Loans Bad Credit Online – SPARK ENERGY : MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K)
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. In this Annual Report, the terms "Spark Energy ," "Company," "we," "us" and "our" refer collectively toSpark Energy, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Overview We are an independent retail energy services company founded in 1999 that provides residential and commercial customers in competitive markets acrossthe United States with an alternative choice for natural gas and electricity. We purchase our natural gas and electricity supply from a variety of wholesale providers and bill our customers monthly for the delivery of natural gas and electricity based on their consumption at either a fixed or variable price. Natural gas and electricity are then distributed to our customers by local regulated utility companies through their existing infrastructure. As ofDecember 31, 2020 , we operated in 100 utility service territories across 19 states and theDistrict of Columbia . Our business consists of two operating segments: •Retail Electricity Segment. In this segment, we purchase electricity supply through physical and financial transactions with market counterparties and ISOs and supply electricity to residential and commercial consumers pursuant to fixed-price and variable-price contracts. For the years endedDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018, approximately 83%, 85% and 86%, respectively, of our retail revenues were derived from the sale of electricity. •Retail Natural Gas Segment. In this segment, we purchase natural gas supply through physical and financial transactions with market counterparties and supply natural gas to residential and commercial consumers pursuant to fixed-price and variable-price contracts. For the years endedDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018, approximately 17%, 15% and 14%, respectively, of our retail revenues were derived from the sale of natural gas.
Recent Developments
Extreme Winter Weather Event
InFebruary 2021 , theU.S. experienced winter storm Uri, an unprecedented storm bringing extreme cold temperatures to the centralU.S. , includingTexas . As a result of increased power demand for customers across the state ofTexas and power generation disruptions during the weather event, power and ancillary costs in theElectric Reliability Council of Texas ("ERCOT") service area reached or exceeded maximum allowed clearing prices. The overall impact of winter storm Uri is still being assessed by management; however, we expect the impact of the weather event will result in a significant loss that will be reflected in our first quarter 2021 results of operations. Uncertainty exists with respect to the financial impact of the weather event due in part to outstanding pricing and volume settlement data fromERCOT ; the results of formal disputes regarding pricing and volume settlement data received to date, for which we are exploring all legal options; and any corrective action by theState of Texas ,ERCOT , theRailroad Commission of Texas , or thePublic Utility Commission of Texas . Possible action may include resettling pricing across the supply chain (i.e. fuel supply, wholesale pricing of generation, or allocating the financial impacts of market-wide load shed ratably across all retail market participants). During the winter storm Uri event, we were required to post a significant amount of collateral withERCOT . Despite these posting requirements, we consistently maintained, and continue to maintain, sufficient liquidity to conduct our operations in the ordinary course.
Senior Credit Facility
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On
bringing total commitments under the Senior Credit Facility to
On
Facility to
Appointment of Chief Executive Officer
OnNovember 2, 2020 , our Board of Directors appointed W. Keith Maxwell III, who had served as our interim Chief Executive Officer since March of 2020, as Chief Executive Officer. COVID-19 The outbreak of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") is a rapidly developing situation around the globe that has adversely impacted economic activity and conditions worldwide. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we deployed a remote working strategy inMarch 2020 that enables certain of our employees to work from home, provided timely communication to team members, implemented protocols for team members' safety, and initiated strategies for monitoring and responding to local COVID-19 impacts. Our preparedness efforts, coupled with quick and decisive plan implementation, resulted in minimal impacts to our workforce. Our employees continue to work remotely, but we plan to return to an on-site work strategy once health and safety conditions permit. As described further below under "Drivers of our Business", during the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , compared to the year endedDecember 31, 2019 , we had fewer organic customer acquisitions, which resulted in reduced customer acquisition costs. In addition, for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 compared to year endedDecember 31, 2019 , we experienced lower customer attrition, slight increases in residential demand, and slight decreases in C&I demand. The financial impact of the decrease in C&I demand was offset by higher demand from residential customers, which have higher margins. Overall, we believe we have not experienced a material adverse impact to our business, financial condition or results of operations during the year endedDecember 31, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continuing to monitor developments involving our workforce, customers and suppliers and the impact on our operations, business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations for future periods. Please see "Item 1A-Risk Factors" in this Annual Report.
Drivers of Our Business
The success of our business and our profitability are impacted by a number of
drivers, the most significant of which are discussed below.
