Nuclear Decommissioning (Exelon and Generation)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Nuclear Decommissioning (Exelon and Generation)

Nuclear Decommissioning (Exelon)

Accounting Implications of the Regulatory Agreements with ComEd and PECO

Based on the regulatory agreements with the ICC and PAPUC that dictate Generation’s obligations related to the shortfall or excess of NDT funds necessary for decommissioning the former ComEd units on a unit-by-unit basis and the former PECO units in total, decommissioning-related activities net of applicable taxes, including realized and unrealized gains and losses on the NDT funds, depreciation of the ARC, and accretion of the decommissioning obligation, are generally offset within Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income and are recorded by Generation and the corresponding regulated utility as a component of the intercompany and regulatory balances on the balance sheet. For the purposes of making this determination, the decommissioning obligation referred to is different from the calculation used in the NRC minimum funding obligation filings based on NRC guidelines.

For the former ComEd units, given no further recovery from ComEd customers is permitted and Generation retains an obligation to ultimately return any unused NDTs to ComEd customers (on a unit-by-unit basis), to the extent the related NDT investment balances are expected to exceed the total estimated decommissioning obligation for each unit, the offset of decommissioning-related activities within the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income results with Generation recognizing an intercompany payable to ComEd while ComEd records an intercompany receivable from Generation with a corresponding regulatory liability. However, given the asymmetric settlement provision that does not allow for continued recovery from ComEd customers in the event of a shortfall, recognition of a regulatory asset at ComEd is not permissible and accounting for decommissioning-related activities at Generation for that unit would not be offset, and the impact to Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income could be material during such periods. During the second quarter of 2022, a pre-tax charge of $53 million was recorded in Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income for decommissioning-related activities that were not offset for the Byron units due to contractual offset being suspended. Generation believes that additional growth of the NDT funds for the Byron units will ultimately be sufficient to cover the future costs of decommissioning.

As of March 31, 2022, decommissioning-related activities for all of the former ComEd units, except for Byron (see discussion above) and Zion (see Note 10 – Asset Retirement Obligations of the Exelon 2021 Form 10-K), are currently offset within Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

The decommissioning-related activities related to the Non-Regulatory Agreement Units are reflected in Exelon’s and Generation’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

See Note 10 – Asset Retirement Obligations of the Exelon 2021 Form 10-K for additional information, including the former PECO units.