets associated with Oyster Creek, including assets held in NDT funds, along with the assumption of liability for all responsibility for the site, including full decommissioning and ongoing management of spent fuel until the spent fuel is moved offsite. The terms of the transaction also include various forms of performance assurance for the obligations of OCEP to timely complete the required decommissioning, including a parental guaranty from Holtec for all performance and payment obligations of OCEP, and a requirement for Holtec to deliver a letter of credit to Generation upon the occurrence of specified events.

As a result of the transaction, in the third quarter of 2018, Exelon and Generation reclassified certain Oyster Creek assets and liabilities in Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as held for sale at their respective fair values. Exelon and Generation had $897 million and $777 million of Assets and Liabilities held for sale, respectively, at December 31, 2018. Upon remeasurement of the Oyster Creek ARO, Exelon and Generation recognized an $84 million and a $9 million pre-tax charge to Operating and maintenance expense in the third quarter of 2018 and in the second quarter of 2019, respectively. See Note 9 — Asset Retirement Obligations for additional information.

Disposition of EGTP and Acquisition of Handley Generating Station (Exelon and Generation)

EGTP, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in 2014 with the purpose of financing a portfolio of assets comprised of two combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) and three peaking/simple cycle facilities consisting of approximately 3.4 GW of generation capacity in ERCOT North and Houston Zones. EGTP was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Exelon and Generation.

EGTP’s operating cash flows were negatively impacted by certain market conditions and the seasonality of its cash flows. On May 2, 2017, as a result of the negative impacts of certain market conditions and the seasonality of its cash flows, EGTP entered into a consent agreement with its lenders to permit EGTP to draw on its revolving credit facility and initiate an orderly sales process to sell the assets of its wholly owned subsidiaries. As a result, Exelon and Generation classified certain of EGTP assets and liabilities as held for sale at their respective fair values less costs to sell and recorded a $460 million pre-tax impairment loss. See Note 16 — Debt and Credit Agreements for details regarding the nonrecourse debt associated with EGTP and Note 11 — Asset Impairments for additional information.

On November 7, 2017, EGTP and all of its wholly owned subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which resulted in Exelon and Generation deconsolidating EGTP's assets and liabilities from their consolidated financial statements in the fourth quarter of 2017 that resulted in a pre-tax gain upon deconsolidation of $213 million. Concurrently with the Chapter 11 filings, Generation entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire one of EGTP's generating plants, the Handley Generating Station, subject to a potential adjustment for fuel oil and assumption of certain liabilities. In the Chapter 11 Filings, EGTP requested that the proposed acquisition of the Handley Generating Station be consummated through a court-approved and supervised sales process. The acquisition closed on April 4, 2018 for a purchase price of $62 million. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings were finalized on April 17, 2018, resulting in the ownership of EGTP assets (other than the Handley Generating Station) being transferred to EGTP's lenders.

Disposition of Electrical Contracting Business (Exelon and Generation)

On February 28, 2018, Generation completed the sale of its interest in an electrical contracting business that primarily installs, maintains and repairs underground and high-voltage cable transmission and distribution systems for $87 million, resulting in a pre-tax gain which is included within Gain on sales of assets and businesses in Exelon's and Generation's Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2018.