Customer Growth
Customer growth is a key driver of our operations. Our ability to acquire customers organically or by acquisition is important to our success as we experience ongoing customer attrition. Our customer growth strategy includes growing organically through traditional sales channels complemented by customer portfolio and business acquisitions. We measure our number of customers using residential customer equivalents ("RCEs"). The following table shows our RCEs by segment as ofDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018: RCEs: December 31, (In thousands) 2020 2019 2018 Retail Electricity 303 533 754 Retail Natural Gas 97 139 154 Total Retail 400 672 908 44
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The following table details our count of RCEs by geographical location as ofDecember 31, 2020 : RCEs by Geographic Location: (In thousands) Electricity % of Total Natural Gas % of Total Total % of Total New England 96 32% 19 19% 115 29% Mid-Atlantic 115 38% 33 34% 148 37% Midwest 35 11% 28 29% 63 16% Southwest 57 19% 17 18% 74 18% Total 303 100% 97 100% 400 100%
The geographical locations noted above include the following states:
•New England -Connecticut ,Maine ,Massachusetts andNew Hampshire ; •Mid-Atlantic -Delaware ,Maryland (including theDistrict of Columbia ),New Jersey ,New York andPennsylvania ; •Midwest -Illinois ,Indiana ,Michigan andOhio ; and •Southwest -Arizona ,California ,Colorado ,Florida ,Nevada andTexas . Across our market areas, we have operated under a number of different retail brands. We currently operate under seven retail brands. During 2020 and 2019, we consolidated certain brands and billing systems in an effort to simplify our business operations where practical. Our organic sales strategies are designed to offer competitive pricing, price certainty, and/or green product offerings to residential and commercial customers. We manage growth on a market-by-market basis by developing price curves in each of the markets we serve and comparing the market prices to the price offered by the local regulated utility. We then determine if there is an opportunity in a particular market based on our ability to create a competitive product on economic terms that provides customer value and satisfies our profitability objectives. We develop marketing campaigns using a combination of sales channels. Our marketing team continuously evaluates the effectiveness of each customer acquisition channel and makes adjustments in order to achieve desired targets. During the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , we added approximately 46,000 RCEs through our various organic sales channels. This amount was significantly lower than historical periods primarily due to limitation of our door-to-door marketing as a result of COVID-19 during the majority of 2020 and a reduction in targeted organic customer acquisitions as we focused our efforts to improve our organic sales channels, including vendor selection and sales quality. Although we expect to acquire less customers organically in future periods than we have historically while marketing restrictions are in place, which may cause our customer book to decrease, we are unable to predict the ultimate effect on our organic sales, financial results, cash flows, and liquidity at this time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain public utility commissions, regulatory agencies, and other governmental authorities in most of our markets continue to maintain orders prohibiting energy services companies from door-to-door marketing and in some cases telemarketing during the pandemic, which has restricted some of the manners we have historically used to market for organic sales. In response, we have focused on development of products and channels, partners for web sales, as well as accelerating its telemarketing sales quality programs. InNovember 2020 , we began active door-to-door marketing activities in certain markets where not prohibited by states' COVID-19 restrictions.
We acquire companies and portfolios of customers through both external and
affiliated channels. Our ability to realize returns from acquisitions that are
acceptable to us is dependent on our ability to successfully identify,
negotiate, finance and integrate acquisitions.
45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents RCE Activity The following table shows our RCE activity during the years endedDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018. % Net Annual Increase (In thousands) Retail Electricity Retail Natural Gas Total (Decrease) December 31, 2017 868 174 1,042 Additions 363 69 432 Attrition (477) (89) (566) December 31, 2018 754 154 908 (13)% Additions 189 58 247 Attrition (410) (73) (483) December 31, 2019 533 139 672 (26)% Additions 38 8 46 Attrition (268) (50) (318) December 31, 2020 303 97 400 (40)% In 2018 and 2019, our attrition exceeded customer additions due to our intentional non-renewal of certain larger C&I customer contracts, lower organic sales spending, and fewer acquisitions and slightly higher attrition impacted by our brand consolidation activities. In 2020, our attrition exceeded customer additions primarily due to the non-renewal of certain larger C&I customer contracts and limitations on our ability to sell through door-to-door and telemarketing activities as a result of orders by regulatory agencies and governmental authorities' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Average monthly attrition rates during 2020, 2019 and 2018 were as follows: Year Ended Quarter Ended December 31 December 31 September 30 June 30 March 31 2018 4.7% 6.7% 4.0% 3.7% 4.2% 2019 5.0% 7.0% 4.0% 3.8% 5.4% 2020 5.0% 7.7% 3.0% 3.5% 5.7% Customer attrition occurs primarily as a result of: (i) customer initiated switches; (ii) residential moves (iii) disconnection resulting from customer payment defaults and (iv) pro-active non-renewal of contracts. Customer attrition during the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was flat compared to the prior year due to an active strategy to shrink our C&I customer book in 2019, resulting in our pro-active non-renewal of some of our lower-margin large commercial contracts.
Customer Acquisition Costs
Managing customer acquisition costs is a key component of our profitability.
Customer acquisition costs are those costs related to obtaining customers
organically and do not include the cost of acquiring customers through
acquisitions, which are recorded as customer relationships. For each of the
three years ended
Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2020 2019 2018 Customer Acquisition Costs$ 1,513 $ 18,685 $ 13,673
We strive to maintain a disciplined approach to recovery of our customer
acquisition costs within a 12 month period. We capitalize and amortize our
customer acquisition costs over a two year period, which is based on our
estimate of the expected average length of a customer relationship. We factor in
the recovery of customer
46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents acquisition costs in determining which markets we enter and the pricing of our products in those markets. Accordingly, our results are significantly influenced by our customer acquisition costs. Changes in customer acquisition costs from period to period reflect our focus on growing organically versus growth through acquisitions. We are currently focused on growing through organic sales channels; however, we continue to evaluate opportunities to acquire customers through acquisitions and pursue such acquisitions when it makes sense economically or strategically. As described above, certain public utility commissions, regulatory agencies, and other governmental authorities in all of our markets have issued orders that impact the way we have historically acquired customers, such as door to door marketing. Our reduced marketing resulted in significantly reduced customer acquisition costs during the twelve months endedDecember 31, 2020 compared to historical amounts. As long as these orders are in effect and marketing is reduced, we expect to incur reduced customer acquisition costs in future periods. However, we may incur increased costs through other manners of marketing, such as online marketing. We also expect our customer acquisition costs with respect to door to door marketing to return to historic levels once door to door marketing restriction orders are lifted from all markets. We are unable to predict the ultimate impact on our customer acquisition costs at this time. Please see "Item 1A-Risk Factors" in this Annual Report."
