Summary of Significant Accounting and Reporting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting and Reporting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting and Reporting Policies

Restricted Cash - At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, NEE had approximately $499 million ($132 million for FPL) and $508 million ($118 million for FPL), respectively, of restricted cash, of which approximately $392 million ($77 million for FPL) and $411 million ($54 million for FPL), respectively, is included in current other assets and the remaining balance is included in noncurrent other assets on NEE's and FPL's condensed consolidated balance sheets. Restricted cash is primarily related to debt service payments, bond proceeds held for construction at FPL and margin cash collateral requirements. In addition, where offsetting positions exist, restricted cash related to margin cash collateral of $160 million is netted against derivative assets and $113 million is netted against derivative liabilities at March 31, 2020 and $139 million is netted against derivative assets and $66 million is netted against derivative liabilities at December 31, 2019. See Note 4.

Disposal of a Business - On February 11, 2020, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources completed the sale of its ownership interest in two solar generation facilities located in Spain with a total generating capacity of 99.8 MW for net cash proceeds of approximately €117 million (approximately $128 million), subject to working capital and other adjustments. In connection with the sale, a gain of approximately $260 million (pretax and after tax) was recorded in NEE's condensed consolidated statements of income for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The carrying amounts of the major classes of assets related to the facilities that were classified as held for sale, which are included in current other assets on NEE's condensed consolidated balance sheets, were approximately $440 million at December 31, 2019 and primarily represent property, plant and equipment. Liabilities associated with assets held for sale, which are included in current other liabilities on NEE's condensed consolidated balance sheets, were approximately $647 million at December 31, 2019 and primarily represent long-term debt and interest rate derivatives.

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments - Effective January 1, 2020, NEE and FPL adopted an accounting standards update that provides for a new methodology, the current expected credit loss (CECL) model, to account for credit losses for certain financial assets measured at amortized cost. On January 1, 2020, NEE recorded a reduction to retained earnings of approximately $11 million representing the cumulative effect of adopting the new standards update, which primarily related to the impact of applying the CECL model to NEER's receivables. The impact of adopting the new standards update was not material to FPL. See also Note 5 - Special Use Funds.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts - FPL maintains an accumulated provision for uncollectible customer accounts receivable that is estimated primarily using a percentage, derived from historical revenue and write-off trends, of the previous four months of revenue. NEER regularly reviews collectibility of its receivables and establishes a provision for losses estimated as a percentage of accounts receivable based on the historical bad debt write-off trends for its retail electricity provider operations. When necessary, NEER uses the specific identification method for all other receivables. Current events and reasonable and supportable forecasts are considered when reviewing all receivables for collectibility.

Reference Rate Reform - In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standards update which provides certain options to apply GAAP guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting as companies transition from the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates that are yet to be determined or finalized. NEE’s and FPL’s contracts that reference LIBOR or other interbank offered rates mainly relate to debt and derivative instruments. The standards update was effective upon issuance but can be applied prospectively through December 31, 2022. NEE and FPL are currently evaluating whether to apply the options provided by the standards update with regard to their contracts that reference LIBOR or other interbank offered rates as an interest rate benchmark.