Power & utilities

5/10/13 | Washington national tax services (WNTS)

The IRS recently issued Rev. Proc. 2013-24, which provides safe harbor definitions of units of property and major components that taxpayers may use in determining whether expenditures to maintain, replace, or improve steam or electric power generation property must be capitalized under Section 263(a).  

Webcast

Transaction services

Although the economy has shown signs of improvement, a significant amount of stress, uncertainty and volatility still exist in the marketplace, both domestically and globally. In the power sector, this uncertainty and volatility is heightened, with key factors, including supply/demand, natural gas, and environmental regulation, shaping the sector landscape. An understanding of the impacts of these key factors is paramount to navigating complexity, addressing distress and uncovering opportunities in the current marketplace.

10Minutes

3/13/13 | Power & utilities

Aside from billing matters and service calls, customers historically have had little interaction with their utility providers. So it stands to reason that customer engagement remains a hurdle for traditional utility companies.

2/20/13 | Power & utilities

Internal audit executives in the power and utilities industry are responding to a more complex operating environment by collaborating with other risk assurance providers to generate a more complete view of risks facing their organization. This report presents the findings from PwC's Power and Utilities Chief Audit Executives Survey.

2/8/13 | Power & utilities

PwC's US Power and Utilities sector have released their 2012 technical update which provides our insights on emerging and ongoing accounting issues to support senior accounting and financial reporting personnel as they address year-end financial reporting issues.

2/8/13 | Power & utilities

Merger and acquisition activity revealed that six of the top 10 deals in the alternative energy sector, and deals valued $50 million or greater continued its upward trend in the 4th quarter of 2012. Find out more by reading this issue of Power Deals from PwC's US Power and Utilities practice.

2/8/13 | Power & utilities

Mobile technology is changing the way that power and utility companies operate their businesses, from the job site to the back office. Utilities that successfully deploy mobility solutions achieve productivity improvements of 20% to 30%.

Webcast

Power & utilities

This PwC webcast is designed to provide insight into new and emerging issues to help provide practical guidance for power and utilities internal audit departments, and features the results of our eighth-annual Chief Audit Executive Survey.

PwC comment letter (SEC)

1/28/13 | Power & utilities

To assist power and utility company reporting entities preparing their year-end financial statements, PwC's US Power and Utilities practice have published the 2012 SEC comment letter trends for the power and utilities industry, which is based on our review of industry related comment letters on Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs published in 2012.

Accounting guides

1/12/13 | Assurance services

PwC's newly developed Guide to Accounting for Utilities and Power Companies provides accounting guidance for reporting entities in the utility and power industry to consider when preparing financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. It addresses a variety of areas such as commodity contracts, power-related investments, inventory, plant, asset retirement obligations, regulated operations, and more.

Webcast

Assurance services

This PwC webcast is designed to help corporate accounting senior executives and will feature discussions on, and examples related to the accounting considerations relevant to the upcoming cycle of annual reports, key issues and new accounting standards as well as trends from an SEC comment letter perspective.

Dataline

11/12/12 | Assurance services

Hurricane Sandy is expected to be the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, only surpassed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many businesses were disrupted by Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath including the New York Stock Exchange, which was closed for two days. While not all-inclusive, this Dataline discusses several accounting and disclosure-related matters companies may encounter in dealing with the financial reporting implications of Hurricane Sandy.

8/1/12 | Power & utilities

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board discussed the 2011 joint exposure draft, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The exposure draft respondents requested guidance on disaggregating contract deliverables into separate performance obligations.

7/20/12 | Power & utilities

This Power and Utilities alert highlights accounting considerations for investors in renewable energy projects with tiered capital structures when applying the equity accounting method.

7/18/12 | Power & utilities

This Power and Utilities Alert describes recent developments regarding accounting for rate-regulated activities under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It includes observations related to discussions on rate-regulated activities held during an IFRS Interpretations Committee (the Committee) meeting on July 10, 2012. This Alert supplements and updates Alert 2012-5.