Customer Credit Risk
Approximately 64% of our revenues are derived from customers in utilities where customer credit risk is borne by the utility in exchange for a discount on amounts billed. Where we have customer credit risk, we record bad debt based on an estimate of uncollectible amounts. Our bad debt expense on non-POR revenues was as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2020 2019 2018 Total Non-POR Bad Debt as Percent of Revenue 1.6 %
3.3 % 2.6 %
During the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , we experienced lower bad debt expense versus 2019 primarily due to an increased focus on collection efforts, timely billing and credit monitoring for new enrollments in non-POR markets. We have also been able to collect on debts that were previously written off, which has further reduced our bad debt expense during the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused regulatory agencies and other governmental authorities to take, and potentially continue to take, emergency or other actions in light of the pandemic that may impact our customer credit risk, including prohibiting the termination of service for non-payment during the current COVID-19 pandemic, requiring deferred payment plans for certain customers unable to pay their bills, and utilities increasing POR fees they charge us in an effort to recoup their bad debt losses. Although the Company noted no significant impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic related to customer credit risk for the twelve months endedDecember 31, 2020 , because of the time lag between the delivery of electricity and natural gas, the issuance of an invoice, and the customer's payment due date, there may be a substantial lag in time before we are able to determine specific trends in bad debt expense as a result of COVID-19. We are also monitoring other events that may have an impact on our customer credit risk, such as the expiration of unemployment benefits in many of our service territories. Please see "Item 1A-Risk Factors" in this Annual Report. For the years endedDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018, approximately 64%, 67% and 66%, respectively, of our retail revenues were collected through POR programs where substantially all of our credit risk was with local regulated utility companies. As ofDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018, all of these local regulated utility companies had investment grade ratings. During these same periods, we paid these local regulated utilities a weighted average discount of approximately 1.2%, 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively, of total revenues for customer credit risk protection. Weather Conditions 47
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Weather conditions directly influence the demand for natural gas and electricity and affect the prices of energy commodities. Our hedging strategy is based on forecasted customer energy usage, which can vary substantially as a result of weather patterns deviating from historical norms. We are particularly sensitive to this variability in our residential customer segment where energy usage is highly sensitive to weather conditions that impact heating and cooling demand. Our risk management policies direct that we hedge substantially all of our forecasted demand, which is typically hedged to long-term normal weather patterns. We also attempt to add additional protection through hedging from time to time to protect us from potential volatility in markets where we have historically experienced higher exposure to extreme weather conditions. Because we attempt to match commodity purchases to anticipated demand, unanticipated changes in weather patterns can have a significant impact on our operating results and cash flows from period to period. During the second half of 2020, we experienced milder than normal weather across many of our markets as well as a slight decrease in C&I demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which negatively impacted overall customer usage. This was partially offset by slight increases in residential demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial impact of overall demand reductions was offset by increased margins as a result of our strategy to shift away from C&I customers to a primarily residential customer base, resulting in an overall positive impact on our electricity and natural gas unit margin in 2020. See Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations -Recent Development for additional discussion about the expected impacts of winter storm Uri.
Asset Optimization
Our asset optimization opportunities primarily arise during the winter heating season when demand for natural gas is typically at its highest. Given the opportunistic nature of these activities and because we account for these activities using the mark to market method of accounting, we experience variability in our earnings from our asset optimization activities from year to year.
Net asset optimization resulted in a loss of
2019 and 2018, respectively.
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Non-GAAP Performance Measures
We use the Non-GAAP performance measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin to evaluate and measure our operating results. These measures for the three years endedDecember 31, 2020 were as follows: Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 Adjusted EBITDA$ 106,634 $ 92,404 $ 70,716 Retail Gross Margin$ 196,473 $ 220,740 $ 185,109 Adjusted EBITDA. We define "Adjusted EBITDA" as EBITDA less (i) customer acquisition costs incurred in the current period, plus or minus (ii) net (loss) gain on derivative instruments, and (iii) net current period cash settlements on derivative instruments, plus (iv) non-cash compensation expense, and (v) other non-cash and non-recurring operating items. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before the provision for income taxes, interest expense and depreciation and amortization. We deduct all current period customer acquisition costs (representing spending for organic customer acquisitions) in the Adjusted EBITDA calculation because such costs reflect a cash outlay in the period in which they are incurred, even though we capitalize and amortize such costs over two years. We do not deduct the cost of customer acquisitions through acquisitions of businesses or portfolios of customers in calculating Adjusted EBITDA. We deduct our net gains (losses) on derivative instruments, excluding current period cash settlements, from the Adjusted EBITDA calculation in order to remove the non-cash impact of net gains and losses on these instruments. We also deduct non-cash compensation expense that results from the issuance of restricted stock units under our long-term incentive plan due to the non-cash nature of the expense. Finally, we also adjust from time to time other non-cash or unusual and/or infrequent charges due to either their non-cash nature or their infrequency. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides information useful to investors in assessing our liquidity and financial condition and results of operations and that Adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors as a financial indicator of our ability to incur and service debt, pay dividends and fund capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental financial measure that management and external users of our consolidated financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, commercial banks and rating agencies, use to assess the following: •our operating performance as compared to other publicly traded companies in the retail energy industry, without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis; •the ability of our assets to generate earnings sufficient to support our proposed cash dividends; •our ability to fund capital expenditures (including customer acquisition costs) and incur and service debt; and •our compliance with financial debt covenants. (Refer to Note 10 "Debt" in the Company's audited consolidated financial statements for discussion of the material terms of our Senior Credit Facility, including the covenant requirements for our Minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, Maximum Total Leverage Ratio, and Maximum Senior Secured Leverage Ratio.) The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA are net income (loss) and net cash provided by (used in) operating activities. The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to these GAAP measures for each of the periods indicated. 49
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Table of Contents Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2020 2019 2018
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income (Loss):
Net income (loss)
$ 68,218 $ 14,213 $ (14,392) Depreciation and amortization 30,767 40,987 52,658 Interest expense 5,266 8,621 9,410 Income tax expense 15,736 7,257 2,077 EBITDA 119,987 71,078 49,753 Less: Net, losses on derivative instruments (23,386) (67,749) (18,170) Net, cash settlements on derivative instruments 37,729 42,820 (10,587) Customer acquisition costs 1,513 18,685 13,673 Plus: Non-cash compensation expense 2,503 5,487 5,879 Non-recurring legal and regulatory settlements - 14,457 - Gain on disposal of eRex - (4,862) - Adjusted EBITDA$ 106,634 $ 92,404 $ 70,716
The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash
provided by operating activities for each of the periods indicated.
Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2020 2019 2018
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by
operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 91,831 $ 91,735 $ 59,763 Amortization of deferred financing costs (1,210) (1,275) (1,291) Bad debt expense (4,692) (13,532) (10,135) Interest expense 5,266 8,621 9,410 Income tax expense 15,736 7,257 2,077 Changes in operating working capital Accounts receivable, prepaids, current assets (32,820) (33,475) 10,482 Inventory (1,458) (924) (674) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 36,301 11,534 (5,093) Other (2,320) 22,463 6,177 Adjusted EBITDA$ 106,634 $ 92,404 $ 70,716 Cash Flow Data: Cash flows provided by operating activities$ 91,831 $ 91,735 $ 59,763 Cash flows (used in) provided by investing activities$ (2,154) $ 1,398 $ (18,981) Cash flows used in financing activities$ (75,661)
Retail Gross Margin. We define retail gross margin as operating income (loss) plus (i) depreciation and amortization expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses, less (iii) net asset optimization revenues (expenses), (iv) net gains (losses) on non-trading derivative instruments, and (v) net current period cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments. Retail gross margin is included as a supplemental disclosure because it is a primary performance measure used by our management to determine the performance of our retail natural gas and electricity segments. As an indicator of our retail energy business's operating performance, retail gross margin 50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, operating income (loss), its most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.
We believe retail gross margin provides information useful to investors as an
indicator of our retail energy business’s operating performance.
The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Retail Gross Margin is operating income (loss). The following table presents a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to operating income (loss) for each of the periods indicated. Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2020 2019 2018
Reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to Operating Income
(Loss):
Operating income (loss)
$ 88,797 $ 23,979 $ (3,654) Plus: Depreciation and amortization 30,767 40,987 52,658 General and administrative expense 90,734 133,534 111,431
Less:
Net asset optimization (expense) revenue (657) 2,771 4,511 Losses on non-trading derivative instruments (23,439) (67,955) (19,571)
Cash settlements on non-trading derivative instruments 37,921
42,944 (9,614) Retail Gross Margin$ 196,473 $ 220,740 $ 185,109 Retail Gross Margin - Retail Electricity Segment$ 143,233 $ 160,540 $ 124,668 Retail Gross Margin - Retail Natural Gas Segment$ 53,240
Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, or operating income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP and have limitations as analytical tools. You should not consider Adjusted EBITDA or Retail Gross Margin in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin exclude some, but not all, items that affect net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities, and operating income (loss), and are defined differently by different companies in our industry, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Management compensates for the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin as analytical tools by reviewing the comparable GAAP measures, understanding the differences between the measures and incorporating these data points into management's decision-making process. 51 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Consolidated Results of Operations (In Thousands) Year Ended December 31, 2020 2019 2018 Revenues: Retail revenues$ 555,547 $ 810,954 $ 1,001,417 Net asset optimization (expense) revenues (657) 2,771 4,511 Total Revenues 554,890 813,725 1,005,928 Operating Expenses: Retail cost of revenues 344,592 615,225 845,493 General and administrative expense 90,734 133,534 111,431 Depreciation and amortization 30,767 40,987 52,658 Total Operating Expenses 466,093 789,746 1,009,582 Operating income (loss) 88,797 23,979 (3,654) Other (expense)/income: Interest expense (5,266) (8,621) (9,410) Gain on disposal of eRex - 4,862 - Interest and other income 423 1,250 749 Total Other (Expenses)/Income (4,843) (2,509) (8,661) Income (loss) before income tax expense 83,954 21,470 (12,315) Income tax expense 15,736 7,257 2,077 Net income (loss)$ 68,218 $ 14,213 $ (14,392) Other Performance Metrics: Adjusted EBITDA (1)$ 106,634 $
92,404
Retail Gross Margin (1)$ 196,473 $
220,740
Customer Acquisition Costs$ 1,513 $
18,685
RCE Attrition 5.0 % 5.0 % 4.7 %
Distributions paid to Class B non-controlling unit
holders and dividends paid to Class A common
(45,176)$ (45,261) shareholders (1) Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin are Non-GAAP financial measures. See "-Non-GAAP Performance Measures" for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Retail Gross Margin to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Total Revenues. Total revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 were approximately$554.9 million , a decrease of approximately$258.8 million , or 32%, from approximately$813.7 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in electricity and natural gas volumes as a result of a smaller customer book in 2020 as compared to 2019 and milder weather, partially offset by an increase in electricity unit revenue per MWh. Total revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$192.2 million , or 19%, from approximately$1,005.9 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in electricity and natural gas volumes as a result of a smaller C&I customer book in 2019 as compared to 2018, partially offset by an increase in electricity unit revenue per MWh. 52 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Analysis of the impact of changes in prices and volumes between the years endedDecember 31, 2020 , 2019 and 2018 are as follows: 2020 vs. 2019
2019 vs. 2018
Change in electricity volumes sold$ (254.0) $
(221.5)
Change in natural gas volumes sold (29.0)
(18.4)
Change in electricity unit revenue per MWh 26.9
46.5
Change in natural gas unit revenue per MMBtu 0.7
2.9
Change in net asset optimization (expense) revenue (3.4) (1.7) Change in total revenues$ (258.8) $ (192.2) Retail Cost of Revenues. Total retail cost of revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$344.6 million , a decrease of approximately$270.6 million , or 44%, from approximately$615.2 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in electricity and natural gas volumes as a result of a smaller customer book in 2020 as compared to 2019, a decrease in electricity and natural gas unit cost, and a change in fair value of our retail derivative portfolio. Total retail cost of revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$230.3 million , or 27%, from approximately$845.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in electricity and natural gas volumes as a result of a smaller C&I customer book in 2019, a decrease in electricity and natural gas unit cost, and a change in fair value of our retail derivative portfolio.
