Investment in Equity Method Affiliate

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

The Partnership uses the equity method of accounting for investments in entities in which it has an ownership interest between 20% and 50% and exercises significant influence.

SESH is owned 50% by Enbridge, Inc. and 50% by the Partnership. Pursuant to the terms of the SESH LLC Agreement, if, at any time, CenterPoint Energy has a right to receive less than 50% of our distributions through its interest in the Partnership and its economic interest in Enable GP, or does not have the ability to exercise certain control rights, Enbridge, Inc. may, under certain circumstances, have the right to purchase the Partnership’s interest in SESH at fair market value, subject to certain exceptions.

The Partnership shares operations of SESH with Enbridge, Inc. under service agreements. The Partnership is responsible for the field operations of SESH. SESH reimburses each party for actual costs incurred, which are billed based upon a combination of direct charges and allocations. The Partnership billed SESH $2 million and $7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $8 million and $10 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, associated with these service agreements.

The Partnership includes equity in earnings of equity method affiliate under the Other Income (Expense) caption in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The following table presents the amount of Equity in earnings of equity method affiliate recognized and Distributions from equity method affiliate received.


	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019

	(In millions)
Equity in Earnings of Equity Method Affiliate	$	5	$	4	$	11	$	7
Distributions from Equity Method Affiliate ⁽¹⁾	$	9	$	4	$	19	$	16

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(1)Distributions from equity method affiliate includes a $5 million and $4 million return on investment and a $4 million and $0 return of investment for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Distributions from equity method affiliate includes an $11 million and $7 million return on investment and an $8 million and $9 million return of investment for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The following table includes the summarized financial information of SESH.


	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019

	(In millions)
Income Statements:
Revenues	$	28	$	27	$	55	$	54
Operating income	$	13	$	11	$	29	$	22
Net income	$	10	$	7	$	21	$	14