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ITC

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FY2017 Annual Report · ITC
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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K

(Mark One)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

OR

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 001-32576

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Michigan
(State or Other Jurisdiction of 
Incorporation or Organization)

32-0058047
(I.R.S. Employer 
Identification No.)

27175 Energy Way
Novi, Michigan 48377
(Address Of Principal Executive Offices, Including Zip Code)
(248) 946-3000
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class
Common stock, without par value

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

1934. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been 
subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes 

 No 

*(Note: The Registrant is a voluntary filer and has not been subject to the filing requirements under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 for the preceding 12 months.)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data 
File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or 
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, 
to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information, statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or 
any amendment to this Form 10-K. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting 
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 
(Check one):

Large accelerated filer 

Accelerated filer 

Non-accelerated filer 

Smaller Reporting 

Company 

Emerging growth 

company 

(Do not check if a smaller
reporting company)

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying 

with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes 

 No 

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2017 was $0.

All shares of outstanding common stock of ITC Holdings Corp. are held by its parent company, ITC Investment Holdings Inc., which is an 

indirect subsidiary of Fortis Inc. There were 224,203,112 shares of common stock, no par value, outstanding as of February 14, 2018.

None

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 
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ITC Holdings Corp.

Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017 

INDEX

PART I
Item 1.

Business

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2.

Item 3.

Item 4.

PART II
Item 5.

Item 6.

Item 7.

Properties

Legal Proceedings

Mine Safety Disclosures

Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases 
of Equity Securities

Selected Financial Data

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Item 8.

Item 9.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

Item 9B. Other Information

PART III
Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related 
Stockholder Matters

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Item 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

PART IV
Item 15.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

Signatures

Page
7

7

15

22

22

24

24

24

24

25

26

44

46

94

94

94

94

94

98

126

127

128

129

129

142

142

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DEFINITIONS

Unless otherwise noted or the context requires, all references in this report to:

ITC Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries

•  “ITC  Great  Plains”  are  references  to  ITC  Great  Plains,  LLC,  a  wholly-owned  subsidiary  of  ITC  Grid 

Development, LLC;

•  “ITC Grid Development” are references to ITC Grid Development, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC 

Holdings;

•  “ITC Holdings” are references to ITC Holdings Corp. and not any of its subsidiaries;

•  “ITC Interconnection” are references to ITC Interconnection LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Grid 

Development, LLC;

•  “ITC Midwest” are references to ITC Midwest LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings;

•  “ITCTransmission” are references to International Transmission Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC 

Holdings;

•  “METC”  are  references  to  Michigan  Electric Transmission  Company,  LLC,  a  wholly-owned  subsidiary  of 

MTH;

•  “MISO  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries”  are  references  to  ITCTransmission,  METC  and  ITC  Midwest 

together;

•  “MTH” are references to Michigan Transco Holdings, LLC, the sole member of METC and an indirect wholly-

owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings;

•  “Regulated  Operating Subsidiaries”  are  references  to  ITCTransmission,  METC, ITC Midwest,  ITC Great 

Plains and ITC Interconnection together; and

•  “Company”, “we,” “our” and “us” are references to ITC Holdings together with all of its subsidiaries.

Other definitions

•  “ADIT” are references to accumulated deferred income tax;

•  “AFUDC” are references to an allowance for the cost of equity and borrowings used during construction;

•  “Ancillary Services Agreement” are references to the Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement 

for Ancillary Services entered into by METC and Consumers Energy dated as of April 29, 2002;

•  “AOCI” are references to accumulated other comprehensive income or (loss);

•  “CIA” are references to the Coordination and Interconnection Agreement entered into by ITCTransmission 

and DTE Electric dated as of February 28, 2003;

•  “Consumers Energy” are references to Consumers Energy Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMS 

Energy Corporation;

•  “DCF” are references to discounted cash flow;

•  “DOE” are references to the Department of Energy; 

•  “DTIA”  are  references  to  the  Distribution-Transmission  Interconnection Agreement  entered  into  by  ITC 
Midwest and IP&L dated as of December 17, 2007 and amended and restated effective as of December 1, 
2016;

•  “DTE Electric” are references to DTE Electric Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DTE Energy;

•  “DTE Energy” are references to DTE Energy Company;

•  “DT Interconnection Agreement” are references to the Amended and Restated Distribution-Transmission 
Interconnection Agreement entered into by METC and Consumers Energy dated April 1, 2001 and most 
recently amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2015;

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•  “Easement Agreement” are references to the Amended and Restated Easement Agreement entered into by 

METC and Consumers Energy dated April 29, 2002 and as further supplemented;

•  “Eiffel” are references to Eiffel Investment Pte Ltd, a private limited company duly organized and validly 
existing under the laws of Singapore that is the GIC subsidiary that is a minority investor in Investment 
Holdings and successor to Finn Investment Pte Ltd;

•  “ESPP” are references to the Fortis Amended and Restated 2012 Employee Share Purchase Plan;

•  “Exchange Act” are references to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;

•  “FASB” are references to the Financial Accounting Standards Board;

•  “FERC” are references to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;

•  “Fortis” are references to Fortis Inc.;

•  “FortisUS” are references to FortisUS Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Fortis;

•  “FPA” are references to the Federal Power Act;

•  “GAAP” are references to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;

•  “Generator  Interconnection  Agreement”  are  references  to  the  Amended  and  Restated  Generator 
Interconnection Agreement entered into by Consumers Energy and METC dated as of April 29, 2002 and 
most recently amended effective as of October 1, 2016;

•  “GIC” are references to GIC Private Limited;

•  “GIOA”  are  references  to  the  Generator  Interconnection  and  Operation Agreement  entered  into  by  DTE 

Electric and ITCTransmission dated as of February 28, 2003;

•  “Initial Complaint” are references to a November 2013 complaint to the FERC under Section 206 of the FPA 

regarding ROE;

•  “Investment Holdings” are references to ITC Investment Holdings Inc., a majority owned indirect subsidiary 

of Fortis;

•  “IP&L” are references to Interstate Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy Corporation subsidiary;

•  “IRS” are references to the Internal Revenue Service;

•  “ISO” are references to Independent System Operators;

•  “kV” are references to kilovolts (one kilovolt equaling 1,000 volts);

•  “kW” are references to kilowatts (one kilowatt equaling 1,000 watts);

•  “LBA” are references to a Local Balancing Authority;

•  “LGIA” are references to the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement entered into by ITC Midwest, IP&L, 

and MISO dated as of December 20, 2007 and amended as of August 6, 2013;

•  “LIBOR” are references to the London Interbank Offered Rate;

•  “MECS” are references to the Michigan Electric Coordinated Systems;

•  “Merger”  are  references  to  the  merger  with  Fortis,  whereby  ITC  Holdings  merged  with  Merger  Sub  and 

subsequently became a majority owned indirect subsidiary of Fortis;

•  “Merger Agreement” are references to the agreement and plan of merger between Fortis, FortisUS, Merger 

Sub and ITC Holdings for the Merger;

•  “Merger Sub” are references to Element Acquisition Sub, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Fortis that merged 

into ITC Holdings in the Merger;

•  “Mid-Kansas” are references to Mid-Kansas Electric Company LLC;

•  “Mid-Kansas Agreement” are references to an Amended and Restated Maintenance Agreement entered into 
by Mid-Kansas and ITC Great Plains dated as of August 24, 2010, and most recently amended effective as 
of June 1, 2015;

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•  “MISO” are references to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., a FERC-approved RTO which 
oversees the operation of the bulk power transmission system for a substantial portion of the Midwestern 
United States and Manitoba, Canada, and of which ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest are members;

•  “MOA” are references to the Master Operating Agreement entered into by ITCTransmission and DTE Electric 

dated as of February 28, 2003;

•  “Moody’s” are references Moody’s Investor Service, Inc.;

•  “MVPs” are references to multi-value projects, which have been determined by MISO to have regional value 

while meeting near-term system needs;

•  “MW” are references to megawatts (one megawatt equaling 1,000,000 watts);

•  “NERC” are references to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation;

•  “NOLs” are references to net operating loss carryforwards for income taxes;

•  “NYSE” are references to the New York Stock Exchange;

•  “Order 1000” are references to FERC Order No. 1000;

•  “Operating Agreement” are references to the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement entered into by 

Consumers Energy and METC dated as of April 29, 2002;

•  “OSA” are references to the Operations Services Agreement for 34.5 kV Transmission Facilities entered into 

by ITC Midwest and IP&L effective as of January 1, 2011;

•  “PARs” are references to Phase Angle Regulating Transformers;

•  “PBU” are references to a performance-based unit;

•  “PCBs” are references to polychlorinated biphenyls;

•  “ROE” are references to return of equity;

•  “RPGI” are references to Resale Power Group of Iowa;

•  “RTO” are references to Regional Transmission Organizations;

•  “SBU” are references to a service-based unit; 

•  “SEC” are references to the Securities and Exchange Commission;

•  “Second Complaint” are references to an additional complaint filed on February 12, 2015 with the FERC 

under Section 206 of the FPA regarding ROE;

•  “September 2016 Order” are references to an order issued by the FERC on September 28, 2016 regarding 

ROE complaints;

•  “Shareholders Agreement” are references to the Shareholders’ Agreement, dated as of October 14, 2016 
by and among the Company, Investment Holdings, FortisUS, Eiffel (as successor to Finn Investment Pte 
Ltd), and any other person that becomes a shareholder of Investment Holdings pursuant to such agreement;

•  “SPP” are references to Southwest Power Pool, Inc., a FERC-approved RTO which oversees the operation 
of the bulk power transmission system for a substantial portion of the South Central United States, and of 
which ITC Great Plains is a member;

•  “Standard and Poor’s” are references to Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services;

•  “TCJA” are references to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, a comprehensive tax reform bill enacted on 

December 22, 2017

•  “TO” are references to transmission owners; and

•  “ULCS” are references to Utility Lines Construction Services LLC

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

On October 14, 2016, ITC Holdings became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Investment Holdings upon the closing 
of the Merger. On the same date, the common shares of ITC Holdings were delisted from the NYSE. As a result, 
there is limited share data, and no per share data, presented in this Form 10-K. Refer to Note 2 to the consolidated 
financial statements for further details regarding the Merger.

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ITEM 1. 

BUSINESS.

Overview

PART I

Our business consists primarily of the electric transmission operations of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. 
ITC Holdings was incorporated in the State of Michigan in 2002. Our business strategy is to own, operate, maintain 
and invest in transmission infrastructure in order to enhance system integrity and reliability, reduce transmission 
constraints  and  support  new  generating  resources  to  interconnect  to  our  transmission  systems.  We  also  are 
pursuing development projects not within our existing systems, which are also intended to improve overall grid 
reliability, reduce transmission constraints and facilitate interconnections of new generating resources, as well as 
enhance competitive wholesale electricity markets. We own and operate high-voltage systems in Michigan’s Lower 
Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that transmit electricity from 
generating stations to local distribution facilities connected to our systems. 