Analysis of the impact of changes in prices and volumes between the years ended
2020 vs. 2019
2019 vs. 2018
Change in electricity volumes sold$ (194.7) $ (189.5) Change in natural gas volumes sold (14.7) (10.3) Change in electricity unit cost per MWh (15.1) (21.4) Change in natural gas unit cost per MMBtu (6.6) (4.9) Change in value of retail derivative portfolio (39.5) (4.2) Change in retail cost of revenues$ (270.6) $ (230.3) General and Administrative Expense. General and administrative expense for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$90.7 million , a decrease of approximately$42.8 million , or 32%, as compared to$133.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily attributable to legal and regulatory settlements and increased litigation expense in 2019 that did not reoccur in 2020, a decrease in sales and marketing costs in 2020 due to limitation on our door-to-door marketing as a result of COVID-19 and lower bad debt expense in 2020 due to improved collections efforts. General and administrative expense for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 increased approximately$22.1 million or 20%, as compared to$111.4 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This increase was primarily attributable to non-recurring legal and regulatory settlements and increased litigation expense in 2019. Depreciation and Amortization Expense. Depreciation and amortization expense for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$30.8 million , a decrease of approximately$10.2 million , or 25%, from approximately$41.0 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to the decreased amortization expense associated with customer relationship intangibles. Depreciation and amortization expense for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$11.7 million , or 22%, from approximately$52.7 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily due to the decreased amortization expense associated with customer relationship intangibles.
Customer Acquisition Cost. Customer acquisition cost for the year ended
53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to limitation on our door-to-door marketing as a result of COVID-19 during the majority of 2020 and a reduction in targeted organic customer acquisitions as we focused our efforts to improve our organic sales channels, including vendor selection and sales quality. Customer acquisition cost for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 increased approximately$5.0 million , or 37% from approximately$13.7 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of organic sales in 2019 as compared to 2018, as we slowed our organic sales in 2018 to concentrate on acquisitions of companies and portfolios of customers. 54
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Table of Contents Operating Segment Results Year Ended December 31, 2020 2019 2018 (in thousands, except volume and per unit operating data) Retail Electricity Segment Total Revenues$ 461,393 $ 688,451 $ 863,451 Retail Cost of Revenues 306,012 552,250 762,771
Less:
of cash settlements
12,148 (24,339) (23,988) Retail Gross Margin (1) -Electricity$ 143,233 $ 160,540 $ 124,668 Volumes-Electricity (MWhs) 4,049,543 6,416,568 8,630,653 Retail Gross Margin (2) -Electricity per MWh$ 35.37
Retail Natural Gas Segment Total Revenues$ 94,154 $ 122,503 $ 137,966 Retail Cost of Revenues 38,580 62,975 82,722
Less:
of cash settlements
2,334 (672) (5,197) Retail Gross Margin (1) -Gas$ 53,240 $ 60,200 $ 60,441 Volumes-Gas (MMBtus) 11,100,446 14,543,563 16,778,393 Retail Gross Margin (2) -Gas per MMBtu$ 4.80
(1) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin attributable to our Retail Electricity Segment or Retail Natural Gas Segment, as applicable. Retail Gross Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "-Non-GAAP Performance Measures" for a reconciliation of Retail Gross Margin to most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP. (2) Reflects the Retail Gross Margin for the Retail Electricity Segment or Retail Natural Gas Segment, as applicable, divided by the total volumes in MWh or MMBtu, respectively. Retail Electricity Segment Total revenues for the Retail Electricity Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 were approximately$461.4 million , a decrease of approximately$227.1 million , or 33%, from approximately$688.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was largely due to lower volumes sold, resulting in a decrease of$254.0 million as a result of a smaller customer book in 2020. This decrease was partially offset by higher weighted average electricity rates due to our customer mix shifting away from large commercial customers, which resulted in an increase of$26.9 million . Total revenues for the Retail Electricity Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$175.0 million , or 20%, from approximately$863.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was largely due to lower volumes sold, resulting in a decrease of$221.5 million as a result of a smaller commercial book in 2019. This decrease was partially offset by higher weighted average electricity rates, due to our customer mix shifting away from large commercial customers, which resulted in an increase of$46.5 million . Retail cost of revenues for the Retail Electricity Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$306.0 million , a decrease of approximately$246.3 million , or 45%, from approximately$552.3 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in volumes, resulting in a decrease of$194.7 million . This decrease was further impacted by decreased electricity supply costs, which resulted in a decrease in retail cost of revenues of$15.1 million . Additionally, there was a decrease of$36.5 million due to a change in the value of our retail derivative portfolio used in hedging. Retail cost of revenues for the Retail Electricity Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$210.5 million , or 28%, from approximately$762.8 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in volumes, resulting in a decrease of$189.5 million . This decrease was further impacted by decreased electricity 55 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents supply costs, which resulted in a decrease in retail cost of revenues of$21.4 million . Additionally, there was an increase of$0.4 million due to a change in the value of our retail derivative portfolio used in hedging. Retail gross margin for the Retail Electricity Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$143.2 million , a decrease of approximately$17.4 million , or 11%, as compared to the year endedDecember 31, 2019 , and 2019 increased approximately$35.8 million or 29% as compared toDecember 31, 2018 as indicated in the table below (in millions). 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018 Change in volumes sold$ (59.2) $ (32.0) Change in unit margin per MWh 41.8 67.8
