Regulatory Matters

Rate Plans

O&R New York – Electric

In May 2018, in O&R's electric rate proceeding, the NYSPSC staff recommended a $10.6 million increase in O&R's electric rates (reflecting an authorized return on common equity of 8.6 percent). In June 2018, O&R filed an update to its requested rate increase, changing its request to a $30.4 million increase (reflecting an authorized return on common equity of 9.75 percent).

O&R New York – Gas

In May 2018, in O&R's gas rate proceeding, the NYSPSC staff recommended a $6.7 million decrease in O&R's gas rates (reflecting an authorized return on common equity of 8.6 percent). In June 2018, O&R filed an update to its requested rate increase, changing its request to a $0.5 million decrease (reflecting an authorized return on common equity of 9.75 percent).

Other Regulatory Matters

In August and November 2017, the NYSPSC issued orders in its proceeding investigating an April 21, 2017 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway power outage. The orders indicated that the investigation determined that the outage was caused by a failure of CECONY’s electricity supply to a subway station, which led to a loss of the subway signals, and that one of the secondary services to the MTA facility had been improperly rerouted and was not properly documented by the company. The orders also indicated that the loss of power to the subway station affected multiple subway lines and caused widespread delays across the subway system. Pursuant to the orders, the company is required to take certain actions, including inspecting, repairing and installing certain electrical equipment that serves the subway system, analyzing power supply and power quality events affecting the MTA’s signaling services, and filing monthly reports with the NYSPSC on all of the company's activities related to the subway system. Through September 30, 2018, the company incurred costs related to this matter of $219 million. Included in this amount is $30 million in capital and operating and maintenance costs reflected in the company's electric rate plan and $189 million deferred as a regulatory asset pursuant to the rate plan. The company, which plans to complete the required actions in 2018, expects to incur costs related to this matter during the remainder of 2018 of $51 million, which is expected to be deferred as a regulatory asset pursuant to the rate plan.

In December 2017, the NYSPSC issued an order initiating a proceeding to study the potential effects of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) on income tax expense and liabilities of New York State utilities and the regulatory treatment to preserve the resulting benefits for customers. Upon enactment of the TCJA in December 2017, CECONY and O&R re-measured their deferred tax assets and liabilities and accrued net regulatory liabilities for future income taxes of $3,513 million and $161 million, respectively. In September 2018, CECONY and O&R accrued additional net regulatory liabilities for future income tax of $51 million and $7 million, respectively (see Note I). Under the rate normalization requirements continued by the TCJA, the "protected" portion of their net regulatory liabilities related to certain accelerated tax depreciation benefits ($2,593 million and $133 million, respectively) is to be amortized over the remaining lives of the related assets. The remainder of the net regulatory liabilities, or "unprotected" portion, ($971 million and $35 million, respectively) is to be amortized as determined by the NYSPSC.

In August 2018, the NYSPSC ordered CECONY to begin on January 1, 2019 to credit the company's electric and gas customers, and to begin on October 1, 2018 to credit its steam customers, with the net benefits of the TCJA as measured based on amounts reflected in its rate plans prior to the enactment of the TCJA. The net benefits include the revenue requirement impact of the reduction in the corporate federal income tax rate to 21 percent, the elimination for utilities of bonus depreciation and the amortization of excess deferred federal income taxes.

CECONY estimates that its credit of net benefits to its electric, gas and steam customers in 2019 will amount to $247 million, $102 million and $25 million, respectively (and that its credit to its steam customers in the fourth quarter of 2018 will be $6 million). CECONY’s net benefits prior to January 1, 2019 allocable to the company’s electric customers (estimated $304 million) are to be deferred and addressed in its next electric rate proceeding. CECONY’s net benefits prior to January 1, 2019 allocable to the company’s gas customers (estimated $82 million) and net benefits prior to October 1, 2018 allocable to the company’s steam customers ($15 million) are to be amortized over a three-year period. CECONY’s net regulatory liability for future income taxes, including both the protected and unprotected portions, allocable to the company’s electric customers ($2,514 million) is to continue to be deferred until its next electric rate proceeding and the amounts allocable to its gas and steam customers ($808 million and $190 million, respectively) are to be amortized over the remaining lives of the related assets (with the amortization period for the unprotected portion subject to review in its next gas and steam rate proceedings). O&R, in its ongoing rate proceedings (see “Rate Plans,” above), intends to reflect its TCJA net benefits in its electric and gas rates beginning as of January 1, 2019, to amortize its net benefits prior to January 1, 2019 (estimated $22 million) over a three-year period and to amortize the protected portion of its net regulatory liability for future income taxes over the remaining lives of the related assets and the unprotected portion over a fifteen-year period.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Utilities deferred as regulatory liabilities estimated net benefits of the TCJA of $325 million, which represented approximately three quarters of their estimated annual net benefits.

In January 2018, the NYSPSC issued an order initiating a focused operations audit of the income tax accounting of certain utilities, including CECONY and O&R.

In January 2018, the NJBPU issued an order initiating a proceeding to consider the TCJA. In June 2018, the NJBPU made permanent its previously approved $2.9 million interim decrease in Rockland Electric Company's (RECO) electric base rates, effective April 1, 2018, and ordered RECO to pay to its customers in July 2018 its approximately $1 million of net benefits of the TCJA for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 and to begin in July 2018 to refund to its customers the unprotected portion of its net regulatory liability for future income taxes over a three-year period. Also in March 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order directing RECO to propose revisions to its transmission revenue requirement to reflect the TCJA. RECO’s net regulatory liability for future income taxes resulting from its re-measurement of its deferred tax asset and liabilities is $28 million (including $16 million subject to the normalization requirements continued by the TCJA).