As electric transmission utilities regulated by the FERC, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries earn revenues 
for  the  use  of  their  electric  transmission  systems  by  our  customers,  which  include  investor-owned  utilities, 
municipalities,  cooperatives,  power  marketers  and  alternative  energy  suppliers. As  independent  transmission 
companies,  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  are  subject  to  rate  regulation  only  by  the  FERC. The  rates 
charged by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are established using cost-based formula rates, as discussed 
in “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Cost-Based 
Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism.”

The Merger

On February 9, 2016, ITC Holdings entered into the Merger Agreement with Fortis, FortisUS and Merger Sub. 
On April 20, 2016, Fortis reached a definitive agreement with GIC for GIC to acquire an indirect 19.9% equity 
interest in ITC Holdings upon completion of the Merger. On October 14, 2016, ITC Holdings and Fortis completed 
the Merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement. On the same date, the common shares of ITC Holdings were 
delisted from the NYSE and the common shares of Fortis were listed and began trading on the NYSE. Fortis 
continues to have its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As a result of the Merger, Merger Sub merged 
with and into ITC Holdings with ITC Holdings continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming a majority 
owned indirect subsidiary of FortisUS. In the Merger, ITC Holdings shareholders received $22.57 in cash and 
0.7520 Fortis common shares for each share of common stock of ITC Holdings. Refer to Note 2 to the consolidated 
financial statements for further details on the Merger.

Development of Business

We  are  actively  developing  transmission  infrastructure  required  to  meet  reliability  needs  and  energy  policy 
objectives. Our long-term growth plan includes ongoing investments in our current regulated transmission systems 
and  the  identification  of  incremental  development  projects  throughout  North  America.  Refer  to  “Item  7 
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Capital Investment 
and Operating Results Trends” for additional details about our long-term capital investments. Refer to the discussion 
of risks associated with our strategic development opportunities in “Item 1A Risk Factors.”

We expect to invest approximately $2.8 billion from 2018 through 2022 at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. 
Included in this amount are capital expenditures to: (1) maintain and replace the current transmission infrastructure; 
(2) enhance system integrity and reliability and accommodate load growth; and (3) develop and build regional 
transmission infrastructure, including additional transmission facilities that will provide interconnection opportunities 
for generating facilities.

Development Projects

Through our development activities, we are actively pursuing projects in North America to upgrade the existing 
transmission grid and regional transmission facilities, primarily to improve overall grid reliability, reduce transmission 
constraints, enhance competitive wholesale electricity markets and facilitate interconnections of new generating 
resources, including wind generation and other renewable resources necessary to achieve state and federal policy 
goals. We are also actively pursuing energy storage and contracted transmission projects.

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Segments

We have one reportable segment consisting of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. Additionally, we have 
other subsidiaries focused primarily on business development activities and a holding company whose activities 
include corporate debt financings and certain other corporate activities. A more detailed discussion of our reportable 
segment, including financial information about the segment, is included in Note 18 to the consolidated financial 
statements.

Operations

As transmission-only companies, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries function as conduits, allowing for power 
from  generators  to  be  transmitted  to  local  distribution  systems  either  entirely  through  their  own  systems  or  in 
conjunction  with  neighboring  transmission  systems.  Third  parties  then  transmit  power  through  these  local 
distribution systems to end-use consumers. The transmission of electricity by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries 
is a central function to the provision of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial end-use consumers. The 
operations performed by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries fall into the following categories:

•  asset planning;

•  engineering, design and construction;

•  maintenance; and

•  real time operations.

Asset Planning

The Asset Planning group uses detailed system models and load forecasts to develop our system expansion 
capital plans. Expansion capital plans identify projects that would address potential future reliability issues and/or 
produce economic savings for customers by eliminating constraints. 

The Asset Planning group works closely with MISO and SPP in the development of our system expansion 
capital plans by performing technical evaluations and detailed studies. As the regional planning authorities, MISO 
and SPP approve regional system improvement plans, which include projects to be constructed by their members, 
including our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and ITC Great Plains.

Engineering, Design and Construction

The  Engineering,  Design  and  Construction  group  is  responsible  for  design,  equipment  specifications, 
maintenance plans and project engineering for capital, operation and maintenance work. We work with outside 
contractors to perform various aspects of our engineering, design and construction, but retain internal technical 
experts who have experience with respect to the key elements of the transmission system such as substations, 
lines, equipment and protective relaying systems.

Maintenance

We  develop  and  track  preventive  maintenance  plans  to  promote  safe  and  reliable  systems.  By  performing 
preventive maintenance on our assets, we can minimize the need for reactive maintenance, resulting in improved 
reliability. Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries contract with ULCS, which is a division of Asplundh Tree Expert 
Co.,  to  perform  the  majority  of  their  maintenance.  The  agreement  with  ULCS  provides  us  with  access  to  an 
experienced and scalable workforce with knowledge of our system at an established rate. 

Real Time Operations

System  Operations  —  From  our  operations  facility  in  Novi,  Michigan,  transmission  system  operators 
continuously monitor the performance of the transmission systems of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, using 
software and communication systems to perform analysis to plan for contingencies and maintain security and 
reliability following any unplanned events on the system. Transmission system operators are also responsible for 
the switching and protective tagging function, taking equipment in and out of service to ensure capital construction 
projects and maintenance programs can be completed safely and reliably. 

Local Balancing Authority Operator — Under the functional control of MISO, ITCTransmission and METC operate 
their electric transmission systems as a combined LBA area, known as MECS. From our operations facility in Novi, 
Michigan, our employees perform the LBA functions as outlined in MISO’s Balancing Authority Agreement. These 

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functions include actual interchange data administration and verification as well as MECS LBA area emergency 
procedure implementation and coordination. Besides ITCTransmission and METC, our other Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries are not responsible for LBA functions for their respective assets.

Operating Contracts

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries have various operating contracts, including numerous interconnection 
agreements with generation and transmission providers that address terms and conditions of interconnection. The 
following significant agreements exist at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries:

ITCTransmission

DTE Electric operates the electric distribution system to which ITCTransmission’s transmission system connects. 
A set of three operating contracts sets forth the terms and conditions related to DTE Electric’s and ITCTransmission’s 
ongoing working relationship. These contracts include the following:

Master  Operating Agreement.  The  MOA  governs  the  primary  day-to-day  operational  responsibilities  of 
ITCTransmission  and  DTE  Electric.  The  MOA  identifies  the  control  area  coordination  services  that 
ITCTransmission is obligated to provide to DTE Electric and certain generation-based support services that 
DTE Electric is required to provide to ITCTransmission.

Generator Interconnection and Operation Agreement. The GIOA established, re-established and maintains 
the  direct  electricity  interconnection  of  DTE  Electric’s  electricity  generating  assets  with  ITCTransmission’s 
transmission system for the purposes of transmitting electric power from and to the electricity generating facilities. 

Coordination and Interconnection Agreement. The CIA governs the rights, obligations and responsibilities 
of ITCTransmission and DTE Electric regarding, among other things, the operation and interconnection of DTE 
Electric’s distribution system and ITCTransmission’s transmission system, and the construction of new facilities 
or  modification  of  existing  facilities.  Additionally,  the  CIA  allocates  costs  for  operation  of  supervisory, 
communications and metering equipment. 

METC

Consumers Energy operates the electric distribution system to which METC’s transmission system connects. 
METC  is  a  party  to  a  number  of  operating  contracts  with  Consumers  Energy  that  govern  the  operations  and 
maintenance of its transmission system. These contracts include the following:

Amended  and  Restated  Easement  Agreement.  Under  the  Easement  Agreement,  Consumers  Energy 
provides METC with an easement to the land on which a majority of METC’s transmission towers, poles, lines 
and other transmission facilities used to transmit electricity for Consumers Energy and others are located. METC 
pays Consumers Energy an annual rent for the easement and also pays for any rentals, property taxes, and 
other fees related to the property covered by the Easement Agreement.

Amended and Restated Operating Agreement. Under the Operating Agreement, METC is responsible for 
maintaining and operating its transmission system, providing Consumers Energy with information and access 
to its transmission system and related books and records, administering and performing the duties of control 
area operator (that is, the entity exercising operational control over the transmission system) and, if requested 
by Consumers Energy, building connection facilities necessary to permit interaction with new distribution facilities 
built by Consumers Energy. 

Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement for Ancillary Services. Since METC does not own 
any generating facilities, it must procure ancillary services from third party suppliers, such as Consumers Energy. 
Currently,  under  the  Ancillary  Services  Agreement,  METC  pays  Consumers  Energy  for  providing  certain 
generation based services necessary to support the reliable operation of the bulk power grid, such as voltage 
support and generation capability and capacity to balance loads and generation.

Amended  and  Restated  Distribution-Transmission  Interconnection Agreement.  The  DT  Interconnection 
Agreement,  provides  for  the  interconnection  of  Consumers  Energy’s  distribution  system  with  METC’s 
transmission system and defines the continuing rights, responsibilities and obligations of the parties with respect 
to the use of certain of their own and the other party’s properties, assets and facilities.

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Amended and Restated Generator Interconnection Agreement. The Generator Interconnection Agreement 
specifies the terms and conditions under which Consumers Energy and METC maintain the interconnection of 
Consumers Energy’s generation resources and METC’s transmission assets.

ITC Midwest

IP&L  operates  the  electric  distribution  system  to  which  ITC  Midwest’s  transmission  system  connects.  ITC 
Midwest is a party to a number of operating contracts with IP&L that govern the operations and maintenance of 
its transmission system. These contracts include the following:

Distribution-Transmission Interconnection Agreement. The DTIA governs the rights, responsibilities and 
obligations  of  ITC  Midwest  and  IP&L,  with  respect  to  the  use  of  certain  of  their  own  and  the  other  parties’ 
property, assets and facilities and the construction of new facilities or modification of existing facilities.

Large Generator Interconnection Agreement. ITC Midwest, IP&L and MISO entered into the LGIA in order 
to establish, re-establish and maintain the direct electricity interconnection of IP&L’s electricity generating assets 
with ITC Midwest’s transmission system for the purposes of transmitting electric power from and to the electricity 
generating facilities.

Operations Services Agreement For 34.5 kV Transmission Facilities. ITC Midwest and IP&L entered into 
the OSA under which IP&L performs certain operations functions for ITC Midwest’s 34.5 kV transmission system 
on  behalf  of  ITC  Midwest. The  OSA  provides  that  when  ITC  Midwest  upgrades  34.5  kV  facilities  to  higher 
operating voltages it may notify IP&L of the change and the OSA is no longer applicable to those facilities.

ITC Great Plains

Amended and Restated Maintenance Agreement. Mid-Kansas and ITC Great Plains have entered into the 
Mid-Kansas Agreement  pursuant  to  which  Mid-Kansas  has  agreed  to  perform  various  field  operations  and 
maintenance services related to certain ITC Great Plains assets.

ITC Interconnection

ITC  Interconnection  was  formed  to  pursue  transmission  investment  opportunities  and  acquire  certain 
transmission assets from a merchant generating company and placed a newly constructed 345kV transmission 
line in service. As a result, ITC Interconnection became a transmission owner in PJM Interconnection, a FERC-
approved RTO, and is subject to rate regulation by the FERC. The revenues earned by ITC Interconnection 
are based on its facilities reimbursement agreement with the merchant generating company.