Change in retail electricity segment retail gross margin
$ 35.8
Unit margins were positively impacted in 2020 and 2019 compared to prior years primarily as a result of the higher volumes from our residential customers, which tend to have higher unit margins than our C&I customers. The volumes of electricity sold decreased from 6,416,568 MWh for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 to 4,049,543 MWh for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . This decrease was primarily due to a smaller C&I customer book in 2019. The volumes of electricity sold decreased from 8,630,653 MWh for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 to 6,416,568 MWh for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to a smaller C&I customer book in 2019. Retail Natural Gas Segment Total revenues for the Retail Natural Gas Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 were approximately$94.2 million , a decrease of approximately$28.3 million , or 23%, from approximately$122.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in volumes of$29.0 million , offset by higher rates, which resulted in an increase in total revenues of$0.7 million . Total revenues for theRetail Natural Gas Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased by approximately$15.5 million , or 11%, from approximately$138.0 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in volumes of$18.4 million , offset by higher rates, which resulted in an increase in total revenues of$2.9 million . Retail cost of revenues for the Retail Natural Gas Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 were approximately$38.6 million , a decrease of approximately$24.4 million , or 39%, from approximately$63.0 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to lower supply costs of$6.6 million , a decrease of$14.7 million related to decreased volumes, and a decrease of$3.0 million due to change in the fair value of our retail derivative portfolio used for hedging. Retail cost of revenues for the Retail Natural Gas Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 decreased approximately$19.7 million , or 24%, from approximately$82.7 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . This decrease was primarily due to decreased supply costs of$4.9 million , a decrease of$10.3 million related to decreased volumes, and a decrease of$4.5 million due to change in the fair value of our retail derivative portfolio used for hedging. Retail gross margin for the Retail Natural Gas Segment for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 was approximately$53.2 million , a decrease of approximately$7.0 million , or 12% from approximately$60.2 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 , and 2019 decreased approximately$0.2 million or less than 1% from approximately$60.4 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 as indicated in the table below (in millions). 2020 vs. 2019 2019 vs. 2018 Change in volumes sold$ (14.3) $ (8.1) Change in unit margin per MMBtu 7.3 7.9 Change in retail natural gas segment retail gross margin $ (7.0) $ (0.2) 56
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Unit margins were positively impacted in 2020 and 2019 compared to prior years as a result of higher volumes from our residential customers, which tend to have higher unit margins than our commercial customers. The volumes of natural gas sold decreased from 14,543,563 MMBtu for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 to 11,100,446 MMBtu for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . This decrease was primarily due to milder-than-normal weather in 2020 compared to prior year. The volumes of natural gas sold decreased from 16,778,393 MMBtu for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 to 14,543,563 MMBtu for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . This decrease was primarily due to warmer-than-normal weather in the second and third quarters of 2019. Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Our primary sources of liquidity are cash generated from operations and borrowings under our Senior Credit Facility. Our principal liquidity requirements are to meet our financial commitments, finance current operations, fund organic growth and/or acquisitions, service debt and pay dividends. Our liquidity requirements fluctuate with our level of customer acquisition costs, acquisitions, collateral posting requirements on our derivative instruments portfolio, distributions, the effects of the timing between the settlement of payables and receivables, including the effect of bad debts, weather conditions, and our general working capital needs for ongoing operations. We believe that cash generated from operations and our available liquidity sources will be sufficient to sustain current operations and to pay required taxes and quarterly cash distributions, including the quarterly dividends to the holders of the Class A common stock and the Series A Preferred Stock, for the next twelve months. Estimating our liquidity requirements is highly dependent on then-current market conditions, including impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, weather events, forward prices for natural gas and electricity, market volatility and our then existing capital structure and requirements.
Liquidity Position
The following table details our available liquidity as of
December 31, ($ in thousands) 2020 Cash and cash equivalents$ 71,684 Senior Credit Facility Availability (1) (2) 71,467 Subordinated Debt Facility Availability (3) 25,000 Total Liquidity$ 168,151 (1) Reflects amount of Letters of Credit that could be issued based on existing covenants as ofDecember 31, 2020 . (2) OnJanuary 19, 2021 , we increased the total commitments under our Senior Credit Facility from$202.5 million to$227.5 million , which will positively affect liquidity in future quarters. (3) The availability of the Subordinated Facility is dependent on our Founder's willingness and ability to lend. See "-Sources of Liquidity-Subordinated Debt Facility." Borrowings and related posting of letters of credit under our Senior Credit Facility are subject to material variations on a seasonal basis due to the timing of commodity purchases to satisfy natural gas inventory requirements and to meet customer demands during periods of peak usage. Additionally, borrowings are subject to borrowing base and covenant restrictions. During the winter storm Uri event, we were required to post a significant amount of collateral withERCOT . Despite these posting requirements, we consistently maintained, and continue to maintain, sufficient liquidity to conduct our operations in the ordinary course. As ofFebruary 28, 2021 , we had$148.6 million of cash, availability under our Senior Credit Facility and Subordinated Debt Facility to meet any of our liquidity needs.