In March 2018, Winter Storms Riley and Quinn caused damage to the Utilities’ electric distribution systems and interrupted service to approximately 209,000 CECONY customers, 93,000 O&R customers and 44,000 RECO customers. Through September 30, 2018, CECONY's costs related to March 2018 storms, including Riley and Quinn, amounted to $125 million, including operation and maintenance expenses reflected in its electric rate plan ($16 million), operation and maintenance expenses charged against a storm reserve pursuant to its electric rate plan ($76 million), capital expenditures ($27 million) and removal costs ($6 million). O&R and RECO had storm-related costs of $44 million and $17 million, respectively, most of which were deferred as regulatory assets pursuant to their electric rate plans. Recovery of CECONY and O&R storm-related costs is subject to review by the NYSPSC, and recovery of RECO storm-related costs is subject to review by the NJBPU. The NYSPSC is investigating the preparation and response to the storms by CECONY, O&R, and other New York electric utilities, including all aspects of their emergency response plans, and may penalize them. In July 2018, the NJBPU adopted NJBPU staff's recommendations to increase requirements for New Jersey utilities, including RECO, relating to pre-storm preparations, restoration of service and communications and outreach. The Companies are unable to estimate the amount or range of their possible loss in connection with the storms.

In May 2018, FERC denied a complaint the NJBPU filed with FERC seeking the re-allocation to CECONY of certain PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) transmission costs that had been allocated to the company prior to April 2017 when transmission service provided to the company pursuant to the PJM open access transmission tariff terminated. The transmission service terminated because the company did not exercise its option to continue the service following a series of requests PJM had submitted to FERC that substantially increased the charges for the transmission service. CECONY challenged each of these requests. FERC rejected all but one of CECONY’s protests. In June 2015 and May 2016, CECONY filed appeals of certain FERC decisions with the U.S. Court of Appeals. In July 2018, FERC established a settlement proceeding relating to the allocation of PJM transmission costs. Under CECONY’s electric rate plan, unless and until changed by the NYSPSC, the company will recover all charges incurred associated with the transmission service.

In July 2018, the NYSPSC commenced an investigation into the rupture of a CECONY steam main (see Note H).

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

Regulatory assets and liabilities at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were comprised of the following items:



	Con Edison		CECONY
(Millions of Dollars)	2018	2017	2018	2017
Regulatory assets
Unrecognized pension and other postretirement costs	$2,001	$2,526	$1,881	$2,376
Environmental remediation costs	754	793	653	677
Revenue taxes	287	260	274	248
MTA power reliability deferral	189	50	189	50
Property tax reconciliation	85	51	68	25
Deferred storm costs	80	38	—	—
Pension and other postretirement benefits deferrals	73	79	56	58
Municipal infrastructure support costs	73	56	73	56
Recoverable energy costs	62	60	57	52
Unamortized loss on reacquired debt	37	37	36	35
Meadowlands heater odorization project	36	18	36	18
Brooklyn Queens demand management program	30	37	30	37
Preferred stock redemption	23	24	23	24
Deferred derivative losses	21	44	16	37
Gate station upgrade project	19	13	19	13
Recoverable REV demonstration project costs	18	19	16	17
Indian Point Energy Center program costs	15	29	15	29
Workers’ compensation	6	10	6	10
O&R transition bond charges	3	9	—	—
Other	138	113	128	101
Regulatory assets – noncurrent	3,950	4,266	3,576	3,863
Deferred derivative losses	19	40	14	37
Recoverable energy costs	6	27	5	25
Regulatory assets – current	25	67	19	62
Total Regulatory Assets	$3,975	$4,333	$3,595	$3,925
Regulatory liabilities
Future income tax	$2,547	$2,545	$2,389	$2,390
Allowance for cost of removal less salvage	878	846	745	719
TCJA net benefits*	325	—	304	—
Energy efficiency portfolio standard unencumbered funds	127	127	122	122
Pension and other postretirement benefit deferrals	120	207	97	181
Net unbilled revenue deferrals	86	183	86	183
Unrecognized other postretirement costs	78	92	78	92
Property tax reconciliation	57	107	57	107
Property tax refunds	45	44	45	44
Settlement of prudence proceeding	44	66	44	66
Earnings sharing - electric, gas and steam	25	29	16	19
Carrying charges on repair allowance and bonus depreciation	24	43	24	42
New York State income tax rate change	21	36	22	35
Settlement of gas proceedings	16	27	16	27
Base rate change deferrals	13	21	13	21
Variable-rate tax-exempt debt – cost rate reconciliation	7	30	6	26
Net utility plant reconciliations	7	12	4	8
Other	204	162	174	137
Regulatory liabilities – noncurrent	4,624	4,577	4,242	4,219
Revenue decoupling mechanism	56	29	55	21
Refundable energy costs	32	41	12	16
Deferred derivative gains	20	31	18	28
Regulatory liabilities – current	108	101	85	65
Total Regulatory Liabilities	$4,732	$4,678	$4,327	$4,284

* See "Other Regulatory Matters," above.