Regulatory Environment

Many regulators and public policy makers support the need for further investment in the transmission grid. The 
growth  and  changing  mix  of  electricity  generation,  wholesale  power  sales  and  consumption  combined  with 
historically inadequate transmission investment have resulted in significant transmission constraints across the 
United States and increased stress on aging equipment. These problems will continue without increased investment 
in transmission infrastructure. Transmission system investments can also increase system reliability and reduce 
the frequency of power outages. Such investments can reduce transmission constraints and improve access to 
lower cost generation resources, resulting in a lower overall cost of delivered electricity for end-use consumers. 
After the 2003 blackout that affected sections of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, 
Canada, the DOE established the Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution (now the Office of Electricity 
Delivery  and  Energy  Reliability),  focused  on  working  with  reliability  experts  from  the  power  industry,  state 
governments and their Canadian counterparts to improve grid reliability and increase investment in the country’s 
electric  infrastructure.  In  addition,  the  FERC  has  signaled  its  desire  for  substantial  new  investment  in  the 
transmission sector by implementing various financial and other incentives.

The  FERC  has  also  issued  orders  to  promote  non-discriminatory  transmission  access  for  all  transmission 
customers. In the United States, electric transmission assets are predominantly owned, operated and maintained 
by utilities that also own electricity generation and distribution assets, known as vertically integrated utilities. The 
FERC  has  recognized  that  the  vertically-integrated  utility  model  inhibits  the  provision  of  non-discriminatory 
transmission  access  and,  in  order  to  alleviate  this  potential  discrimination,  the  FERC  has  mandated  that  all 
transmission systems over which it has jurisdiction must be operated in a comparable, non-discriminatory manner 
such that any seller of electricity affiliated with a TO or operator is not provided with preferential treatment. The 
FERC has also indicated that independent transmission companies can play a prominent role in furthering its policy 

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goals and has encouraged the legal and functional separation of transmission operations from generation and 
distribution operations.

The FERC requires compliance with certain reliability standards by TOs and may take enforcement actions for 
violations, including the imposition of substantial fines. NERC is responsible for developing and enforcing these 
mandatory reliability standards. We continually assess our transmission systems against standards established 
by NERC, as well as the standards of applicable regional entities under NERC that have been delegated certain 
authority for the purpose of proposing and enforcing reliability standards. Finally, utility holding companies are 
subject to FERC regulations related to access to books and records in addition to the requirement of the FERC to 
review  and  approve  mergers  and  consolidations  involving  utility  assets  and  holding  companies  in  certain 
circumstances.

Federal Regulation

As electric transmission companies, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries charge rates that are regulated by 
the  FERC.  The  FERC  is  an  independent  regulatory  commission  within  the  DOE  that  regulates  the  interstate 
transmission and certain wholesale sales of natural gas, the transmission of oil and oil products by pipeline and 
the transmission and wholesale sales of electricity in interstate commerce. The FERC also administers accounting 
and financial reporting regulations and standards of conduct for the companies it regulates. In 1996, in order to 
facilitate open access transmission for participants in wholesale power markets, the FERC issued Order No. 888. 
The open access policy promulgated by the FERC in Order No. 888 was upheld in a United States Supreme Court 
decision, State of New York vs. FERC, issued on March 4, 2002. To facilitate open access, among other things, 
FERC  Order  No.  888  encouraged  investor  owned  utilities  to  cede  operational  control  over  their  transmission 
systems to ISOs, which are not-for-profit entities.

As an alternative to ceding operating control of their transmission assets to ISOs, certain investor owned utilities 
began to promote the formation of for-profit transmission companies, which would assume control of the operation 
of the grid. In December 1999, the FERC issued Order No. 2000, which strongly encouraged utilities to voluntarily 
transfer operational control of their transmission systems to RTOs. RTOs, as envisioned in Order No. 2000, would 
assume many of the functions of an ISO, but the FERC permitted greater flexibility with regard to the organization 
and structure of RTOs than it had for ISOs. RTOs could accommodate the inclusion of independently owned, for-
profit  companies  that  own  transmission  assets  within  their  operating  structure.  Independent  ownership  would 
facilitate not only the independent operation of the transmission systems, but also the formation of companies with 
a greater financial interest in maintaining and augmenting the capacity and reliability of those systems. RTOs such 
as MISO and SPP monitor electric reliability and are responsible for coordinating the operation of the wholesale 
electric transmission system and ensuring fair, non-discriminatory access to the transmission grid.

Order 1000 amends certain existing transmission  planning  and cost allocation  requirements to ensure that 
FERC-jurisdictional services are provided at just and reasonable rates and on a basis that is just and reasonable 
and not unduly discriminatory or preferential. With respect to transmission planning, Order 1000: (1) requires that 
each public utility transmission provider participate in a regional transmission planning process that produces a 
regional  transmission  plan;  (2)  requires  that  each  public  utility  transmission  provider  amend  its  Open Access 
Transmission Tariff to describe procedures that provide for the consideration of transmission needs driven by public 
policy requirements in the local and regional transmission planning processes; (3) removes a federal right of first 
refusal  for  certain  new  transmission  facilities  from  FERC-approved  tariffs  and  agreements;  and  (4)  improves 
coordination between neighboring transmission planning regions for new interregional transmission facilities. MISO 
and  SPP  are  compliant  with  the  regional  and  interregional  requirements  of  Order  1000  after  making  multiple 
compliance filings at the FERC.

Order 1000 could potentially lead to greater competition for certain future transmission projects, including within 
our current operating areas. As a part of our identification of incremental development opportunities as it relates 
to our plans, we are exploring opportunities resulting from Order 1000 within MISO and SPP as well as other RTOs.

Revenue Requirement Calculations and Cost Sharing for Projects with Regional Benefits

The  cost-based  formula  rates  used  by  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  include  revenue  requirement 
calculations for various types of projects. Network revenues continue to be the largest component of revenues 
recovered through our formula rates. However, regional cost sharing revenues are growing as a result of projects 
that have been identified by MISO or SPP as having regional benefits, and therefore eligible for regional cost 

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recovery under their tariffs. Separate calculations of revenue requirement are performed for projects that have 
been approved for regional cost sharing.

We  have  projects  that  are  eligible  for  regional  cost  sharing  under  the  MISO  tariff,  such  as  certain  network 
upgrade projects, and the MVPs, including our portions of the four MVPs and the Thumb Loop Project in Michigan. 
Additionally, certain projects at ITC Great Plains are eligible for recovery through a region-wide charge in the SPP 
tariff, including three regional cost sharing projects in Kansas.

State Regulation

The regulatory agencies in the states where our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ assets are located do not 
have jurisdiction over our rates or terms and conditions of service. However, they typically have jurisdiction over 
siting of transmission facilities and related matters as described below. Additionally, we are subject to the regulatory 
oversight of various state environmental quality departments for compliance with any state environmental standards 
and regulations.

ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Interconnection

Michigan

The  Michigan  Public  Service  Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  the  siting  of  certain  transmission  facilities. 
Additionally,  ITCTransmission,  METC  and  ITC  Interconnection  have  the  right  as  independent  transmission 
companies to condemn property in the state of Michigan for the purposes of building or maintaining transmission 
facilities.

ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Interconnection are also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Michigan 
Department of Environmental Quality, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and certain local authorities 
for compliance with all environmental standards and regulations.

ITC Midwest

Iowa

The Iowa Utilities Board has the power of supervision over the construction, operation and maintenance of 
transmission facilities in Iowa by any entity, which includes the power to issue franchises. Iowa law further provides 
that any entity granted a franchise by the Iowa Utilities Board is vested with the power of condemnation in Iowa 
to the extent the Iowa Utilities Board approves and deems necessary for public use. A city has the power, pursuant 
to Iowa law, to grant a franchise to erect, maintain and operate transmission facilities within the city, which franchise 
may regulate the conditions required and manner of use of the streets and public grounds of the city and may 
confer the power to appropriate and condemn private property.

ITC Midwest also is subject to the regulatory oversight of certain state agencies (including the Iowa Department 
of Natural Resources) and certain local authorities with respect to the issuance of environmental, highway, railroad 
and similar permits.

Minnesota

The Minnesota  Public  Utilities  Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  the  construction,  siting  and  routing  of new 
transmission  lines  or  upgrades  of  existing  lines  through  Minnesota’s  Certificate  of  Need  and  Route  Permit 
Processes. Transmission companies are also required to participate in the State’s Biennial Transmission Planning 
Process and are subject to the state’s preventative maintenance requirements. Pursuant to Minnesota law, ITC 
Midwest has the right as an independent transmission company to condemn property in the State of Minnesota 
for the purpose of building new transmission facilities.

ITC Midwest is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota 
Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in conjunction with the Department 
of Commerce and certain local authorities for compliance with applicable environmental standards and regulations.

Illinois

The  Illinois  Commerce  Commission  exercises  jurisdiction  over  siting  of  new  transmission  lines  through  its 
requirements for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Right-Of-Way acquisition that apply to 
construction of new or upgraded facilities.

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ITC Midwest is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois 
Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Pollution Control Board and certain local authorities for compliance 
with all environmental standards and regulations.

Missouri

Because ITC Midwest is a “public utility” and an “electrical corporation” under Missouri law, the Missouri Public 
Service Commission has jurisdiction to determine whether ITC Midwest may operate in such capacity. The Missouri 
Public Service Commission also exercises jurisdiction with regard to other non-rate matters affecting this Missouri 
asset such as transmission substation construction, general safety and the transfer of the franchise or property.

ITC Midwest is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for 

compliance with all environmental standards and regulations relating to this transmission line.

Wisconsin

ITC  Midwest  is  a  “public  utility”  and  independent  transmission  owner  in  Wisconsin.  The  Public  Service 
Commission of Wisconsin in a May 2014 order granted ITC Midwest a certificate of authority to transact public 
utility  business  in  the  state.  In  a  separate  May  2014  order,  the  Public  Service  Commission  of  Wisconsin  also 
recognized ITC Holdings Corp. as a public utility holding company under Wisconsin statutes.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin exercises jurisdiction over the siting of new transmission lines 
through the issuance of certificates of authority and certificates of public convenience and necessity. Upon receipt 
of such certificates for a transmission project, ITC Midwest has condemnation authority as a foreign transmission 
provider under Wisconsin law. ITC Midwest is also subject to the jurisdiction of certain local and state agencies, 
including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, relating to environmental and road permits.

ITC Great Plains

Kansas

ITC Great Plains is a “public utility” in Kansas and an “electric utility” pursuant to state statutes. The Kansas 
Corporation Commission issued an order approving the issuance of a limited certificate of convenience to ITC 
Great Plains for the purposes of building, owning and operating SPP transmission projects in Kansas. In addition 
to  its  certificate  of  authority,  the  Kansas  Corporation  Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  the  siting  of  electric 
transmission lines.

ITC Great Plains is also subject to the regulatory oversight of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment 
for  compliance  with  all  environmental  standards  and  regulations  relating  to  the  construction  phase  of  any 
transmission line.

Oklahoma

ITC Great Plains has approval from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to operate in Oklahoma, pursuant 
to Oklahoma statutes as an electric public utility providing only transmission services. The Oklahoma Corporation 
Commission does not exercise jurisdiction over the siting of any transmission lines.

