Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation (All Registrants)

Each of the Registrant’s Consolidated Financial Statements includes the accounts of its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

Through its business services subsidiary, BSC, Exelon provides its subsidiaries with a variety of support services

at cost, including legal, human resources, financial, information technology and supply management services. PHI also has a business services subsidiary, PHISCO, which provides a variety of support services at cost, including legal, accounting, engineering, customer operations, distribution and transmission planning, asset management, system operations, and power procurement, to PHI operating companies. The costs of BSC and PHISCO are directly charged or allocated to the applicable subsidiaries. The results of Exelon’s corporate operations are presented as “Other” within the consolidated financial statements and include intercompany eliminations unless otherwise disclosed.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2019 and 2018 and for the three months then ended are unaudited but, in the opinion of the management of each Registrant include all adjustments that are considered necessary for a fair statement of the Registrants’ respective financial statements in accordance with GAAP. All adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature, except as otherwise disclosed. The December 31, 2018 Consolidated Balance Sheets were derived from audited financial statements. Financial results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. These Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

New Accounting Standards (All Registrants)

New Accounting Standards Adopted in 2019: In 2019, the Registrants have adopted the following new authoritative accounting guidance issued by the FASB.

Leases. The Registrants applied the new guidance with the following transition practical expedients:


•	a "package of three" expedients that must be taken together and allow entities to (1) not reassess whether existing contracts contain leases, (2) carryforward the existing lease classification, and (3) not reassess initial direct costs associated with existing leases,


•	an implementation expedient which allows the requirements of the standard in the period of adoption with no restatement of prior periods, and


•	a land easement expedient which allows entities to not evaluate land easements under the new standard at adoption if they were not previously accounted for as leases.

The standard materially impacted the Registrants' Consolidated Balance Sheets but did not have a material impact in the Registrants' Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Equity. The most significant impact was the recognition of the ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases. The operating ROU assets and lease liabilities recognized upon adoption are materially consistent with the balances presented in the Combined Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. See Note 5 - Leases for additional information.

See Note 1 — Significant Accounting Policies of the Exelon 2018 Form 10-K for additional information on new accounting standards issued and adopted as of January 1, 2019.

New Accounting Standards Issued and Not Yet Adopted as of March 31, 2019: The following new authoritative accounting guidance issued by the FASB has not yet been adopted and reflected by the Registrants in their consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, the Registrants are currently assessing the impacts such guidance may have (which could be material) in their Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and disclosures, as well as the potential to early adopt where applicable. The Registrants have assessed other FASB issuances of new standards which are not listed below given the current expectation that such standards will not significantly impact the Registrants' financial reporting.

Goodwill Impairment (Issued January 2017). Simplifies the accounting for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 of the current test, which requires calculation of a hypothetical purchase price allocation. Under the revised guidance, goodwill impairment will be measured as the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill (currently Step 1 of the two-step impairment test). Entities will continue to have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine if a quantitative impairment test is necessary. Exelon, Generation, ComEd, PHI and DPL have goodwill as of March 31, 2019. This updated guidance is not currently expected to impact the Registrants’ financial reporting. The standard is effective January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and must be applied on a prospective basis.

Impairment of Financial Instruments (Issued June 2016). Provides for a new Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) impairment model for specified financial instruments including loans, trade receivables, debt securities classified as held-to-maturity investments and net investments in leases recognized by a lessor. Under the new guidance, on initial recognition and at each reporting period, an entity is required to recognize an allowance that reflects the entity’s current estimate of credit losses expected to be incurred over the life of the financial instrument. The standard does not make changes to the existing impairment models for non-financial assets such as fixed assets, intangibles and goodwill. The standard will be effective January 1, 2020 (with early adoption as of January 1, 2019 permitted) and requires a modified retrospective transition approach through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Registrants are currently assessing the impacts of this standard.

Revenues [Policy Text Block]

The Registrants recognize revenue from contracts with customers to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers at an amount that the entities expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Generation’s primary sources of revenue include competitive sales of power, natural gas, and other energy-related products and services. The Utility Registrants’ primary sources of revenue include regulated electric and gas tariff sales, distribution and transmission services.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Valuation Techniques Used to Determine Fair Value

The following describes the valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of the assets and liabilities shown in the tables above.

Cash Equivalents (All Registrants). The Registrants’ cash equivalents include investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. The cash equivalents shown in the fair value tables are comprised of investments in mutual and money market funds. The fair values of the shares of these funds are based on observable market prices and, therefore, have been categorized in Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.

