Regulatory Matters (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

Regulatory Matters

DMR

On October 20, 2017, the PUCO approved DP&L’s 2017 ESP.  On January 7, 2019, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio the 2017 ESP with respect to the bypassability of the Reconciliation Rider and the exclusion of the DMR from the SEET. That appeal remains pending.

Pursuant to the 2017 ESP, on January 22, 2019, DP&L filed a request with the PUCO for a two-year extension of its DMR through October 2022, in the proposed amount of $199.0 million for each of the two additional years. The extension request was set at a level expected to reduce debt obligations at both DP&L and DPL and to position DP&L to make capital expenditures to maintain and modernize its electric grid. DP&L’s DMP investments are contingent upon the PUCO approving the two-year extension of its DMR.

On August 1, 2019, DP&L filed a supplemental brief with the PUCO focused on the applicability of a recent court decision involving another Ohio utility’s DMR which is similar to, but not identical to, DP&L’s DMR.

Ohio House Bill 6

On July 23, 2019, the Governor of Ohio signed Ohio House Bill 6, which, among other things, does the following:

• beginning January 1, 2020, replaces DP&L’s non-bypassable Reconciliation Rider, permitting DP&L to defer, recover or credit the net proceeds from selling energy and capacity received as part of DP&L’s interest in OVEC and its OVEC-related costs through 2023, with a non-bypassable recovery mechanism for recovery of prudently incurred OVEC costs through 2030;

• eliminates the annual energy efficiency targets for Ohio utilities after 2020;

• allows Ohio utilities to construct customer-sited renewable generation for mercantile customers or groups of mercantile customers, the costs of which may only be recovered from those customers.

Impact of tax reform

On January 10, 2018, the PUCO initiated a proceeding to consider the impacts of the TCJA to determine the appropriate course of action to pass benefits resulting from the legislation on to ratepayers. The PUCO also directed Ohio utilities to record deferred liabilities for the estimated reduction in federal income tax resulting from the TCJA beginning January 1, 2018. Beginning October 1, 2018, the new distribution rates approved in the DRO include the impacts of the decrease in current federal income taxes as a result of the TCJA. Under the terms of the stipulation approved in the DRO, DP&L agreed to file an application at the PUCO to refund eligible excess accumulated deferred income taxes ("ADIT") and any related regulatory liability over a 10-year period. DP&L made such a filing on March 1, 2019 and proposed to return a total of $65.1 million to customers. The timing and final amount to be returned to customers is unknown at this time. Excess ADIT related to depreciation life and method differences will be returned to customers in accordance with federal tax law and related regulations.

Subsidiaries [Member]

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

Regulatory Matters

DMR

On October 20, 2017, the PUCO approved DP&L’s 2017 ESP.  On January 7, 2019, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio the 2017 ESP with respect to the bypassability of the Reconciliation Rider and the exclusion of the DMR from the SEET. That appeal remains pending.

Pursuant to the 2017 ESP, on January 22, 2019, DP&L filed a request with the PUCO for a two-year extension of its DMR through October 2022, in the proposed amount of $199.0 million for each of the two additional years. The extension request was set at a level expected to reduce debt obligations at both DP&L and DPL and to position DP&L to make capital expenditures to maintain and modernize its electric grid. DP&L’s DMP investments are contingent upon the PUCO approving the two-year extension of its DMR.

On August 1, 2019, DP&L filed a supplemental brief with the PUCO focused on the applicability of a recent court decision involving another Ohio utility’s DMR which is similar to, but not identical to, DP&L’s DMR.

Ohio House Bill 6

On July 23, 2019, the Governor of Ohio signed Ohio House Bill 6, which, among other things, does the following:

• beginning January 1, 2020, replaces DP&L’s non-bypassable Reconciliation Rider, permitting DP&L to defer, recover or credit the net proceeds from selling energy and capacity received as part of DP&L’s interest in OVEC and its OVEC-related costs through 2023, with a non-bypassable recovery mechanism for recovery of prudently incurred OVEC costs through 2030;

• eliminates the annual energy efficiency targets for Ohio utilities after 2020;

• allows Ohio utilities to construct customer-sited renewable generation for mercantile customers or groups of mercantile customers, the costs of which may only be recovered from those customers.

Impact of tax reform

On January 10, 2018, the PUCO initiated a proceeding to consider the impacts of the TCJA to determine the appropriate course of action to pass benefits resulting from the legislation on to ratepayers. The PUCO also directed Ohio utilities to record deferred liabilities for the estimated reduction in federal income tax resulting from the TCJA beginning January 1, 2018. Beginning October 1, 2018, the new distribution rates approved in the DRO include the impacts of the decrease in current federal income taxes as a result of the TCJA. Under the terms of the stipulation approved in the DRO, DP&L agreed to file an application at the PUCO to refund eligible excess accumulated deferred income taxes ("ADIT") and any related regulatory liability over a 10-year period. DP&L made such a filing on March 1, 2019 and proposed to return a total of $65.1 million to customers. The timing and final amount to be returned to customers is unknown at this time. Excess ADIT related to depreciation life and method differences will be returned to customers in accordance with federal tax law and related regulations.