ITC Great Plains may be subject to the regulatory oversight of Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality 
for compliance with environmental standards and regulations relating to construction of proposed transmission 
lines.

Sources of Revenue

See “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results 

of Operations — Operating Revenues” for a discussion of our principal sources of revenue.

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Seasonality

The  cost-based  formula  rates  in  effect  for  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries,  as  discussed  in  “Item  7 
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Cost-Based Formula 
Rates with True-Up Mechanism,” mitigate the seasonality of net income for our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. 
Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries accrue or defer revenues to the extent that the actual revenue requirement 
for the reporting period is higher or lower, respectively, than the amounts billed relating to that reporting period. 
For example, to the extent that amounts billed are less than our revenue requirement for a reporting period, a 
revenue accrual is recorded for the difference and the difference results in no net income impact.

Operating cash flows are seasonal at our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, in that cash received for 

revenues is typically higher in the summer months when peak load is higher.

Principal Customers

Our principal transmission service customers are DTE Electric, Consumers Energy and IP&L, which accounted 
for approximately 22.1%, 21.3% and 25.7%, respectively, of our consolidated billed revenues for the year ended 
December 31,  2017.  One  or  more  of  these  customers  together  have  consistently  represented  a  significant 
percentage of our operating revenue. These percentages of total billed revenues of DTE Electric, Consumers 
Energy and IP&L include the collection of 2015 revenue accruals and deferrals and exclude any amounts for the 
2017 revenue accruals and deferrals that were included in our 2017 operating revenues, but will not be billed to 
our customers until 2019. Refer to “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
Results of Operations — Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism” for a discussion on the difference 
between billed revenues and operating revenues. Our remaining revenues were generated from providing service 
to other entities such as alternative electricity suppliers, power marketers and other wholesale customers that 
provide  electricity  to  end-use  consumers  and  from  transaction-based  capacity  reservations.  Nearly  all  of  our 
revenues are from transmission customers in the United States. Although we may recognize allocated revenues 
from time to time from Canadian entities reserving transmission over the Ontario or Manitoba interface, these 
revenues have not been and are not expected to be material to us.

Billing

MISO and SPP are responsible for billing and collecting the majority of our transmission service revenues as 
well as independently administering the transmission tariff in their respective service territory. As the billing agents 
for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and ITC Great Plains, MISO and SPP independently bill DTE 
Electric, Consumers Energy, IP&L and other customers on a monthly basis and collect fees for the use of our 
transmission systems. 

See “Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk — Credit Risk” for discussion of our 

credit policies.

Competition

Each of our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries operates the primary transmission system in its respective 
service area and has limited competition for certain projects. However, the competitive environment is evolving 
due  to  the  implementation  of  Order  1000.  See  further  discussion  of  Order  1000  above  under  “Regulatory 
Environment — Federal Regulation.” For our subsidiaries focused on development opportunities for transmission 
investment in other service areas, the incumbent utilities or other entities with transmission development initiatives 
may compete with us by seeking approval to be named the party authorized to build new capital projects that we 
are also pursuing. 

Employees

As of December 31, 2017, we had 669 employees. We consider our relations with our employees to be good.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, which impose limitations on the 
discharge  of  pollutants  into  the  environment,  establish  standards  for  the  management,  treatment,  storage, 
transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and hazardous materials, and impose obligations to 
investigate  and  remediate  contamination  in  certain  circumstances.  Liabilities  relating  to  investigation  and 
remediation of contamination, as well as other liabilities concerning hazardous materials or contamination, such 

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as claims for personal injury or property damage, may arise at many locations, including formerly owned or operated 
properties and sites where wastes have been treated or disposed of, as well as properties currently owned or 
operated by us. Such liabilities may arise even where the contamination does not result from noncompliance with 
applicable environmental laws. Under some environmental laws, such liabilities may also be joint and several, 
meaning that a party can be held responsible for more than its share of the liability involved, or even the entire 
share. Although environmental requirements generally have become more stringent and compliance with those 
requirements more expensive, we are not aware of any specific developments that would increase our costs for 
such compliance in a manner that would be expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, 
financial position or liquidity. 

Our  assets  and  operations  also  involve  the  use  of  materials  classified  as  hazardous,  toxic  or  otherwise 
dangerous. Many of the properties that we own or operate have been used for many years, and include older 
facilities and equipment that may be more likely than newer ones to contain or be made from such materials. Some 
of these properties include aboveground or underground storage tanks and associated piping. Some of them also 
include large electrical equipment filled with mineral oil, which may contain or previously have contained PCBs. 
Our facilities and equipment are often situated on or near property owned by others so that, if they are the source 
of contamination, others’ property may be affected. For example, aboveground and underground transmission 
lines  sometimes  traverse  properties  that  we  do  not  own  and  transmission  assets  that  we  own  or  operate  are 
sometimes commingled at our transmission stations with distribution assets owned or operated by our transmission 
customers. 

Some properties in which we have an ownership interest or at which we operate are, or are suspected of being, 
affected by environmental contamination. We are not aware of any pending or threatened claims against us with 
respect  to  environmental  contamination  relating  to  these  properties,  or  of  any  investigation  or  remediation  of 
contamination at these properties, that entail costs likely to materially affect us. Some facilities and properties are 
located near environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands. 

Filings Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Our internet address is http://www.itc-holdings.com. All of our reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) 
of the Exchange Act, including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports 
on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports, can be accessed free of charge through our website. These 
reports are available as soon as practicable after they are electronically filed with the SEC. Our website also has 
posted our Code of Conduct and Ethics. 

To learn more about us, please visit our website at http://www.itc-holdings.com. We use our website as a channel 
of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding us is routinely 
posted on our website and is readily accessible. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference 
into this report.

The public may also read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room 
at 100 F Street, NE, Washington DC, 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be 
obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy 
and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The internet 
address is http://www.sec.gov.

ITEM 1A.   RISK FACTORS.

Risks Related to Our Business

Certain  elements  of  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  formula  rates  can  be  and  have  been 
challenged, which could result in lowered rates and/or refunds of amounts previously collected and thus 
have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries provide transmission service under rates regulated by the FERC. The 
FERC has approved the cost-based formula rates used by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to calculate their 
respective  annual  revenue  requirements,  but  it  has  not  expressly  approved  the  amount  of  actual  capital  and 
operating expenditures to be used in the formula rates. All aspects of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ rates 
approved by the FERC, including the formula rate templates, the rates of return on the actual equity portion of their 
respective capital structures and the approved capital structures, are subject to challenge by interested parties at 
the FERC, or by the FERC on its own initiative in a proceeding under Section 206 of the FPA. In addition, interested 

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parties may challenge the annual implementation and calculation by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries of their 
projected rates and formula rate true up pursuant to their approved formula rates under the Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries’ formula rate implementation protocols. End-use consumers and entities supplying electricity to end-
use  consumers  may  also  attempt  to  influence  government  and/or  regulators  to  change  the  rate  setting 
methodologies  that  apply  to  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries,  particularly  if  rates  for  delivered  electricity 
increase substantially. If a challenger can establish that any of these aspects are unjust, unreasonable, unduly 
discriminatory or preferential, then the FERC will make appropriate prospective adjustments to them and/or disallow 
any of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ inclusion of those aspects in the rate setting formula. This could 
result in lowered rates and/or refunds of amounts collected, any of which could have a material adverse effect on 
our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In November 2013 and February 2015, certain parties filed complaints with the FERC under Section 206 of the 
FPA, requesting that the FERC find the base rate of return on equity for all MISO transmission owners, including 
ITCTransmission,  METC  and  ITC  Midwest,  to  be  unjust  and  unreasonable.  In  December  2015,  the  presiding 
administrative law judge issued an initial decision on the Initial Complaint recommending to the FERC a reduction 
in the base rate of return on equity of the MISO Transmission owners from 12.38% to 10.32%, with a maximum 
rate of 11.35%. In September 2016, the FERC issued an order affirming the presiding administrative law judge's 
initial decision, with the new rates to become effective immediately and for the period from November 12, 2013 
through February 11, 2015. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we provided net refunds related to the 
Initial Complaint, with interest, which were substantially finalized during the second quarter of 2017. All parties 
have filed motions for rehearing on various aspects of the September 2016 Order, the FERC’s decision remains 
subject to change and the timing of further FERC action is uncertain.

On June 30, 2016, the presiding administrative law judge issued an initial decision on the Second Complaint, 
which  recommended  a  base rate  of return on  equity  of  9.70%,  which  would  be  applicable  for  the  period  from 
February 12, 2015 through May 11, 2016 and going forward from the date on which the FERC issues an order on 
the Second Complaint, with a maximum rate of 10.68%. In resolving the Second Complaint, we expect the FERC 
to establish a new base rate and zone of reasonable returns that will be used, along with any incentive adders, to 
calculate the refund liability for the period from February 12, 2015 through May 11, 2016 and the rate going forward 
from the date on which the FERC issues an order. An April 2017 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit in connection with the establishment of a new base ROE for TOs in ISO New England 
may affect the FERC decisions on the Initial Complaint and Second Complaint. In light of the April 2017 court 
decision, the MISO TOs filed a motion to dismiss the Second Complaint in September 2017. In 2016 and 2015, 
we adjusted revenues downward to accrue for the refund liability based on our estimate of the outcome of these 
complaints, which had a negative effect on our results of operations for those periods. The resolution of these 
matters may reduce our future revenues and net income and have a further adverse effect on our future results 
of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

The  TCJA  and  any  future  changes  in  tax  laws  or  regulations  may  negatively  affect  our  results  of 
operations, net income, financial condition and cash flows.

We are subject to taxation by various taxing authorities at the federal, state and local levels. In December 2017, 
the President of the United States signed into law the TCJA, which enacted significant changes to the Internal 
Revenue Code including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective for 
tax  years  beginning  after  2017.  In  addition,  the TCJA  provides  modifications  to  bonus  depreciation  rules  and 
limitations on the deductibility of interest expense, both of which include carve-outs for regulated utilities. 

While certain aspects of the TCJA may be beneficial to ITC, overall we expect the enactment of the TCJA to 

adversely affect our results of operations, net income, financial condition and cash flows.

The Company was required to revalue its deferred tax assets and liabilities at the new federal corporate income 
tax rate as of the date of the enactment of the TCJA. The majority of the Company’s deferred tax assets and 
liabilities as well as a portion of its federal income tax net operating losses are held at our Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries. The majority of the deferred tax assets and liabilities at the Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are 
subject to a normalization method of accounting pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, the revaluation 
of the Regulated Operating Subsidiaries net deferred taxes generated a net regulatory liability of $512 million and 
a reduction in regulatory assets of $65 million at December 31, 2017 that would be returned to or received from 
customers over a period of time. The revaluation of the deferred tax assets and federal income tax net operating 
losses at ITC Holdings has resulted in additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017 of $5 million.

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Given the formula rates at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, with a reduced corporate tax rate we will 
recover and collect lower cash taxes from our customers. Because we are in a federal income tax net operating 
loss position and not currently making cash tax payments, the result of this lower recovery is a reduction in cash 
flows from operations. Further, we may repost the 2018 projected rate templates for our Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries to reflect the new effective tax rate. Additionally, we may be required to provide a refund for over-
collections from customers from January 1, 2018 through the date of reposting.