Cash Flows
57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Our cash flows were as follows for the respective periods (in thousands): Year Ended
2020 2019 2018 Net cash provided by operating activities$ 91,831 $
91,735
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
Net cash used in financing activities$ (75,661) $
(85,103)
Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities. Cash flows provided by operating activities for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 increased by$0.1 million compared to the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . The increase was primarily the result of a higher net income in 2020 coupled with other changes in working capital for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . Cash flows provided by operating activities for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 increased by$32.0 million compared to the year endedDecember 31, 2018 . The increase was primarily the result of higher net income in 2019 coupled with a decrease in the changes in working capital for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities. Cash flows used in investing activities increased by$3.6 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . The increase was primarily the result of the proceeds received from the sale of the Company's equity method investment in 2019, less payment to acquire theStarion customers, with no corresponding proceeds or acquisitions in 2020. Cash flows used in investing activities increased by$20.4 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . The increase was primarily the result of a reduction in the amount of cash paid for acquisitions during the year endedDecember 31, 2019 compared to the year endedDecember 31, 2018 , and proceeds received from the sale of the Company's equity method investment in 2019. Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities. Cash flows used in financing activities decreased by$9.4 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 . The decrease in cash flows used in financing activities was primarily due to an$11.2 million payment to settle the TRA liability in 2019 and a payment of$2.0 million related to a Verde Promissory Note made during 2019, both of which did not reoccur in 2020. Cash flows used in financing activities increased by$64.5 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2019 . The increase in cash flows used in financing activities was primarily due to increased net paydown of our Senior Credit Facility and subordinated debt, as well as payments to settle the Company's Tax Receivable Agreement liability. In addition, for the year endedDecember 31, 2018 , we received proceeds from the issuance of Series A Preferred Stock of approximately$48.5 million , which did not reoccur during 2019. Sources of Liquidity and Capital Resources Senior Credit Facility As ofDecember 31, 2020 , we had total commitments of$202.5 million under our Senior Credit Facility, of which$131.0 million was outstanding, including$31.0 million of outstanding letters of credit, with a maturity date ofJuly 31, 2022 . OnJuly 31, 2020 , we entered into the Fourth Amendment, which, among other things, extended the maturity date of the Senior Credit Facility toJuly 31, 2022 , and decreased the maximum borrowing capacity under the Senior Credit Facility to$187.5 million . The Fourth Amendment also revised the Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio, Maximum Total Leverage Ratio and Maximum Senior Secured Leverage Ratio (each as defined in the Senior Credit Facility), eliminated Bridge Loans, and provided for Share Buyback Loans of up to$80.0 million , which permit the Company to repurchase up to an aggregate of 8,000,000 shares of Class A common stock or$80.0 million of Series A Preferred Stock. Under the Senior Credit Facility, we have various limits on advances for Working Capital Loans, Letters of Credit and Share Buyback Loans. For a description of the terms and conditions of our Senior Credit Facility, as amended, including descriptions of the interest rate, commitment fee, covenants and terms of default, please see Note 10 "Debt" in the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements. 58
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On
bringing total commitments under the Senior Credit Facility to
As of
Senior Credit Facility. Based upon existing covenants as of
we had availability to borrow up to
Facility.
On
Facility to
Amended and Restated Subordinated Debt Facility
Our Subordinated Debt Facility allows us to draw advances in increments of no less than$1.0 million per advance up to$25.0 million . Although we may use the Subordinated Debt Facility from time to time to enhance short term liquidity, we do not view the Subordinated Debt Facility as a primary source of liquidity. See Note 10 "Debt" for additional details. As ofDecember 31, 2020 , there was zero outstanding borrowings under the Subordinated Debt Facility.
Uses of Liquidity and Capital Resources
Repayment of Current Portion of Senior Credit Facility
Our Senior Credit Facility, as amended by the Fourth Amendment, matures inJuly 2022 , and thus, no amounts are due currently. However, due to the revolving nature of the facility, excess cash available is generally used to reduce the balance outstanding, which atDecember 31, 2020 was$100.0 million . The current variable interest rate on the facility atDecember 31, 2020 was 3.75%.
Customer Acquisitions
Our customer acquisition strategy consists of customer growth obtained through organic customer additions as well as opportunistic acquisitions. During the years endedDecember 31, 2020 and 2019, we spent a total of$1.5 million and$18.7 million , respectively, on organic customer acquisitions. As described above, the decrease was primarily due to limitation of our door-to-door marketing as a result of COVID-19 during the majority of 2020 and a reduction in targeted organic customer acquisitions as we focused our efforts to improve our organic sales channels, including vendor selection and sales quality. Our ability to grow our customer base organically or by acquisition is important to our success as we experience ongoing customer attrition each period.
Capital Expenditures
Our capital requirements each year are relatively low and generally consist of minor purchases of equipment or information system upgrades and improvements. Capital expenditures for the year endedDecember 31, 2020 included approximately$2.2 million related to information systems improvements.
Dividends and Distributions
For the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , we paid dividends to holders of our Class A common stock of$0.725 per share or$10.6 million in the aggregate. In order to pay our stated dividends to holders of our Class A common stock, our subsidiary,Spark HoldCo is required to make corresponding distributions to holders of Class B common stock (our non-controlling interest holders). As a result, during the year endedDecember 31, 2020 ,Spark HoldCo made distributions of$15.1 million to our non-controlling interest holders related to the dividend payments to our Class A shareholders.
For the year ended
holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and as of
accrued
59 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Preferred Stock, which we paid onJanuary 15, 2021 . For the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , we declared dividends of$2.1875 per share or$7.9 million in the aggregate on our Series A Preferred Stock. OnJanuary 21, 2021 , our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of$0.18125 per share to holders of our Class A common stock and$0.546875 per share for the Series A Preferred Stock. Dividends on Class A common stock will be paid onMarch 15, 2021 to holders of record onMarch 1, 2021 and Series A Preferred Stock dividends will be paid onApril 15, 2021 to holders of record onApril 1, 2021 . Our ability to pay dividends in the future will depend on many factors, including the performance of our business and restrictions under our Senior Credit Facility. If our business does not generate sufficient cash forSpark HoldCo to make distributions to us to fund our Class A common stock and Series A Preferred Stock dividends, we may have to borrow to pay such amounts. Further, even if our business generates cash in excess of our current annual dividend (of$0.725 per share on our Class A common stock), we may reinvest such excess cash flows in our business and not increase the dividends payable to holders of our Class A common stock. Our future dividend policy is within the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon the results of our operations, our financial condition, capital requirements and investment opportunities.
Share Repurchase Program
OnAugust 18, 2020 , our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to$20.0 million of Class A common stock throughAugust 18, 2021 . During the year endedDecember 31, 2020 , we repurchased 45,148 shares of our Class A common stock at a weighted average price of$8.75 per share, for a total cost of$0.4 million .