NDT Fund Investments (Exelon and Generation). The trust fund investments have been established to satisfy Generation’s and CENG's nuclear decommissioning obligations as required by the NRC. The NDT funds hold debt and equity securities directly and indirectly through commingled funds and mutual funds, which are included in Equities and Fixed Income. Generation’s and CENG's NDT fund investments policies outline investment guidelines for the trusts and limit the trust funds’ exposures to investments in highly illiquid markets and other alternative investments. Investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased, including certain short-term fixed income securities are considered cash equivalents and included in the recurring fair value measurements hierarchy as Level 1 or Level 2.

With respect to individually held equity securities, the trustees obtain prices from pricing services, whose prices are generally obtained from direct feeds from market exchanges, which Generation is able to independently corroborate. The fair values of equity securities held directly by the trust funds which are based on quoted prices in active markets are categorized in Level 1. Certain equity securities have been categorized as Level 2 because they are based on evaluated prices that reflect observable market information, such as actual trade information or similar securities. Equity securities held individually are primarily traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ-Global Select Market, which contain only actively traded securities due to the volume trading requirements imposed by these exchanges.

For fixed income securities, multiple prices from pricing services are obtained whenever possible, which enables cross-provider validations in addition to checks for unusual daily movements. A primary price source is identified based on asset type, class or issue for each security. With respect to individually held fixed income securities, the trustees monitor prices supplied by pricing services and may use a supplemental price source or change the primary price source of a given security if the portfolio managers challenge an assigned price and the trustees determine that another price source is considered to be preferable. Generation has obtained an understanding of how these prices are derived, including the nature and observability of the inputs used in deriving such prices. Additionally, Generation selectively corroborates the fair values of securities by comparison to other market-based price sources. U.S. Treasury securities are categorized as Level 1 because they trade in a highly liquid and transparent market. The fair values of fixed income securities, excluding U.S. Treasury securities, are based on evaluated prices that reflect observable market information, such as actual trade information or similar securities, adjusted for observable differences and are categorized in Level 2. The fair values of private placement fixed income securities, which are included in Corporate debt, are determined using a third-party valuation that contains significant unobservable inputs and are categorized in Level 3.

Equity and fixed income commingled funds and mutual funds are maintained by investment companies and hold certain investments in accordance with a stated set of fund objectives such as holding short-term fixed income securities or tracking the performance of certain equity indices by purchasing equity securities to replicate the capitalization and characteristics of the indices. The values of some of these funds are publicly quoted. For mutual funds which are publicly quoted, the funds are valued based on quoted prices in active markets and have been categorized as Level 1. For commingled funds and mutual funds, which are not publicly quoted, the funds are valued using NAV as a practical expedient for fair value, which is primarily derived from the quoted prices in active markets on the underlying securities, and are not classified within the fair value hierarchy. These investments typically can be redeemed monthly with 30 or less days of notice and without further restrictions.

Derivative instruments consisting primarily of futures and interest rate swaps to manage risk are recorded at fair value. Over the counter derivatives are valued daily based on quoted prices in active markets and trade in open markets and have been categorized as Level 1. Derivative instruments other than over the counter derivatives are valued based on external price data of comparable securities and have been categorized as Level 2.

Middle market lending are investments in loans or managed funds which lend to private companies. Generation elected the fair value option for its investments in certain limited partnerships that invest in middle market lending managed funds. The fair value of these loans is determined using a combination of valuation models including cost models, market models and income models. Investments in loans are categorized as Level 3 because the fair value of these securities is based largely on inputs that are unobservable and utilize complex valuation models. Managed funds are valued using NAV or its equivalent as a practical expedient, and therefore, are not classified within the fair value hierarchy. Investments in middle market lending typically cannot be redeemed until maturity of the term loan.

Private equity and real estate investments include those in limited partnerships that invest in operating companies and real estate holding companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange, such as, leveraged buyouts, growth capital, venture capital, distressed investments, investments in natural resources, and direct investments in pools of real estate properties. The fair value of private equity and real estate investments is determined using NAV or its equivalent as a practical expedient, and therefore, are not classified within the fair value hierarchy. These investments typically cannot be redeemed and are generally liquidated over a period of 8 to 10 years from the initial investment date. Private equity and real estate valuations are reported by the fund manager and are based on the valuation of the underlying investments, which include inputs such as cost, operating results, discounted future cash flows, market based comparable data, and independent appraisals from sources with professional qualifications. These valuation inputs are unobservable.

