Variable Interest Entities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]

Sabal Trail. On April 1, 2016, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NextEra) purchased a 9.5% interest in Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC (Sabal Trail) from SEP. Consideration for this transaction consisted of approximately $110 million cash, $102 million of which is classified as Cash Flows from Financing Activities—Contributions from Noncontrolling Interests. See Note 11 for additional information related to this transaction. As of September 30, 2016, we have an effective 37.9% ownership interest in Sabal Trail through our ownership of SEP. Sabal Trail is a joint venture that is constructing a natural gas pipeline to transport natural gas to Florida. Sabal Trail is a variable interest entity (VIE) due to insufficient equity at risk to finance its activities. We determined that we are the primary beneficiary because we direct the activities of Sabal Trail that most significantly impact its economic performance and we consolidate Sabal Trail in our financial statements. The current estimate of the total remaining construction cost is approximately $1.5 billion.

The following table summarizes the assets and liabilities for Sabal Trail:



Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets Caption	September 30, 2016		December 31, 2015
	(in millions)
Assets
Current assets	$	303	$	118
Net property, plant and equipment	1,363		773
Regulatory assets and deferred debits	58		25
Total Assets	$	1,724	$	916
Liabilities and Equity
Current liabilities	$	128	$	84
Equity	1,596		832
Total Liabilities and Equity	$	1,724	$	916

Nexus. We have an effective 37.9% ownership interest in Nexus Gas Transmission, LLC (Nexus) through our ownership of SEP. Nexus is a joint venture that is constructing a natural gas pipeline from Ohio to Michigan and continuing on to Ontario, Canada. Nexus is a VIE due to insufficient equity at risk to finance its activities. We determined that we are not the primary beneficiary because the power to direct the activities of Nexus that most significantly impact its economic performance is shared. Nexus is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Our maximum exposure to loss is $1.0 billion. We have an investment in Nexus of $281 million and $90 million as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, classified as Investments in and Loans to Unconsolidated Affiliates on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.