The Company has debt at its Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and at ITC Holdings, and the TCJA provides 
limitations on the deductibility of interest. While interest deductibility for regulated utilities has been retained, there 
is still uncertainty as to whether the holding company debt of a regulated utility will be deductible. If the resolution 
of this issue results in limitations in the amount of interest expense that is deductible for ITC Holdings for income 
tax purposes, this would have an adverse effect on our net income.

As a result of the changes made to Code Section 162(m) by the TCJA, some of the compensation we provide 

to our executive officers may not be deductible in 2018 and going forward.

We cannot predict the timing or impacts of any future changes in tax laws, including the impacts of any subsequent 
technical corrections or clarifications. Additionally, certain aspects of the TCJA are still subject to interpretation. 
There may be further impacts that materially and adversely affect our results of operations, net income, financial 
condition, cash flows, and credit metrics beyond those described herein. 

Our actual capital investment may be lower than planned, which would cause a lower than anticipated 
rate base and would therefore result in lower revenues, earnings and associated cash flows compared 
to our current expectations. In addition, we expect to incur expenses related to the pursuit of development 
opportunities, which may be higher than forecasted.

Each of our operating subsidiaries’ rate base, revenues, earnings and associated cash flows are determined 
in part by additions to property, plant and equipment and when those additions are placed in service. We anticipate 
making significant capital investments over the next several years; however, the amounts could change significantly 
due to factors beyond our control. If our operating subsidiaries’ capital investment and the resulting in-service 
property, plant and equipment are lower than anticipated for any reason, our operating subsidiaries will have a 
lower than anticipated rate base, thus causing their revenue requirements and future earnings and cash flows to 
be lower than anticipated.

Any capital investment at our operating subsidiaries may be lower than our published estimates due to, among 
other factors, the impact of actual loads, forecasted loads, regional economic conditions, weather conditions, union 
strikes, labor shortages, material and equipment prices and availability, our ability to obtain financing for such 
expenditures, if necessary, limitations on the amount of construction that can be undertaken on our system or 
transmission systems owned by others at any one time, regulatory requirements relating to our rate construct, 
environmental issues, siting, regional planning, cost recovery or other issues, or as a result of legal proceedings 
and variances between estimated and actual costs of construction contracts awarded and the potential for greater 
competition. Our ability to engage in construction projects resulting from pursuing these initiatives is subject to 
significant  uncertainties,  including  the  factors  discussed  above,  and  will  depend  on  obtaining  any  necessary 
regulatory and other approvals for the project and for us to initiate construction, our achieving status as the builder 
of the project in some circumstances and other factors. In addition, projects may be canceled, the scope of planned 
projects may change, or projects may not be completed on time, any of which may adversely affect our level of 
investment or cause our projected investments to be inaccurate. Therefore, we can provide no assurance as to 
the actual level of investment we may achieve at our operating subsidiaries.

In addition, we expect to incur expenses to pursue strategic development investment opportunities. If these 
payments or expenses are higher than anticipated, our future results of operations, cash flows and financial condition 
could be materially and adversely affected.

The regulations to which we are subject may limit our ability to raise capital and/or pursue acquisitions, 
development opportunities or other transactions or may subject us to liabilities.

Each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries is a “public utility” under the FPA and, accordingly, is subject to 
regulation  by  the  FERC. Approval  of  the  FERC  is  required  under  Section  203  of  the  FPA  for  a  disposition  or 
acquisition of regulated public utility facilities, either directly or indirectly through a holding company. Such approval 
is also required to acquire a significant interest in securities of a public utility. Section 203 of the FPA also provides 

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the  FERC  with  explicit  authority  over  utility  holding  companies’  purchases  or  acquisitions  of,  and  mergers  or 
consolidations with, a public utility. Finally, each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries must also seek approval 
by the FERC under Section 204 of the FPA for issuances of its securities (including debt securities).

We are also pursuing development projects for construction of transmission facilities and interconnections with 
generating resources. These projects may require regulatory approval by Federal agencies, including the FERC, 
applicable  RTOs  and  state  and  local  regulatory  agencies.  Failure  to  secure  such  regulatory  approval  for  new 
strategic development projects could adversely affect our ability to grow our business and increase our revenues. 
If we fail to obtain these approvals when necessary, we may incur liabilities for such failure.

Changes in energy laws, regulations or policies could impact our business, financial condition, results 
of operations and cash flows.

Each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries is regulated by the FERC as a “public utility” under the FPA and 
is a transmission owner in MISO or SPP. We cannot predict whether the approved rate methodologies for any of 
our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  will  be  changed.  In  addition,  the  U.S.  Congress  periodically  considers 
enacting energy legislation that could assign new responsibilities to the FERC, modify provisions of the FPA or 
provide the FERC or another entity with increased authority to regulate transmission matters. We cannot predict 
whether, and to what extent, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries may be affected by any such changes in federal 
energy laws, regulations or policies in the future. While our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are subject to the 
FERC’s exclusive jurisdiction for purposes of rate regulation, changes in state laws affecting other matters, such 
as transmission siting and construction, could limit investment opportunities available to us.

Each of our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries depends on its primary customer for a substantial 
portion  of  its  revenues,  and  any  material  failure  by  those  primary  customers  to  make  payments  for 
transmission services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results 
of operations and cash flows.

ITCTransmission derives a substantial portion of its revenues from the transmission of electricity to DTE Electric’s 
local  distribution  facilities.  DTE  Electric  accounted  for  approximately  62.6%  of  ITCTransmission’s  total  billed 
revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 and is expected to constitute the majority of ITCTransmission’s 
revenues for the foreseeable future. DTE Electric is rated BBB+/stable and A2/stable by Standard and Poor’s 
Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Services, Inc., respectively. Similarly, Consumers Energy accounted for 
approximately 77.5% of METC’s total billed revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 and is expected to 
constitute the majority of METC’s revenues for the foreseeable future. Consumers Energy is rated BBB+/stable 
and A2/stable by Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Services, Inc., respectively. Further, 
IP&L accounted for approximately 70.7% of ITC Midwest’s total billed revenues for the year ended December 31, 
2017 and is expected to constitute the majority of ITC Midwest’s revenues for the foreseeable future. IP&L is rated 
A-/stable  and  Baa1/stable  by  Standard  and  Poor’s  Ratings  Services  and  Moody’s  Investors  Services,  Inc., 
respectively. These percentages of total billed revenues of DTE Electric, Consumers Energy and IP&L include the 
collection of 2015 revenue accruals and deferrals and exclude any amounts for the 2017 revenue accruals and 
deferrals that were included in our 2017 operating revenues, but will not be billed to our customers until 2019. 

Any material failure by DTE Electric, Consumers Energy or IP&L to make payments for transmission services 

could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

A significant amount of the land on which our assets are located is subject to easements, mineral rights 
and other similar encumbrances. As a result, we must comply with the provisions of various easements, 
mineral rights and other similar encumbrances, which may adversely impact their ability to complete 
construction projects in a timely manner.

METC does not own the majority of the land on which its electric transmission assets are located. Instead, 
under the provisions of the Easement Agreement, METC pays an annual rent to Consumers Energy in exchange 
for rights-of-way, leases, fee interests and licenses which allow METC to use the land on which its transmission 
lines are located. Under the terms of the Easement Agreement, METC’s easement rights could be eliminated if 
METC fails to meet certain requirements, such as paying contractual rent to Consumers Energy in a timely manner. 
Additionally,  a  significant  amount  of  the  land  on  which  our  other  subsidiaries’  assets  are  located  is  subject  to 
easements, mineral rights and other similar encumbrances. As a result, they must comply with the provisions of 
various easements, mineral rights and other similar encumbrances, which may adversely impact their ability to 
complete their construction projects in a timely manner.

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We contract with third parties to provide services for certain aspects of our business. If any of these 
agreements are terminated, we may face a shortage of labor or replacement contractors to provide the 
services formerly provided by these third parties.

We enter into various agreements and arrangements with third parties to provide services for construction, 
maintenance and operations of certain aspects of our business, which, if terminated, could result in a shortage of 
a readily available workforce to provide these services. If any of these agreements or arrangements is terminated 
for any reason, we may face difficulty finding a qualified replacement work force to provide such services, which 
could have an adverse effect on our ability to carry on our business and on our results of operations. 

Hazards  associated  with  high-voltage  electricity  transmission  may  result  in  suspension  of  our 
operations, costly litigation or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Our operations are subject to the usual hazards associated with high-voltage electricity transmission, including 
explosions,  fires,  inclement  weather,  natural  disasters,  mechanical  failure,  unscheduled  downtime,  equipment 
interruptions, remediation, chemical spills, discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances or gases and 
other environmental risks. The hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or destruction 
of property and equipment and environmental damage, and may result in suspension of operations, litigation by 
aggrieved parties and the imposition of civil or criminal penalties which may have a material adverse effect on our 
business, financial condition and results of operations. We maintain property and casualty insurance, but we are 
not fully insured against all potential hazards incident to our business, such as damage to poles, towers and lines 
or losses caused by outages.

We are subject to environmental regulations and to laws that can give rise to substantial liabilities from 
environmental contamination.

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, which impose limitations on the 
discharge  of  pollutants  into  the  environment,  establish  standards  for  the  management,  treatment,  storage, 
transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and hazardous materials, and impose obligations to 
investigate  and  remediate  contamination  in  certain  circumstances.  Liabilities  relating  to  investigation  and 
remediation of contamination, as well as other liabilities concerning hazardous materials or contamination such 
as claims for personal injury or property damage, may arise at many locations, including formerly owned or operated 
properties and sites where wastes have been treated or disposed of, as well as properties we currently own or 
operate. Such liabilities may arise even where the contamination does not result from noncompliance with applicable 
environmental laws. Under a number of environmental laws, such liabilities may also be joint and several, meaning 
that a party can be held responsible for more than its share of the liability  involved, or even the entire share. 
Environmental requirements generally have become more stringent in recent years, and compliance with those 
requirements more expensive.

We have incurred expenses in connection with environmental compliance, and we anticipate that we will continue 
to do so in the future. Failure to comply with the extensive environmental laws and regulations applicable to us 
could result in significant civil or criminal penalties and remediation costs. Our assets and operations also involve 
the use of materials classified as hazardous, toxic or otherwise dangerous. Some of our facilities and properties 
are  located  near  environmentally  sensitive  areas  such  as  wetlands  and  habitats  of  endangered  or  threatened 
species. In addition, certain properties in which we operate are, or are suspected of being, affected by environmental 
contamination. Compliance with these laws and regulations, and liabilities concerning contamination or hazardous 
materials, may adversely affect our costs and, therefore, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If  amounts  billed  for  transmission  service  for  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  transmission 
systems  are  lower than  expected,  or  our  actual  revenue  requirements  are  higher  than  expected,  the 
timing of actual collection of our total revenues would be delayed.