As of March 31, 2019, Exelon and Generation have outstanding commitments to invest in fixed income, middle market lending, private equity and real estate investments of approximately $127 million, $179 million, $301 million, and $268 million, respectively. These commitments will be funded by Generation’s existing NDT funds.

Concentrations of Credit Risk. Generation evaluated its NDT portfolios for the existence of significant concentrations of credit risk as of March 31, 2019. Types of concentrations that were evaluated include, but are not limited to, investment concentrations in a single entity, type of industry, foreign country, and individual fund. As of March 31, 2019, there were no significant concentrations (generally defined as greater than 10 percent) of risk in Generation's NDT assets.

See Note 13 — Nuclear Decommissioning for additional information on the NDT fund investments.

Rabbi Trust Investments (Exelon, Generation, PECO, BGE, PHI, and Pepco). The Rabbi trusts were established to hold assets related to deferred compensation plans existing for certain active and retired members of Exelon’s executive management and directors. The Rabbi trusts assets are included in investments in the Registrants’ Consolidated Balance Sheets and consist primarily of money market funds, mutual funds, fixed income securities and life insurance policies. The mutual funds are maintained by investment companies and hold certain investments in accordance with a stated set of fund objectives, which are consistent with Exelon’s overall investment strategy. Money market funds and mutual funds are publicly quoted and have been categorized as Level 1 given the clear observability of the prices. The fair values of fixed income securities are based on evaluated prices that reflect observable market information, such as actual trade information or similar securities, adjusted for observable differences and are categorized in Level 2. The life insurance policies are valued using the cash surrender value of the policies, net of loans against those policies, which is provided by a third-party. Certain life insurance policies, which consist primarily of mutual funds that are priced based on observable market data, have been categorized as Level 2 because the life insurance policies can be liquidated at the reporting date for the value of the underlying assets. Life insurance policies that are valued using unobservable inputs have been categorized as Level 3.

Mark-to-Market Derivatives (Exelon, Generation, ComEd, PHI and DPL). Derivative contracts are traded in both exchange-based and non-exchange-based markets. Exchange-based derivatives that are valued using unadjusted quoted prices in active markets are categorized in Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. Certain derivatives’ pricing is verified using indicative price quotations available through brokers or over-the-counter, on-line exchanges and are categorized in Level 2. These price quotations reflect the average of the bid-ask, mid-point prices and are obtained from sources that the Registrants believe provide the most liquid market for the commodity. The price quotations are reviewed and corroborated to ensure the prices are observable and representative of an orderly transaction between market participants. This includes consideration of actual transaction volumes, market delivery points, bid-ask spreads and contract duration. The remainder of derivative contracts are valued using the Black model, an industry standard option valuation model. The Black model takes into account inputs such as contract terms, including maturity, and market parameters, including assumptions of the future prices of energy, interest rates, volatility, credit worthiness and credit spread. For derivatives that trade in liquid markets, such as generic forwards, swaps and options, model inputs are generally observable. Such instruments are categorized in Level 2. The Registrants’ derivatives are predominantly at liquid trading points. For derivatives that trade in less liquid markets with limited pricing information model inputs generally would include both observable and unobservable inputs. These valuations may include an estimated basis adjustment from an illiquid trading point to a liquid trading point for which active price quotations are available. Such instruments are categorized in Level 3.

Exelon may utilize fixed-to-floating interest rate swaps as a means to achieve its targeted level of variable-rate debt as a percent of total debt. In addition, the Registrants may utilize interest rate derivatives to lock in interest rate levels in anticipation of future financings. Exelon determines the current fair value by calculating the net present value of expected payments and receipts under the swap agreement, based on and discounted by the market's expectation of future interest rates. Additional inputs to the net present value calculation may include the contract terms, counterparty credit risk and other market parameters. As these inputs are based on observable data and valuations of similar instruments, the interest rate swaps are categorized in Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. See Note 10 — Derivative Financial Instruments for additional information on mark-to-market derivatives.

Deferred Compensation Obligations (All Registrants). The Registrants’ deferred compensation plans allow participants to defer certain cash compensation into a notional investment account. The Registrants include such plans in other current and noncurrent liabilities in their Consolidated Balance Sheets. The value of the Registrants’ deferred compensation obligations is based on the market value of the participants’ notional investment accounts. The underlying notional investments are comprised primarily of equities, mutual funds, commingled funds, and fixed income securities which are based on directly and indirectly observable market prices. Since the deferred compensation obligations themselves are not exchanged in an active market, they are categorized as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

The value of certain employment agreement obligations (which are included with the Deferred Compensation Obligation in the tables above) are based on a known and certain stream of payments to be made over time and are categorized as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

Additional Information Regarding Level 3 Fair Value Measurements (Exelon, Generation, ComEd, PHI, Pepco, DPL and ACE)

NDT Fund Investments (Exelon and Generation). For middle market lending and certain corporate debt securities investments, the fair value is determined using a combination of valuation models including cost models, market models and income models. The valuation estimates are based on discounting the forecasted cash flows, market-based comparable data, credit and liquidity factors, as well as other factors that may impact value. Significant judgment is required in the application of discounts or premiums applied for factors such as size, marketability, credit risk and relative performance.

