Long-term Debt (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Schedule of Maturities of Long-term Debt [Table Text Block]

Maturities of long-term debt, capital leases and sinking fund requirements are as follows:



	Houston Electric		Securitization Bonds
	(in millions)
2017	$	—	$	411
2018	—		434
2019	—		458
2020	—		231
2021	402		211

Schedule of Debt [Table Text Block]



	December 31, 2016					December 31, 2015
	Long-Term			Current (1)		Long-Term (2)			Current (1)
	(in millions)
Long-term debt:
Bank Loans	$	—		$	—	$	200		$	—
First mortgage bonds 9.15% due 2021	102			—		102			—
General mortgage bonds 1.85% to 6.95% due 2021 to 2044 (3)	2,512			—		1,912			—
System restoration bonds 3.46% to 4.243% due 2018 to 2022	312			53		365			50
Transition bonds 0.901% to 5.302% due 2017 to 2024	1,560			358		1,918			341
Unamortized debt issuance costs	(23		)	—		(21		)	—
Unamortized discount and premium, net	(9		)	—		(8		)	—
Total long-term debt	$	4,454		$	411	$	4,468		$	391


(1)	Includes amounts due or scheduled to be paid within one year of the date noted.


(2)	Includes $21 million of unamortized debt issuance costs to reflect adoption of ASU 2015-03.


(3)	Debt issued as collateral is excluded from the financial statements because of the contingent nature of the obligation.

Retirement of Bonds. In December 2016, Houston Electric retired $56 million of collateralized pollution control bonds that had been held for remarketing. These bonds were not reflected on the consolidated financial statements because Houston Electric was both the obligor on the bonds and the current owner of the bonds.

Debt Issuances. Houston Electric issued the following general mortgage bonds during 2016 and as of February 10, 2017:



Issuance Date	Aggregate Principal Amount		Interest Rate	Maturity Date
	(in millions)
May 2016	$	300	1.85%	2021
August 2016	300		2.40%	2026
January 2017	300		3.00%	2027

Schedule of Line of Credit Facilities [Table Text Block]

Revolving Credit Facility.



December 31, 2016						December 31, 2015
Size of Facility		Loans		Letters of Credit		Size of Facility		Loans (1)		Letters of Credit
(in millions)
$	300	$	—	$	4	$	300	$	200	$	4


(1)	Weighted average interest rate was 1.64% as of December 31, 2015.

Execution Date

Size of

Facility

Draw Rate of LIBOR plus (1)

Financial Covenant Limit on Debt to Capital Ratio (3)

Debt to Capital

Ratio as of

December 31, 2016 (2)

Termination Date

(in millions)

March 3, 2016

300

1.125%

65%

47.4%

March 3, 2021


(1)	Based on current credit ratings.


(2)	As defined in the revolving credit facility agreement, excluding Securitization Bonds.

(3)

The financial covenant limit will temporarily increase from 65% to 70% if Houston Electric experiences damage from a natural disaster in its service territory and Houston Electric certifies to the administrative agent that Houston Electric has incurred system restoration costs reasonably likely to exceed $100 million in a consecutive twelve-month period, all or part of which Houston Electric intends to seek to recover through securitization financing. Such temporary increase in the financial covenant would be in effect from the date Houston Electric delivers its certification until the earliest to occur of (i) the completion of the securitization financing, (ii) the first anniversary of Houston Electric’s certification or (iii) the revocation of such certification.