Regulatory Liabilities |
6 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Jun. 30, 2018 | |
| Regulated Operations [Abstract] | |
| Regulatory Liabilities | Note 5: Regulatory Liabilities On December 22, 2017, the TCJA was signed into law, which, among other things, enacted significant and complex changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, including a reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% as of January 1, 2018. During the first half of 2018, the Company’s fourteen regulatory jurisdictions began to consider the impacts of the TCJA. As of June 30, 2018, the Company has adjusted rates to reflect the lower income tax rate in four states and in one state, the tax savings is being used for additional capital investment; the other jurisdictions remain pending. With respect to excess accumulated deferred income taxes, regulators that have addressed the matter have agreed with the Company’s overall timeline of passing the excess back to customers beginning no earlier than 2019, when the Company is able to produce the amortization schedule using the average rate assumption method. The Company generally expects its regulated customers to benefit from the tax savings resulting from the TCJA. As a result, the Company has recorded a $54 million reserve on revenue during the six months ended June 30, 2018, for the estimated tax savings resulting from the TCJA, with a corresponding regulatory liability, of which the current portion is $17 million (recorded in other current liabilities), and the long-term portion is $37 million (recorded in regulatory liabilities). We cannot predict how each jurisdiction may calculate the amount of credits due to customers. If any of the Company’s regulatory jurisdictions determines the credits due to customers are higher than the expected reduction to income tax expense, this would result in an adverse impact to results of operations and cash flows. |