6/13/12 | Power & utilities

More than 40 senior executives and experts from 14 different countries gathered in May 2012 in Rome, Italy for PwC’s roundtable on the enterprise asset management (EAM) challenges facing power and utilities companies. Participants were drawn from different parts of the gas and electricity industry as well as from PwC. Our report summarises the discussions during the event.

6/4/12 | Power & utilities

The January 2012 meeting of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Interpretations Committee (the Committee) raised questions whether under IFRS customers within a regulatory jurisdiction can be combined into a single unit of account and how to recognize assets and liabilities.

5/3/12 | Power & utilities

Power and utility industry announced deals over $50 million rose in the third quarter of 2012 to their highest point since the third quarter of 2011. Strategic investors led merger & acquisition activity in the sector in Q3 2012.

4/30/12 | Power & utilities

This report summarizes findings from a survey of Midwest energy customers on how they use energy, how smart grid technology will affect their everyday lives, and how much they expect to embrace new products and services related to the smart grid during the next few years.

Podcast

Advisory services

Phil Samson and Todd Warren discuss the importance of a business continuity strategy with a specific focus on the Utilities industry in this PwC podcast.

4/23/12 | Power & utilities

Download an executive summary or the full report of the 12th annual PwC Global Power & Utilities survey.

3/13/12 | Power & utilities

The supply chain is key for utility company cost reduction, but an industry-wide review of material logistics practices finds that some utilities have a method to improve their supply chains with little additional effort.

3/5/12 | Power & utilities

Power grid modernization requires updates to power companies’ technology, people, and processes and a time when power company CIOs are being asked to contain IT spending. Adoption of demand based IT will enable power companies to achieve operational and cost efficiencies.

3/2/12 | Power & utilities

Fair value measurements have come under discussion and review by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) due to accounting guidance, changes in economic environments, financial instruments and valuation models. Recent SEC remarks have focused on management's responsibilities on using information from third party pricing services in fair value measurements and disclosures.

2/7/12 | Power & utilities

Results from the PwC Power and Utilities 6th Annual Chief Audit Executives Survey show that Internal audit leaders at power and utility companies focus on aligning their value proposition with stakeholders’ expectations and on leveraging technology.

2/2/12 | Power & utilities

This PwC report presents an analysis of North American deal activity in the power and utilities industry. Key trends in 4Q11 include the number of announced deals greater than $50 million had fallen 33 percent to six from nine deals in Q311, deal volume in the fourth quarter was down slightly over the previous quarter, and strategic investors dominated investor group with 100 percent of all acquisitions greater than $50 million.

1/29/12 | Power & utilities

The DOE’s Smart Grid grants have funded projects have created jobs while protecting the environment. Power and utility companies experience challenges in navigating the compliance requirements associated with the grants

1/15/12 | Power & utilities

A key consideration in financial reporting delivering transparent financial information to investors. 2011 SEC comment letter trends for the power and utilities industry is based on a review of industry related comment letters on Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs published in 2011.

1/15/12 | Power & utilities

This 2011 technical update addresses accounting issues impacting power generators and utilities to support senior accounting and financial reporting staff for 2011 year-end financial reporting It includes a discussion of anticipated future financial reporting issues that power and utility companies should consider.

1/12/12 | Power & utilities

A review global merger and acquisition activity in the power and utilities industry with a focus on the effects of the Eurozone crisis on economic growth in 2012.

1/12/12 | Power & utilities

PwC's Power and Utilities Alert highlights key issues and considerations in addressing the potential accounting implications for the Revenue from Contracts with Customers exposure draft, including areas that are consistent with the Boards' original proposal but require additional focus as the potential issuance date moves closer.

1/11/12 | Power & utilities

Many power and utility companies have an aging workforce that creates operational risk, but they are challenged with how to best address changes within their organizations. A workforce survey by PwC reveals how leading power and utility companies are addressing change in leadership development, performance measurement, organizational realignment, and the role of human resources in supporting the business strategy.