If amounts billed for transmission service are lower than expected, which could result from lower network load 
or point-to-point transmission service on our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ transmission systems due to a 
weak  economy,  changes  in  the  nature  or  composition  of  the  transmission  assets  of  our  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries and surrounding areas, poor transmission quality of neighboring transmission systems, or for any 
other reason, the timing of actual collection of our total revenue requirement would likely be delayed until such 
circumstances are adjusted through the true-up mechanism in our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ formula rates. 
In addition, if the revenue requirements of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are higher than expected, due 
to higher actual expenditures compared to the forecasted expenditures used to develop their billing rates or for 

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any other reason, the timing of actual collection of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries' total revenue requirements 
would likely be delayed until such circumstances are reflected through the true-up mechanism in our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries' expected formula rates. The effect of such under-collection would be to reduce the amount 
of our available cash resources from what we had expected, until such under-collection is corrected through the 
true-up mechanism in the formula rate template, which may require us to increase our outstanding indebtedness, 
thereby reducing our available borrowing capacity, and may require us to pay interest at a rate that exceeds the 
interest to which we are entitled in connection with the operation of the true-up mechanism. 

We  are  subject  to  various  regulatory  requirements,  including  reliability  standards;  contract  filing 
requirements;  reporting,  recordkeeping  and  accounting  requirements;  and  transaction  approval 
requirements.  Violations  of  these  requirements,  whether  intentional  or  unintentional,  may  result  in 
penalties that, under some circumstances, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial 
condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The various regulatory requirements to which we are subject include reliability standards established by the 
NERC,  which  acts  as  the  nation’s  Electric  Reliability  Organization  approved  by  the  FERC  in  accordance  with 
Section 215 of the FPA. These standards address operation, planning and security of the bulk power system, 
including  requirements  with  respect  to  real-time  transmission  operations,  emergency  operations,  vegetation 
management, critical infrastructure protection and personnel training. Failure to comply with these requirements 
can result in monetary penalties as well as non-monetary sanctions. Monetary penalties vary based on an assigned 
risk factor for each potential violation, the severity of the violation and various other circumstances, such as whether 
the  violation  was  intentional  or  concealed,  whether  there  are  repeated  violations,  the  degree  of  the  violator’s 
cooperation in investigating and remediating the violation and the presence of a compliance program, and such 
penalties can be substantial. Non-monetary sanctions include potential limitations on the violator’s activities or 
operation and placing the violator on a watchlist for major violators. Despite our best efforts to comply and the 
implementation of a compliance program intended to ensure reliability, there can be no assurance that violations 
will not occur that would result in material penalties or sanctions. If any of our subsidiaries were to violate the NERC 
reliability standards, even unintentionally, in any material way, any penalties or sanctions imposed against us could 
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Certain of our subsidiaries are also subject to requirements under Sections 203 and 205 of the FPA for approval 
of  transactions;  reporting,  recordkeeping  and  accounting  requirements;  and  for  filing  contracts  related  to  the 
provision of jurisdictional services. Under FERC policy, failure to file jurisdictional agreements on a timely basis 
may result in foregoing the time value of revenues collected under the agreement, but not to the point where a 
loss would be incurred. The failure to obtain timely approval of transactions subject to FPA Section 203, or to 
comply with applicable reporting, recordkeeping or accounting requirements under FPA Section 205, could subject 
us to penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash 
flows.

Acts of war, terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, natural disasters, severe weather and other catastrophic 
events may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations 
and cash flows.

Acts of war, terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, natural disasters, severe weather and other catastrophic events 
may negatively affect our business, financial condition and cash flows in unpredictable ways, such as increased 
security measures and disruptions of markets. Energy related assets, including, for example, our transmission 
facilities  and  DTE  Electric’s,  Consumers  Energy’s  and  IP&L’s  generation  and  distribution  facilities  that  we 
interconnect with, may be at risk of acts of war, terrorist attacks and cyber attacks, as well as natural disasters, 
severe weather and other catastrophic events. In addition to any physical damage caused by such events, cyber 
attacks targeting our information systems could impair our records, networks, systems and programs, or transmit 
viruses to other systems. Such events or the threat of such events may increase costs associated with heightened 
security requirements. In addition, such events or threats may have a material effect on the economy in general 
and could result in a decline in energy consumption, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, 
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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Risks Relating to Our Corporate and Financial Structure

ITC  Holdings  is  a  holding  company  with  no  operations,  and  unless  we  receive  dividends  or  other 
payments from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to fulfill our cash obligations.

As a holding company with no business operations, ITC Holdings’ material assets consist primarily of the stock 
and membership interests in our subsidiaries. Our only sources of cash to meet our obligations are dividends and 
other payments received by us from time to time from our subsidiaries, the proceeds raised from the sale of our 
securities and borrowings under our various credit agreements. Each of our subsidiaries, however, is legally distinct 
from us and has no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to make funds available to us. The ability of each of our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and our other subsidiaries to pay dividends and make other payments to us is 
subject to, among other things, the availability of funds, after taking into account capital expenditure requirements, 
the terms of its indebtedness, applicable state laws and regulations of the FERC and the FPA. Our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries target a FERC-approved capital structure of 60% equity and 40% debt that may limit the 
ability of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to use net assets for the payment of dividends to ITC Holdings. In 
addition,  ITC  Holdings’  right  to  receive  any  assets  of  any  subsidiary,  and  therefore  the  right  of  its  creditors  to 
participate in those assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors. If ITC Holdings 
does not receive cash or other assets from our subsidiaries, it may be unable to pay principal and interest on its 
indebtedness. 

We have a considerable amount of debt and our reliance on debt financing may limit our ability to fulfill 
our debt obligations and/or to obtain additional financing.

We have a considerable amount of debt and our consolidated indebtedness includes various debt securities 
and borrowings, which utilize indentures, revolving and term loan credit agreements and commercial paper that 
we rely on as sources of capital and liquidity. Our capital structure can have several important consequences, 
including, but not limited to, the following:

•  If future cash flows are insufficient, we may not be able to make principal or interest payments on our debt 
obligations, which could result in the occurrence of an event of default under one or more of those debt 
instruments.

•  We may need to increase our indebtedness in order to make the capital expenditures and other expenses 

or investments planned by us.

•  Our indebtedness has the general effect of reducing our flexibility to react to changing business and economic 
conditions insofar as they affect our financial condition. A substantial portion of the dividends and payments 
in  lieu  of  taxes  we  receive  from  our  subsidiaries  will  be  dedicated  to  the  payment  of  interest  on  our 
indebtedness, thereby, reducing our available cash.

•  In the event that we are liquidated, the creditors of our subsidiaries will be entitled to payment in full of the 
subsidiaries’ indebtedness prior to making any payments to ITC Holdings for the payment of its indebtedness.

•  We  currently  have  debt  instruments  outstanding  with  short-term  maturities  or  relatively  short  remaining 
maturities. Our ability to secure additional financing prior to or after these facilities mature, if needed, may 
be substantially restricted by the existing level of our indebtedness and the restrictions contained in our debt 
instruments. Additionally, the interest rates at which we might secure additional financings may be higher 
than our currently outstanding debt instruments or higher than forecasted at any point in time, which could 
adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

•  Market conditions could affect our access to capital markets, restrict our ability to secure financing to make 
the capital expenditures and investments and pay other expenses planned by us which could adversely 
affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

We may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The incurrence of additional indebtedness would 

increase the leverage-related risks described above.

Adverse changes in our credit ratings may negatively affect us.

Our ability to access capital markets is important to our ability to operate our business. Increased scrutiny of 
the energy industry and the impact of the TCJA and other statutory or regulatory changes, as well as changes in 
our  financial  performance  and  unfavorable  conditions  in  the  capital  markets  could  result  in  credit  agencies 

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reexamining  and  downgrading  our  credit  ratings.  In  addition,  because  we  are  now  a  subsidiary  of  Fortis,  a 
downgrade in Fortis’ credit rating could cause our credit rating to be downgraded as well, even if our creditworthiness 
has not otherwise deteriorated. A downgrade in our credit ratings could restrict or discontinue our ability to access 
capital markets at attractive rates and increase our borrowing costs. A rating downgrade could also increase the 
interest we pay on commercial paper and under our revolving and term loan credit agreements.

Certain provisions in our debt instruments limit our financial and operating flexibility.

Our debt instruments on a consolidated basis, including senior notes, secured notes, first mortgage bonds, 
revolving  and  term  loan  credit  agreements  and  commercial  paper,  contain  numerous  financial  and  operating 
covenants that place significant restrictions on, among other things, our ability to:

•  incur additional indebtedness;

•  engage in sale and lease-back transactions;

•  create liens or other encumbrances;

•  enter  into  mergers,  consolidations,  liquidations  or  dissolutions,  or  sell  or  otherwise  dispose  of  all  or 

substantially all of our assets;

•  create and acquire subsidiaries; and

•  pay dividends or make distributions on our stock or on the stock or member capital of our subsidiaries.

In addition, the covenants require us to meet certain financial ratios, such as maintaining certain net debt to 
capitalization ratios and certain funds from operations to net debt levels. Our ability to comply with these and other 
requirements and restrictions may be affected by changes in economic or business conditions, results of operations 
or other events beyond our control. A failure to comply with the obligations contained in any of our debt instruments 
could  result  in  acceleration  of  related  debt  and  the  acceleration  of  debt  under  other  instruments  evidencing 
indebtedness that may contain cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions.

ITEM 1B.   UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. 

PROPERTIES.

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ transmission facilities are located in Michigan and portions of Iowa, 
Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. Our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and ITC Great 
Plains have agreements with other utilities for the joint ownership of specific substations, transmission lines and 
other transmission assets. See Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements for more information on the jointly 
owned assets.

ITCTransmission owns the assets of a transmission system and related assets, including:

•  approximately 3,100 circuit miles of overhead and underground transmission lines rated at voltages of 120 

kV to 345 kV;

•  approximately 18,700 transmission towers and poles;

•  station  assets,  such  as  transformers  and  circuit  breakers,  at  189  stations  and  substations  which  either 
interconnect ITCTransmission’s transmission facilities or connect ITCTransmission’s facilities with generation 
or distribution facilities owned by others;

•  other  transmission  equipment  necessary  to  safely  operate  the  system  (e.g.,  monitoring  and  metering 

equipment);

•  warehouses and related equipment;

•  associated land held in fee, rights-of-way and easements;

•  an approximately 198,000 square-foot corporate headquarters facility and operations control room in Novi, 

Michigan, including furniture, fixtures and office equipment; and

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•  an approximately 40,000 square-foot facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan that includes a back-up operations control 

room.

ITCTransmission’s First Mortgage Bonds are issued under ITCTransmission’s first mortgage and deed of trust. 
As a result, the bondholders have the benefit of a first mortgage lien on substantially all of ITCTransmission’s 
property.

METC owns the assets of a transmission system and related assets, including:

•  approximately 5,600 circuit miles of overhead transmission lines rated at voltages of 120 kV to 345 kV;

•  approximately 37,500 transmission towers and poles;

•  station  assets,  such  as  transformers  and  circuit  breakers,  at  106  stations  and  substations  which  either 
interconnect  METC’s  transmission  facilities  or  connect  METC’s  facilities  with  generation  or  distribution 
facilities owned by others;

•  other  transmission  equipment  necessary  to  safely  operate  the  system  (e.g.,  monitoring  and  metering 

equipment); and

•  warehouses and related equipment.

