Other Material Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Manhattan Steam Main Rupture

In July 2007, a CECONY steam main located in midtown Manhattan ruptured. It has been reported that one person died and others were injured as a result of the incident. Several buildings in the area were damaged. Debris from the incident included dirt and mud containing asbestos. The response to the incident required the closing of several buildings and streets for various periods. Approximately ninety suits are pending against the company seeking generally unspecified compensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages, for wrongful death, personal injury, property damage and business interruption. The company has notified its insurers of the incident and believes that the policies in force at the time of the incident will cover the company’s costs to satisfy its liability to others in connection with the suits. In the company’s estimation, there is not a reasonable possibility that an exposure to loss exists for the suits that is materially in excess of the estimated liability accrued. At December 31, 2015, the company has accrued its estimated liability for the suits of $50 million and an insurance receivable in the same amount.

Manhattan Explosion and Fire

On March 12, 2014, two multi-use five-story tall buildings located on Park Avenue between 116th and 117th Street in Manhattan were destroyed by an explosion and fire. CECONY had delivered gas to the buildings through service lines from a distribution main located below ground on Park Avenue. Eight people died and more than 50 people were injured. Additional buildings were also damaged. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated. The parties to the investigation included the company, the City of New York, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the NYSPSC (which also conducted an investigation). In June 2015, the NTSB issued a final report concerning the incident, its probable cause and safety recommendations. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the incident was (1) the failure of a defective fusion joint at a service tee (which joined a plastic service line to a plastic distribution main) installed by the company that allowed gas to leak from the distribution main and migrate into a building where it ignited and (2) a breach in a City sewer line that allowed groundwater and soil to flow into the sewer, resulting in a loss of support for the distribution main, which caused it to sag and overstressed the defective fusion joint. The NTSB also made safety recommendations, including recommendations to the company that addressed its procedures for the preparation and examination of plastic fusions, training of its staff on conditions for notifications to the City’s Fire Department and extension of its gas main isolation valve installation program. Approximately seventy suits are pending against the company seeking generally unspecified damages and, in one case, punitive damages, for wrongful death, personal injury, property damage and business interruption. The company has notified its insurers of the incident and believes that the policies in force at the time of the incident will cover the company’s costs, in excess of a required retention (the amount of which is not material), to satisfy any liability it may have for damages in connection with the incident. The company is unable to estimate the amount or range of its possible loss related to the incident. At December 31, 2015, the company had not accrued a liability for the incident.

Other Contingencies

See “Other Regulatory Matters” in Note B and "Uncertain Tax Positions" in Note L.

Guarantees

Con Edison and its subsidiaries enter into various agreements providing financial or performance assurance primarily to third parties on behalf of their subsidiaries. Maximum amounts guaranteed by Con Edison totaled $2,856 million and $2,547 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

A summary, by type and term, of Con Edison’s total guarantees at December 31, 2015 is as follows:



Guarantee Type	0 – 3 years	4 – 10 years	> 10 years		Total
	(Millions of Dollars)
NY Transco	$791	$567		$—	$1,358
Energy transactions	792	35	97		924
Renewable electric production projects	471	1	27		499
Other	75	—	—		75
Total	$2,129	$603	$124		$2,856

NY Transco – Con Edison has guaranteed payment by CET Electric of the contributions it agreed to make to New York Transco LLC (NY Transco). CET Electric acquired a 45.7 percent interest in NY Transco when it was formed in 2014. NY Transco’s transmission projects are being developed initially by CECONY and other New York transmission owners and are expected to be sold to NY Transco. The development of the projects would be subject to authorizations from the NYSPSC, the FERC and other federal, state and local agencies. Guarantee amount shown is for the maximum possible required amount of CET Electric's contributions, which assumes that all of the NY Transco projects proposed when NY Transco was formed receive all required regulatory approvals and are completed at 175 percent of their estimated costs and that NY Transco does not use any debt financing to construct the projects. Guarantee term shown is assumed as the timing of the contributions is not certain.

Energy Transactions – Con Edison guarantees payments on behalf of its competitive energy businesses in order to facilitate physical and financial transactions in gas, pipeline capacity, oil, electricity, renewable energy credits and energy services. To the extent that liabilities exist under the contracts subject to these guarantees, such liabilities are included in Con Edison’s consolidated balance sheet.

Renewable Electric Production Projects – Con Edison, Con Edison Development and Con Edison Solutions guarantee payments associated with investments in solar and wind energy facilities by their wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Other – Other guarantees primarily relate to $70 million in guarantees provided by Con Edison to Travelers Insurance Company for indemnity agreements for surety bonds in connection with energy service projects and operation of solar energy facilities of Con Edison Solutions and Con Edison Development, respectively. In addition, Con Edison issued a guarantee to the Public Utility Commission of Texas covering obligations of Con Edison Solutions as a retail electric provider. Con Edison’s estimate of the maximum potential obligation for this guarantee is $5 million as of December 31, 2015.

CECONY

Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]