REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

The following regulatory assets and liabilities were reflected on our balance sheets at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. For more information on our regulatory assets and liabilities, see Note 6, Regulatory Assets and Liabilities, in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.


(in millions)	September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Regulatory assets
Plant retirement related items (1)	$	814.3	$	646.2
Pension and OPEB costs	721.1		731.7
Environmental remediation costs	565.8		596.8
Income tax related items	438.9		449.9
AROs	169.3		162.0
Uncollectible expense	123.4		127.7
System support resource	105.5		113.2
Decoupling (2)	100.5		27.3
Securitization	79.1		85.9
Bluewater	54.8		45.3
Derivatives	50.6		130.3
Energy efficiency programs	32.4		33.9
Other, net	149.9		124.5
Total regulatory assets	$	3,405.6	$	3,274.7

Balance sheet presentation
Other current assets	$	59.1	$	24.9
Regulatory assets	3,346.5		3,249.8
Total regulatory assets	$	3,405.6	$	3,274.7

(1) At September 30, 2024, plant retirement related items included $115.0 million of capitalized retirement costs related to the new EPA CCR Rule that was enacted in April 2024. See Note 23, Commitments and Contingencies, for more information.

(2) PGL, NSG, and MERC have decoupling mechanisms. These mechanisms differ by state and allow the utilities to recover the differences between actual and authorized margins for certain customer classes.


(in millions)	September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Regulatory liabilities
Income tax related items	$	1,838.0	$	1,901.8
Removal costs	1,429.5		1,329.9
Pension and OPEB benefits	301.2		299.2
Energy costs refundable through rate adjustments	126.0		72.4
Uncollectible expense	39.2		21.2
Paris (1)	31.8		—
Derivatives	29.1		19.2
Electric transmission costs	20.5		30.3
Energy efficiency programs	16.7		17.2
Other, net	89.6		54.0
Total regulatory liabilities	$	3,921.6	$	3,745.2

Balance sheet presentation
Other current liabilities	$	32.5	$	47.5
Regulatory liabilities	3,889.1		3,697.7
Total regulatory liabilities	$	3,921.6	$	3,745.2

(1) In accordance with our Wisconsin rate orders approved by the PSCW in December 2023, WE and WPS are deferring to a future rate proceeding the incremental revenue requirement impact associated with the change to the in-service date of Paris.

Oak Creek Power Plant Units 5-6

In May 2024, OCPP Units 5 and 6 were retired. Due to the retirement of these units and the determination that recovery was probable, their net book value of $76.8 million at September 30, 2024 was classified as a regulatory asset. In addition, a $43.8 million cost of removal reserve related to the units continued to be classified as a regulatory liability at September 30, 2024. Not included in these amounts was $9.0 million of deferred tax liabilities previously recorded for the retired units. Effective with its rate order issued by the PSCW in December 2022, WE received approval to collect a return of and on the entire net book value of OCPP Units 5 and 6 and, as a result, will continue to amortize the regulatory asset on a straight-line basis, using the composite depreciation rates approved by the PSCW before the units were retired. The amortization is included in depreciation and amortization on the income statement. WE also intends to request FERC approval to continue to collect the net book value of OCPP Units 5 and 6 using the approved composite depreciation rates, in addition to a return on the remaining net book value.