METC's Senior Secured Notes are issued under METC's first mortgage indenture. As a result, the noteholders 

have the benefit of a first mortgage lien on substantially all of METC's property.

METC does not own the majority of the land on which its assets are located, but under the provisions of the 
Easement Agreement, METC has an easement to use the land, rights-of-way, leases and licenses in the land on 
which its transmission lines are located that are held or controlled by Consumers Energy. See “Item 1 Business 
— Operating Contracts — METC — Amended and Restated Easement Agreement.”

ITC Midwest owns the assets of a transmission system and related assets, including:

•  approximately 6,600 circuit miles of transmission lines rated at voltages of 34.5 kV to 345 kV;

•  transmission towers and poles;

•  station assets, such as transformers and circuit breakers, at approximately 278 stations and substations 
which  either  interconnect  ITC  Midwest’s  transmission  facilities  or  connect  ITC  Midwest’s  facilities  with 
generation or distribution facilities owned by others;

•  other  transmission  equipment  necessary  to  safely  operate  the  system  (e.g.,  monitoring  and  metering 

equipment);

•  warehouses and related equipment; and

•  associated land held in fee, rights-of-way and easements.

ITC Midwest’s First Mortgage Bonds are issued under ITC Midwest’s first mortgage and deed of trust. As a 

result, the bondholders have the benefit of a first mortgage lien on substantially all of ITC Midwest’s property.

ITC Great Plains owns transmission and related assets including:

•  approximately 470 miles of transmission lines rated at a voltage of 345 kV;

•  approximately 2,120 transmission towers and poles;

•  station  assets,  such  as  transformers  and  circuit  breakers,  at  9  stations  and  substations  which  either 
interconnect ITC Great Plains’ transmission facilities or connect ITC Great Plains’ facilities with transmission, 
generation or distribution facilities owned by others;

•  other  transmission  equipment  necessary  to  safely  operate  the  system  (e.g.,  monitoring  and  metering 

equipment); and

•  associated land held in fee, rights-of-way and easements.

ITC Great Plains’ First Mortgage Bonds are issued under ITC Great Plains’ first mortgage and deed of trust. As 
a result, the bondholders have the benefit of a first mortgage lien on substantially all of ITC Great Plains’ property.

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ITC Interconnection owns certain substation assets and less than a mile of a transmission line rated at a voltage 
of 345 kV in Michigan. As of December 31, 2017, there were no liens  or encumbrances  on the assets of ITC 
Interconnection.

The assets of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are suitable for electric transmission and adequate for the 
electricity demand in our service territory. We prioritize capital spending based in part on meeting reliability standards 
within the industry. This includes replacing and upgrading existing assets as needed.

ITEM 3.  

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

We  are  involved  in  certain  legal  proceedings  before  various  courts,  governmental  agencies  and  mediation 
panels concerning matters arising in the ordinary course of business. These proceedings include certain contract 
disputes,  regulatory  matters  and  pending  judicial  matters.  We  cannot  predict  the  final  disposition  of  such 
proceedings. We regularly review legal matters and record provisions for claims that are considered probable of 
loss. 

Refer  to  Notes  5  and  17  to  the  consolidated  financial  statements  for  a  description  of  certain  pending  legal 

proceedings, which description is incorporated herein by reference. 

ITEM 4.   MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND 

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

With the consummation of the Merger on October 14, 2016, ITC Holdings became a wholly-owned subsidiary of 
Investment Holdings and ITC Holdings’ common stock was delisted from NYSE. Consequently, there is no longer 
any public trading market for the common stock of ITC Holdings. Prior to the closing of the Merger, the common 
stock of ITC Holdings was traded on the NYSE under the symbol ITC. The following tables set forth the high and 
low sales price per share of the common stock for each quarterly period in 2016 (through October 14, 2016), as 
reported on the NYSE, and the cash dividends per share paid during the periods indicated.

Year Ended December 31, 2016
October 1 through October 14, 2016
Quarter ended September 30, 2016
Quarter ended June 30, 2016
Quarter ended March 31, 2016

$

High
46.48
47.46
46.89
43.89

$

Low
44.91
44.64
42.44
36.53

$

Dividends
—
0.2155
0.1875
0.1875

Additionally, ITC Holdings paid dividends of $300 million and $33 million to Investment Holdings during the years 
ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. ITC Holdings also paid dividends of $50 million
to Investment Holdings in January 2018. The debt agreements to which we are a party contain numerous financial 
covenants that could limit ITC Holdings’ ability to pay dividends. Further, each of our subsidiaries is legally distinct 
from ITC Holdings and has no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to make funds available to ITC Holdings. 

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ITEM 6.  

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

The selected historical financial data presented below should be read together with our consolidated financial 
statements and the notes to those statements and “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations,” included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

(In millions)
OPERATING REVENUES (a)
OPERATING EXPENSES

Operation and maintenance

General and administrative (b) (c) (d)

Depreciation and amortization

Taxes other than income taxes

Other operating income and expense — net

Total operating expenses

OPERATING INCOME
OTHER EXPENSES (INCOME)

Interest expense — net (e)
Allowance for equity funds used during
construction
Other income
Other expense

Total other expenses (income)

INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES
INCOME TAX PROVISION
NET INCOME

(In millions)
BALANCE SHEET DATA:

Cash and cash equivalents

Working capital (deficit) (f)

Property, plant and equipment — net

Goodwill

Total assets (f) (g)

Debt:

ITC Holdings (g)
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries (g)

Total debt (g)
Total stockholder’s equity

(In millions)
CASH FLOWS DATA:

Expenditures for property, plant and

equipment

____________________________

2017

ITC Holdings and Subsidiaries
Year Ended December 31,
2015

2016

2014

2013

$

1,211

$

1,125

$

1,045

$

1,023

$

941

110

123

169

103

(2)
503
708

224

(33)

(3)
5
193
515
196
319

$

2017

114

239

158

93

(1)
603
522

211

(35)

(2)
5
179
343
97
246

$

113

145

145

82

(1)
484
561

204

(28)

(2)
3
177
384
142
242

$

112

115

128

76

(1)
430
593

216

(21)

(1)
5
199
394
150
244

ITC Holdings and Subsidiaries
As of December 31,
2015

2016

2014

113

149

119

66

(2)
445
496

168

(30)

(1)
7
144
352
119
233

$

2013

66 $

8 $

14 $

28 $

(302)
7,309
950
8,823

(400)
6,698
950
8,223

(550)
6,110
950
7,555

(291)
5,497
950
6,932

2,728
2,373
5,101
1,920 $

2,387
2,203
4,590
1,901 $

2,304
2,125
4,429
1,709 $

2,123
1,954
4,077
1,670 $

2017

ITC Holdings and Subsidiaries
Year Ended December 31,
2015

2016

2014

34
(325)
4,847
950
6,241

1,871
1,717
3,588
1,614

2013

$

$

$

$

755 $

750 $

701 $

753 $

824

(a)  During 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we recognized an aggregate estimated regulatory liability for the refund 
and potential refund relating to the rate of return on equity complaints as described in Note 17 to the consolidated 

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financial statements, which resulted in a reduction in operating revenues of $80 million, $115 million and $47 
million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(b)  During 2016, we expensed external legal, advisory and financial services fees of $55 million related to the 
Merger and approximately $41 million due to the accelerated vesting of the share-based awards that occurred 
at the completion of the Merger. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for further details on the 
impact of the Merger. The external and internal costs related to the Merger were recorded at ITC Holdings and 
have not been included as components of revenue requirement at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries.

(c)  The increase in general and administrative expenses in 2015 was due primarily to higher compensation related 
expenses, including the development bonuses for the successful completion of certain milestones relating to 
projects at ITC Great Plains and higher legal and advisory professional service fees for various development 
initiatives  which  were  not  included  as  components  of  revenue  requirement  at  our  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries.

(d)  During 2013, we expensed external legal, advisory and financial services fees of $43 million recorded within 
general  and  administrative  expenses  related  to  a  proposed  transaction  whereby  the  electric  transmission 
business of Entergy Corporation was to be separated and subsequently merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary 
of ITC Holdings. The proposed transaction was terminated in December 2013. The external and internal costs 
related to the proposed transaction with Entergy Corporation were recorded at ITC Holdings and were not 
included as components of revenue requirement at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. 

(e)  During 2014, we recorded loss on extinguishment of debt of $29 million related to a cash tender offer for the 

retirement of debt at ITC Holdings.

(f)  All amounts presented reflect the change in the authoritative guidance issued by the Financial Accounting 
Standards Board to net all deferred income tax assets and liabilities and present as a single line item within 
non-current assets or liabilities on the balance sheet. This change was adopted retrospectively by us in 2015.

(g)  All amounts presented reflect the change in authoritative guidance on the presentation of debt issuance costs 

on the balance sheet. This change was adopted retrospectively by us in 2015. 

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF 

OPERATIONS.

Safe Harbor Statement Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Our reports, filings and other public announcements contain certain statements that describe our management’s 
beliefs  concerning  future  business  conditions,  plans  and  prospects,  growth  opportunities,  the  outlook  for  our 
business  and  the  electric  transmission  industry,  and  expectations  with  respect  to  various  legal  and  regulatory 
proceedings based upon information currently available. Such statements are “forward-looking” statements within 
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Wherever possible, we have identified these 
forward-looking statements by words such as “will,” “may,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “expects,” 
“projects,”  “likely”  and  similar  phrases.  These  forward-looking  statements  are  based  upon  assumptions  our 
management believes are reasonable. Such forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions 
and  subject  to  significant  risks  and  uncertainties  which  could  cause  our  actual  results,  performance  and 
achievements to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements, including, among others, 
the risks and uncertainties listed in this report under “Item 1A Risk Factors” and in our other reports filed with the 
SEC from time to time.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and can be affected by assumptions we might 
make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many factors mentioned in our discussion in this report will 
be important in determining future results. Consequently, we cannot assure you that our expectations or forecasts 
expressed  in  such  forward-looking  statements  will  be  achieved.  Except  as  required  by  law,  we  undertake  no 
obligation to publicly update any of our forward-looking or other statements, whether as a result of new information, 
future events or otherwise.

Overview

Through our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, we own and operate high-voltage systems in Michigan’s Lower 
Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that transmit electricity from 

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Table of Contents

generating stations to local distribution facilities connected to our systems. Our business strategy is to own, operate, 
maintain  and  invest  in  transmission  infrastructure  in  order  to  enhance  system  integrity  and  reliability,  reduce 
transmission constraints and support new generating resources to interconnect to our transmission systems. We 
also are pursuing development projects not within our existing systems, which are also intended to improve overall 
grid reliability, reduce transmission constraints and facilitate interconnections of new generating resources, as well 
as enhance competitive wholesale electricity markets. 

As electric transmission utilities whose rates are regulated by the FERC, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries 
earn revenues for the use of their electric transmission systems by our customers. We derive nearly all of our 
revenues from providing electric transmission service over our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ transmission 
systems to investor-owned utilities, such as DTE Electric, Consumers Energy and IP&L, and other entities, such 
as alternative electricity suppliers, power marketers and other wholesale customers that provide electricity to end-
use consumers as well as from transaction-based capacity reservations on our transmission systems.

