RISK MANAGEMENT

Price Risk Management

PGE participates in the wholesale marketplace in order to balance its supply of power, which consists of its own generation combined with wholesale market transactions, to meet the needs of its retail customers, manage risk, and administer its existing long-term wholesale contracts. Wholesale market transactions include purchases and sales of both power and fuel resulting from economic dispatch decisions for Company-owned generating resources. As a result of this ongoing business activity, PGE is exposed to commodity price risk and foreign currency exchange rate risk, from which changes in prices and/or rates may affect the Company’s financial position, results of operations, or cash flow.

PGE utilizes derivative instruments to manage its exposure to commodity price risk and foreign exchange rate risk in order to manage volatility in NVPC for its retail customers. Such derivative instruments, recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets, may include forward, futures, swap, and option contracts for electricity, natural gas, and foreign currency, with changes in fair value recorded in the consolidated statements of income. In accordance with ratemaking and cost recovery processes authorized by the OPUC, the Company recognizes a regulatory asset or liability to defer the gains and losses from derivative activity until settlement of the associated derivative instrument. PGE may designate certain derivative instruments as cash flow hedges or may use derivative instruments as economic hedges. The Company does not engage in trading activities for non-retail purposes.

PGE’s Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities consist of the following (in millions):



	As of December 31,
	2018			2017
Current assets:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	11		$	3
Natural gas	7			3
Total current derivative assets	18		⁽¹⁾	6		⁽¹⁾
Noncurrent assets:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	1			—
Natural gas	1			—
Total noncurrent derivative assets	2		⁽²⁾	—		⁽²⁾
Total derivative assets not designated as hedging instruments	$	20		$	6
Total derivative assets	$	20		$	6
Current liabilities:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	16		$	13
Natural gas	35			46
Total current derivative liabilities	51			59
Noncurrent liabilities:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	78			122
Natural gas	23			29
Total noncurrent derivative liabilities	101			151
Total derivative liabilities not designated as hedging instruments	$	152		$	210
Total derivative liabilities	$	152		$	210


(1)	Included in Other current assets on the consolidated balance sheets.


(2)	Included in Other noncurrent assets on the consolidated balance sheets.

PGE’s net volumes related to its Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities resulting from its derivative transactions, which are expected to deliver or settle at various dates through 2035, were as follows (in millions):



	As of December 31,
	2018			2017
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	5		MWh	7		MWh
Natural gas	123		Dth	114		Dth
Foreign currency exchange	$	18	Canadian	$	21	Canadian

PGE has elected to report gross on the consolidated balance sheets the positive and negative exposures resulting from derivative instruments pursuant to agreements that meet the definition of a master netting arrangement. In the case of default on, or termination of, any contract under the master netting arrangements, such agreements provide for the net settlement of all related contractual obligations with a given counterparty through a single payment. These types of transactions may include non-derivative instruments, derivatives qualifying for scope exceptions, receivables and payables arising from settled positions, and other forms of non-cash collateral, such as letters of credit. As of December 31, 2018, and 2017, gross amounts included as Price risk management liabilities subject to master netting agreements were $88 million and $136 million, respectively, for which PGE posted collateral of $11 million for 2018 and 2017, which consisted entirely of letters of credit. As of December 31, 2018, of the gross amounts included, $84 million was for electricity and $4 million was for natural gas compared to $130 million for electricity and $6 million for natural gas recognized as of December 31, 2017.

Net realized and unrealized losses (gains) on derivative transactions not designated as hedging instruments are classified in Purchased power and fuel in the consolidated statements of income and were as follows (in millions):



	Years Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	(34	)	$	41		$	34
Natural Gas	21			85			(56		)
Foreign currency exchange	1			(1		)	—

Net unrealized and certain net realized losses (gains) presented in the table above are offset within the consolidated statements of income by the effects of regulatory accounting. Of the net amounts recognized in Net income, net gains of $18 million, net losses of $82 million, and net gains of $13 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively, have been offset.

Assuming no changes in market prices and interest rates, the following table presents the year in which the net unrealized loss recorded as of December 31, 2018 related to PGE’s derivative activities would become realized as a result of the settlement of the underlying derivative instrument (in millions):



	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023		Thereafter		Total
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	4	$	6	$	6	$	6	$	6	$	55	$	83
Natural gas	28		14		6		1		—		—		49
Net unrealized loss	$	32	$	20	$	12	$	7	$	6	$	55	$	132

PGE’s secured and unsecured debt is currently rated at investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) and S&P Global Ratings (S&P). Should Moody’s and/or S&P reduce their rating on the Company’s unsecured debt to below investment grade, PGE could be subject to requests by certain wholesale counterparties to post additional performance assurance collateral, in the form of cash or letters of credit, based on total portfolio positions with each of those counterparties. Certain other counterparties would have the right to terminate their agreements with the Company.

The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that were in a liability position as of December 31, 2018 was $144 million, for which the Company had posted $48 million in collateral, consisting entirely of letters of credit. If the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements were triggered at December 31, 2018, the cash requirement to either post as collateral or settle the instruments immediately would have been $136 million. As of December 31, 2018, PGE had no posted cash collateral for derivative instruments with no credit-risk-related contingent features. Cash collateral for derivative instruments is classified as Margin deposits included in Other current assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

Counterparties representing 10% or more of Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities were as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017
Assets from price risk management activities:
Counterparty A	42	%	39	%
Counterparty B	15		—
Counterparty C	5		12
	62	%	51	%
Liabilities from price risk management activities:
Counterparty D	56	%	62	%
	56	%	62	%

For additional information concerning the determination of fair value for the Company’s Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities, see Note 5, Fair Value of Financial Instruments.

Interest Rate Risk

PGE has used two forward starting interest rate swap lock agreements to hedge a portion of its interest rate risk associated with anticipated issuances of fixed-rate, long-term debt securities. These derivatives were designated as cash flow hedges, protecting against the risk of changes in future interest payments resulting from changes in benchmark U.S. Treasury rates between the date of hedge inception and the date of the debt issuance.

The notional amount of the interest rate swaps is $170 million with a mandatory cash settlement date in January 2019. Upon settlement of interest rate swap derivatives, the cash payments made or received are recorded as a regulatory asset or liability and are subsequently amortized as a component of interest expense over the life of the associated debt. Such amounts are also included as a component of cost of debt for ratemaking purposes.

PGE is required to make cash payments to settle the interest rate swap derivatives when the fixed rates are higher than prevailing market rates at the date of settlement. Conversely, PGE receives cash to settle its interest rate swap derivatives when prevailing market rates at the time of settlement exceed the fixed swap rates. Until settlement, the interest rate swaps are carried at fair value as a derivative asset or liability with the corresponding offset recorded as either a regulatory liability or regulatory asset, respectively. The fair value of outstanding interest rate swap derivatives can vary significantly from period to period depending on the total notional amount of swap derivatives outstanding and fluctuations in market interest rates compared to the interest rates fixed by the swaps. As of December 31, 2018, the fair value of the interest rate swaps was a $4 million loss, which is recorded in Liabilities from price risk management activities—current on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.