Because Generation relies on third-party fund managers to develop the quantitative unobservable inputs without adjustment for the valuations of its Level 3 investments, quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used in valuing these investments is not reasonably available to Generation. This includes information regarding the sensitivity of the fair values to changes in the unobservable inputs. Therefore, Generation has not disclosed such inputs.

Rabbi Trust Investments - Life insurance contracts (Exelon, PHI, and Pepco). For life insurance policies categorized as Level 3, the fair value is determined based on the cash surrender value of the policy, which contains unobservable inputs and assumptions. Because Exelon relies on its third-party insurance provider to develop the inputs without adjustment for the valuations of its Level 3 investments, quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used in valuing these investments is not reasonably available to Exelon. Therefore, Exelon has not disclosed such inputs.

Mark-to-Market Derivatives (Exelon, Generation and ComEd). For valuations that include both observable and unobservable inputs, if the unobservable input is determined to be significant to the overall inputs, the entire valuation is categorized in Level 3. This includes derivatives valued using indicative price quotations whose contract tenure extends into unobservable periods. In instances where observable data is unavailable, consideration is given to the assumptions that market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. This includes assumptions about market risks such as liquidity, volatility and contract duration. Such instruments are categorized in Level 3 as the model inputs generally are not observable. Forward price curves for the power market utilized by the front office to manage the portfolio, are reviewed and verified by the middle office, and used for financial reporting by the back office. The Registrants consider credit and nonperformance risk in the valuation of derivative contracts categorized in Level 2 and 3, including both historical and current market data in its assessment of credit and nonperformance risk by counterparty. Due to master netting agreements and collateral posting requirements, the impacts of credit and nonperformance risk were not material to the financial statements.

Lessee, Leases [Policy Text Block]

Leases (All Registrants)

The Registrants recognize a ROU asset and lease liability for operating leases with a term of greater than one year. The ROU asset is included in Other deferred debits and other assets and the lease liability is included in Other current liabilities and Other deferred credits and other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The ROU asset is measured as the sum of (1) the present value of all remaining fixed and in-substance fixed payments using each Registrant’s incremental borrowing rate, (2) any lease payments made at or before the commencement date (less any lease incentives received) and (3) any initial direct costs incurred. The lease liability is measured the same as the ROU asset, but excludes any payments made before the commencement date and initial direct costs incurred. Lease terms include options to extend or terminate the lease if it is reasonably certain they will be exercised. The Registrants include non-lease components, which are service-related costs that are not integral to the use of the asset, in the measurement of the ROU asset and lease liability.

Expense for operating leases and leases with a term of one year or less is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease, unless another systematic and rational basis is more representative of the derivation of benefit from use of the leased property. Variable lease payments are recognized in the period in which the related obligation is incurred and consist primarily of payments for purchases of electricity under contracted generation and are based on the electricity produced by those generating assets. Operating lease expense and variable lease payments are recorded to Purchased power and fuel expense for contracted generation or Operating and maintenance expense for all other lease agreements on the Registrants’ Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

Income from operating leases, including subleases, is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease, unless another systematic and rational basis is more representative of the pattern in which income is earned over the term of the lease. Variable lease payments are recognized in the period in which the related obligation is performed and consist primarily of payments received from sales of electricity under contracted generation and are based on the electricity produced by those generating assets. Operating lease income and variable lease payments are recorded to Operating revenues on the Registrants’ Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

The Registrants’ operating leases consist primarily of contracted generation, real estate including office buildings, and vehicles and equipment. The Registrants generally account for contracted generation in which the generating asset is not renewable as a lease if the customer has dispatch rights and obtains substantially all of the economic benefits. For new agreements entered after January 1, 2019, the Registrants will generally not account for contracted generation in which the generating asset is renewable as a lease if the customer does not design the generating asset. The Registrants account for land right arrangements that provide for exclusive use as leases while shared use land arrangements are generally not leases. The Registrants do not account for secondary use pole attachments as leases.

See Note 5 —Leases for additional information.