Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions (Exelon and Generation)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Mergers, Acquisitions and Dispositions [Abstract]

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Dispositions (Exelon and Generation)

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 23 — Variable Interest Entities for additional information.

On April 1, 2014, Generation and EDF entered into various agreements including a NOSA, an amended LLC Operating Agreement, an Employee Matters Agreement, and a Put Option Agreement, among others. Under the amended LLC 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, 2020, the total unpaid aggregate preferred distributions and related return owed to Generation is $619 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 and the FERC. The FERC approval was obtained on July 30, 2020. The process and regulatory approvals are expected to close in the second half of 2021.

Agreement for Sale of Generation’s Solar Business (Exelon and Generation)

On December 8, 2020, Generation entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Brookfield Renewable, for the sale of a significant portion of Generation’s solar business, including 360 megawatts of generation in operation or under construction across more than 600 sites across the United States. Under the terms of the transaction, the purchase price is $810 million, subject to certain working capital and other post-closing adjustments. Generation will retain certain solar assets not included in this agreement, primarily Antelope Valley.

As a result of the transaction, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Exelon and Generation reclassified the solar assets and liabilities on Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as held for sale. The transaction is expected to result in an estimated pre-tax gain ranging from $75 million to $125 million. The gain will be recorded in Gain on sales of assets and businesses in Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income upon completion of the transaction. Completion of the transaction contemplated by the sale agreement is subject to the satisfaction of several closing conditions and is expected to occur in the first half of 2021. See Note 17 — Debt and Credit Agreements for additional information on the SolGen nonrecourse debt included as part of the transaction.

Disposition of Oyster Creek (Exelon and Generation)

On July 31, 2018, Generation entered into an agreement with Holtec and its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, 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 of 2019, 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.

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 2018 and in 2019, respectively. See Note 10 — Asset Retirement Obligations for additional information.

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.