Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization

Enable Midstream Partners, LP is a Delaware limited partnership whose assets and operations are organized into two reportable segments: (i) gathering and processing and (ii) transportation and storage. The gathering and processing segment primarily provides natural gas and crude oil gathering and natural gas processing services to our producer customers. The transportation and storage segment provides interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline transportation and storage services primarily to our producer, power plant, LDC and industrial end-user customers. The Partnership’s natural gas gathering and processing assets are primarily located in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana and serve natural gas production in the Anadarko, Arkoma and Ark-La-Tex Basins. Crude oil gathering assets are located in Oklahoma and serve crude oil production in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin and in North Dakota and serve crude oil production in the Bakken Shale formation of the Williston Basin. The Partnership’s natural gas transportation and storage assets consist primarily of an interstate pipeline system extending from western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle to Louisiana, an interstate pipeline system extending from Louisiana to Illinois, an intrastate pipeline system in Oklahoma, and our investment in SESH, a pipeline extending from Louisiana to Alabama.

CenterPoint Energy and OGE Energy each have 50% of the management interests in Enable GP. Enable GP is the general partner of the Partnership and has no other operating activities. Enable GP is governed by a board made up of two representatives designated by each of CenterPoint Energy and OGE Energy, along with the Partnership’s Chief Executive Officer and three independent board members CenterPoint Energy and OGE Energy mutually agreed to appoint. CenterPoint Energy and OGE Energy also own a 40% and 60% interest, respectively, in the incentive distribution rights held by Enable GP.

As of June 30, 2020, CenterPoint Energy held approximately 53.7% or 233,856,623 of the Partnership’s common units, and OGE Energy held approximately 25.5% or 110,982,805 of the Partnership’s common units. Additionally, CenterPoint Energy holds 14,520,000 Series A Preferred Units. The limited partner interests of the Partnership have limited voting rights on matters affecting the business. As such, limited partners do not have rights to elect the Partnership’s general partner on an annual or continuing basis and may not remove Enable GP, its current general partner, without at least a 75% vote by all unitholders, including all units held by the Partnership’s limited partners, and Enable GP and its affiliates, voting together as a single class.

As of June 30, 2020, the Partnership owned a 50% interest in SESH. See Note 8 for further discussion of SESH. For the six months ended June 30, 2020, the Partnership held a 50% ownership in Atoka and consolidated Atoka in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as EOIT acted as the managing member of Atoka and had control over the operations of Atoka. In addition, the Partnership held a 60% interest in ESCP, which is consolidated in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as EOCS acted as the managing member of ESCP and had control over the operations of ESCP.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes of the Partnership have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC and GAAP. Pursuant to such rules and regulations, certain disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report.

The condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes reflect all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary to present fairly the financial position and results of operations for the respective periods. Amounts reported in the Partnership’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income are not necessarily indicative of amounts expected for a full-year period due to the effects of, among other things, (a) seasonal fluctuations in demand for energy and energy services, (b) changes in energy commodity prices, (c) timing of maintenance and other expenditures, (d) acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, assets and other interests, and (e) the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic effects of the pandemic which have resulted in a substantial decrease in natural gas, NGLs and crude oil prices.

For a description of the Partnership’s reportable segments, see Note 16.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Sales and Retirements of Assets

On September 23, 2019, the Partnership entered into an agreement to sell its undivided 1/12th interest in the Bistineau Storage Facility in Louisiana for approximately $19 million. On January 27, 2020, FERC approved the sale. The Partnership closed the sale on April 1, 2020. We did not recognize a gain or loss on this transaction.

In April 2020, we sustained damage to an approximately 100-mile gas gathering system in the Ark-La-Tex Basin of our gathering and processing segment. We have ceased operation of this system and are in the process of retiring it. We recognized a loss on retirement of approximately $20 million during the three months ended June 30, 2020, which is included in Operation and maintenance expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

Depreciation Expense

On March 26, 2020, FERC issued an order approving MRT’s 2018 Rate Case and 2019 Rate Case settlements. As a result of the settlements, the new depreciation rates for MRT have been applied in accordance with the order. The new depreciation rates did not result in a material change in depreciation expense or results of operations.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The Partnership adopted ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” on January 1, 2020. Upon adoption, the Partnership recognized a $3 million cumulative adjustment to Partners’ Equity and a corresponding adjustment to Allowance for doubtful accounts.

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not typically bear interest. The determination of the allowance for doubtful accounts requires management to make estimates and judgments regarding our customers’ ability to pay. The allowance for doubtful accounts is determined based primarily upon the historical loss-rate method established for various pools of accounts receivables with similar levels of credit risk. The historical loss-rates are then adjusted, as necessary, based on current conditions and forecast information that could result in future uncollectable amounts. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our customers’ financial strength and liquidity based on aging of accounts receivable, payment history, and review of other relevant information, including ratings agency credit ratings and alerts, publicly available reports and news releases, and bank and trade references. It is the policy of management to review the outstanding accounts receivable and other receivable balances within other assets at least quarterly, giving consideration to credit losses, the aging of receivables, specific customer circumstances that may impact their ability to pay the amounts due and current and forecast economic conditions over the assets contractual lives. The following table summarizes the required allowance for doubtful accounts.


	June 30, 2020		January 1, 2020

	(In millions)
Accounts receivable	$	2	$	2
Other assets	3		3
Total Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	5	$	5

Inventory

Natural gas inventory is held, through the transportation and storage segment, to provide operational support for pipeline deliveries and to manage leased intrastate storage capacity. Natural gas liquids inventory is held, through the gathering and processing segment, due to timing differences between the production of certain natural gas liquids and ultimate sale to third parties. Natural gas and natural gas liquids inventory is valued using moving average cost and is subsequently recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The Partnership recorded write-downs to net realizable value related to natural gas and natural gas liquids inventory of $1 million and $5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $7 million and $6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.