Collateral Posting Requirements
Our contractual agreements with certain local regulated utilities and our supplier counterparties require us to maintain restricted cash balances or letters of credit as collateral for credit risk or the performance risk associated with the future delivery of natural gas or electricity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain local regulated utilities and our supplier counterparties have contacted us inquiring about our financial condition and the impact the pandemic is having on our operations. These inquiries may lead to additional requests for cash or letters of credit in an effort to mitigate the risk of default in paying our obligations related to the future delivery of natural gas or electricity. As ofDecember 31, 2020 , we had not been required to post additional collateral as a result of COVID-19. As discussed above, during the winter storm Uri event, we were required to post a significant amount of collateral withERCOT . Despite these posting requirements, we consistently maintained, and continue to maintain, sufficient liquidity to conduct our operations in the ordinary course. As of the date of this Annual Report, our collateral requirements withERCOT have been reduced to pre-storm levels. 60
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Summary of Contractual Obligations The following table discloses aggregate information about our contractual obligations and commercial commitments as ofDecember 31, 2020 (in millions): Total 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 > 5 years Purchase obligations:
Pipeline transportation agreements
Other purchase obligations (1)
6.4 4.8 1.5 0.1 - - - Total purchase obligations$ 14.1 $ 8.4 $ 2.2 $ 0.7 $ 0.7 $ 0.7 $ 1.4 Senior Credit Facility$ 100.0 $ -$ 100.0 $ - $ - $ - $ - Debt$ 100.0 $ -$ 100.0 $ - $ - $ - $ -
(1) The amounts presented here include contracts for billing services and
other software agreements to support our operations.
As of
61 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Related Party Transactions For a discussion of related party transactions, see Note 15 "Transactions with Affiliates" in the Company's audited consolidated financial statements. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 "Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" to our audited consolidated financial statements. We prepare our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted inthe United States of America and pursuant to the rules and regulations of theSEC , which require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying footnotes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We consider the following policies to be the most critical in understanding the judgments that are involved in preparing our financial statements and the uncertainties that could impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition and Retail Cost of Revenues
Our revenues are derived primarily from the sale of natural gas and electricity to retail customers. We also record revenues from sales of natural gas and electricity to wholesale counterparties, including affiliates. Revenues are recognized when the natural gas or electricity is delivered. Similarly, cost of revenues is recognized when the commodity is delivered. In each period, natural gas and electricity that has been delivered but not billed by period is estimated. Accrued unbilled revenues are based on estimates of customer usage since the date of the last meter read and are provided by the utility. Volume estimates are based on forecasted volumes and estimated customer usage by class. Unbilled revenues are calculated by multiplying these volume estimates by the applicable rate by customer class. Estimated amounts are adjusted when actual usage is known and billed. The cost of natural gas and electricity for sale to retail customers is similarly based on estimated supply volumes for the applicable reporting period. In estimating supply volumes, we consider the effects of historical customer volumes, weather factors and usage by customer class. Transmission and distribution delivery fees, where applicable, are estimated using the same method used for sales to retail customers. In addition, other load related costs, such as ISO fees, ancillary services and renewable energy credits are estimated based on historical trends, estimated supply volumes and initial utility data. Volume estimates are then multiplied by the supply rate and recorded as retail cost of revenues in the applicable reporting period. Estimated amounts are adjusted when actual usage is known and billed.
Derivative Instruments
We enter into both physical and financial contracts for the purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas and apply the fair value requirements of ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. Our derivative instruments are subject to mark-to-market accounting requirements and are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet at fair value. Derivative instruments representing unrealized gains are reported as derivative assets while derivative instruments representing unrealized losses are reported as derivative liabilities. We offset amounts in the consolidated balance sheets for derivative instruments executed with the same counterparty where we have a master netting arrangement. To manage our retail business, we hold derivative instruments that are not for trading purposes and are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes. Changes in the fair value of and amounts realized upon settlement of derivative instruments not held for trading purposes are recognized in retail costs of revenues. 62 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents As part of our asset optimization activities, we manage a portfolio of commodity derivative instruments held for trading purposes. Changes in fair value of and amounts realized upon settlements of derivatives instruments held for trading purposes are recognized in earnings in net asset optimization revenues.
We have entered into other energy-related contracts that do not meet the
definition of a derivative instrument or for which we made a normal purchase,
normal sale election and are therefore not accounted for at fair value.
As noted above,Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of the assets of businesses. The goodwill on our consolidated balance sheet as ofDecember 31, 2020 is associated with both ourRetail Natural Gas and Retail Electricity reporting units. We determine our reporting units by identifying each unit that is engaged in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses, has operating results regularly reviewed by the segment manager for purposes of resource allocation and performance assessment, and has discrete financial information.Goodwill is assessed for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that impairment of the carrying value of goodwill is likely, but no less often than annually. Our annual assessment, absent a triggering event is as ofOctober 31 of each year. OnOctober 31, 2020 , we elected to perform a qualitative assessment of goodwill in accordance with guidance from ASC 350. This guidance permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. If we fail the qualitative test or if we elect to by-pass the qualitative assessment, then we must compare our estimate of the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, we would recognize a goodwill impairment loss for the amount by which the reporting unit's carrying value exceeds its fair value. All of these assessments and calculations, including the determination of whether a triggering event has occurred to undertake an assessment of goodwill involve a high degree of judgment.
We completed our annual assessment of goodwill impairment at
and the test indicated no impairment.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities
The Company recognizes the amount of taxes payable or refundable for each tax year. In addition, the Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes where deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the financial statements or tax returns and operating loss carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in those years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in the tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that these items will not be realized. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. All of these determinations involve estimates and assumptions.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting
Policies” for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.
63 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Contingencies In the ordinary course of business, we may become party to lawsuits, administrative proceedings and governmental investigations, including regulatory and other matters. Liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines, penalties and other sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. For a discussion of the status of current legal and regulatory matters, see Note 14 "Commitments and Contingencies" in the Company's audited consolidated financial statements. 64
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Loans Bad Credit Online – SPARK ENERGY : MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K)
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