As independent transmission companies, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are subject to rate regulation 
only by the FERC, and our cost-based rates are discussed below in “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis 
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism” as well 
as in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ primary operating responsibilities include maintaining, improving and 
expanding their transmission systems to meet their customers’ ongoing needs, scheduling outages on system 
elements to allow for maintenance and construction, maintaining appropriate system voltages and monitoring flows 
over transmission lines and other facilities to ensure physical limits are not exceeded.

Significant recent matters that influenced our financial position and results of operations and cash flows for the 

year ended December 31, 2017 or that may affect future results include:

•  Recognition of a net regulatory liability of $512 million and a reduction in regulatory assets of $65 million as 
of December 31, 2017 and additional income tax expense of $5 million as a result of the change in corporate 
tax rate from 35% to 21% pursuant to the TCJA, as discussed in Note 6 and Note 10 to the consolidated 
financial statements, respectively.

•  Our capital expenditures of $755 million at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries during the year ended 
December 31,  2017,  as  described  below  under  “—  Capital  Investment  and  Operating  Results  Trends,”
resulting primarily from our focus on improving system reliability, increasing system capacity and upgrading 
the transmission network to support new generating resources;

•  Debt  issuances,  issuances  of  commercial  paper  under  ITC  Holdings’  commercial  paper  program,  and 
borrowings under our revolving and term loan credit agreements, as described in Note 9 to the consolidated 
financial statements, to fund capital investment at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, repayment of other 
indebtedness, and for general corporate purposes;

•  Debt maturing within one year of $100 million as of December 31, 2017 and the potentially higher interest 
rates  associated  with  the  additional  financing  required  to  repay  this  debt  as  discussed  in  Note  9  to  the 
consolidated financial statements; 

•  During the year ended December 31, 2017, our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries provided net refunds 
with interest of $118 million for the Initial ROE complaint, subject to the pending rehearing request. Our MISO 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries have an estimated current regulatory liability recorded for the Second 
Complaint of $145 million as of December 31, 2017. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the refund 
and  estimated  refund  relating  to  the  rate  of  return  on  equity  complaints,  as  described  in  Note  17  to  the 
consolidated financial statements, resulted in additional interest expense of $6 million and an estimated 
after-tax reduction to net income of $3 million. 

These items are discussed in more detail throughout “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 

Condition and Results of Operations.”

Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries calculate their revenue requirements using cost-based formula rates 
that are effective without the need to file rate cases with the FERC, although the rates are subject to legal challenge 
at the FERC. Under their cost-based formula, each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries separately calculates 

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Table of Contents

a  revenue  requirement  based  on  financial  information  specific  to  each  company. The  calculation  of  projected 
revenue requirement for a future period is used to establish the transmission rate used for billing purposes. The 
calculation  of  actual  revenue  requirements  for  a  historic  period  is  used  to  calculate  the  amount  of  revenues 
recognized in that period and determine the over- or under-collection for that period. 

Under these formula rates, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries recover expenses and earn a return on and 
recover investments in property, plant and equipment on a current basis. The formula rates for a given year initially 
reflect forecasted expenses, property, plant and equipment, point-to-point revenues, network load at our MISO 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and other items for the upcoming calendar year to establish projected revenue 
requirements for each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries that are used as the basis for billing for service on 
their systems from January 1 to December 31 of that year. Our rates include a true-up mechanism, whereby our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries compare their actual revenue requirements to their billed revenues for each 
year to determine any over- or under-collection of revenue. The over- or under-collection typically results from 
differences between the projected revenue requirement used as the basis for billing and actual revenue requirement 
at each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, or from differences between actual and projected monthly peak 
loads at our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. In the event billed revenues in a given year are more or less 
than actual revenue requirements, which are calculated primarily using information from that year’s FERC Form 
No. 1, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries will refund or collect additional revenues, with interest, within a two-
year period such that customers pay only the amounts that correspond to actual revenue requirements for that 
given period. This annual true-up ensures that our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries recover their allowed costs 
and earn their allowed returns.

See “Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism” in Note 5 for further discussion of our formula rates 
and see “Rate of Return on Equity Complaints” in Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements for detail on 
ROE matters. 

Illustrative Example of Formula Rate Setting

The formula rate setting example shown below is for illustrative purposes and not based on our actual financial 

data.

Line
1

Rate base (a)

Item

Instructions

2 Multiply by 13-month weighted average cost of capital (b)

3

4

5

Allowed return on rate base

(Line 1 x Line 2)

Recoverable operating expenses (including depreciation and

amortization)

Income taxes (c)

6 Gross revenue requirement

____________________________

(Line 3 + Line 4 + Line 5)

Amount

1,000,000

8.81%

88,100

150,000

50,000

288,100

$

$

$

$

(a)  Consists primarily of in-service property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation.

(b)  The weighted average cost of capital for purposes of this illustration is calculated below. The cost of capital 
for debt is included at a flat interest rate for purposes of this illustration and is not based on our actual cost of 
capital. The cost of capital rate for equity represents the current maximum allowed MISO ROE rate. See Note 
17 to the consolidated financial statements for detail on ROE matters, including pending ROE complaints.

Debt
Equity

Percentage of
Total Capitalization
40.00%
60.00%
100.00%

Cost of Capital

5.00% =
11.35% =

Weighted
Average
Cost of
Capital

2.00%
6.81%
8.81%

(c)  Represents an approximation of the federal and state income tax expense for purposes of this illustration and 

is not based on our actual tax expense.

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Table of Contents

Revenue Accruals and Deferrals — Effects of Monthly Peak Loads

For our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, monthly peak loads are used for billing network revenues, 
which currently is the largest component of our operating revenues. One of the primary factors that impacts the 
revenue  accruals  and  deferrals  at  our  MISO  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  is  actual  monthly  peak  loads 
experienced as compared to those forecasted in establishing the annual network transmission rate. Under their 
cost-based formula rates that contain a true-up mechanism, our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries accrue 
or defer revenues to the extent that their actual revenue requirement for the reporting period is higher or lower, 
respectively, than the amounts billed relating to that reporting period. Although monthly peak loads do not impact 
operating revenues recognized, network load affects the timing of our cash flows from transmission service. The 
monthly peak load of our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries is generally impacted by weather and economic 
conditions and seasonally shaped with higher load in the summer months when cooling demand is higher.

ITC Great Plains does not receive revenue based on a peak load or a dollar amount per kW each month and, 
therefore, peak load does not have a seasonal effect on operating cash flows. The SPP tariff applicable to ITC 
Great Plains is billed ratably each month based on its annual projected revenue requirement posted annually by 
SPP.

Capital Investment and Operating Results Trends

We expect a long-term upward trend in revenues and earnings, subject to the impact of:

• 

• 

any rate changes and required refunds resulting from the resolution of the ROE complaints as described 
in Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements;

lower  revenue  from  customers  due  to  a  lower  tax  gross  up  on  our  authorized  return  on  equity  at  our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries resulting from the change in U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 
35% to 21% under the TCJA; and 

• 

lower net income due to lower interest expense deductibility at ITC Holdings as a result of the TCJA.

The primary factor that is expected to continue to increase our revenues and earnings in future years is increased 
rate base that would result from our anticipated capital investment, in excess of depreciation, from our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries’ long-term capital investment programs to improve reliability, increase system capacity and 
upgrade  the  transmission  network  to  support  new  generating  resources.  Investments  in  property,  plant  and 
equipment, when placed in-service upon completion of a capital project, are added to the rate base of our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries.

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries strive for high reliability of their systems and improvement in system 
accessibility for all generation resources. The FERC requires compliance with certain reliability standards and may 
take enforcement actions against violators, including the imposition of substantial fines. NERC is responsible for 
developing and enforcing these mandatory reliability standards. We continually assess our transmission systems 
against standards established by NERC, as well as the standards of applicable regional entities under NERC that 
have been delegated certain authority for the purpose of proposing and enforcing reliability standards. We believe 
that we meet the applicable standards in all material respects, although further investment in our transmission 
systems and an increase in maintenance activities will likely be needed to maintain compliance, improve reliability 
and address any new standards that may be promulgated. 

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We also assess our transmission systems against our own planning criteria that are filed annually with the 
FERC. Based on our planning studies, we see needs to make capital investments to: (1) rebuild existing property, 
plant and equipment; (2) upgrade the system to address demographic changes that have impacted transmission 
load  and  the  changing  role  that  transmission  plays  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  wholesale  market,  including 
accommodating  the  siting  of  new  generation  or  increasing  import  capacity  to  meet  changes  in  peak  electrical 
demand; (3) relieve congestion in the transmission systems; and (4) achieve state and federal policy goals, such 
as  renewable  generation  portfolio  standards.  The  following  table  shows  our  actual  and  expected  capital 
expenditures at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries:

Actual Capital

Forecasted

Expenditures for the

Capital

year ended

Expenditures

(In millions)

Expenditures for property, plant and equipment (a)

____________________________

December 31, 2017
$

755 $

2018 — 2022
2,842

(a)  Amounts represent the cash payments to acquire or construct property, plant and equipment, as presented in 
the consolidated statements of cash flows. These amounts exclude non-cash additions to property, plant and 
equipment  for  the  allowance  for  equity  funds  used  during  construction  as  well  as  accrued  liabilities  for 
construction, labor and materials that have not yet been paid.

We are pursuing development projects that could result in a significant amount of capital investment, but are 
not able to estimate the amounts we ultimately expect to invest or the timing of such investments. Our capital 
investment efforts relating to development initiatives are based on establishing an ongoing pipeline of projects that 
would position us for long-term growth. Refer to “Item 1 Business — Development of Business — Development 
Projects” for discussion of our development projects. 

Investments in property, plant and equipment could vary due to, among other things, the impact of actual loads, 
forecasted loads, regional economic conditions, weather conditions, union strikes, labor shortages, material and 
equipment prices and availability, our ability to obtain any necessary financing for such expenditures, limitations 
on the amount of construction that can be undertaken on our systems at any one time, regulatory approvals for 
reasons relating to rate construct, environmental, siting, regional planning, cost recovery or other issues or as a 
result of legal proceedings, variances between estimated and actual costs of construction contracts awarded and 
the potential for greater competition for new development projects. In addition, investments in transmission network 
upgrades for generator interconnection projects could change from prior estimates significantly due to changes in 
the MISO queue for generation projects and other factors beyond our control.

Recent Developments

2017 Tax Reform

In December 2017, the President of the United States of America signed into law the TCJA, which enacted 
significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax 
rate from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after 2017. We were required to revalue our deferred tax 
assets and liabilities at the new federal corporate income tax rate as of the date of enactment of the TCJA. The 
majority of our deferred tax assets and liabilities as well as a portion of its U.S. federal net operating losses are 
held at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. The majority of the deferred tax assets and liabilities at the Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries are subject to a normalization method of accounting pursuant to the Internal Revenue 
Code. As a result, the revaluation of the Regulated Operating Subsidiaries net deferred taxes resulted in a net 
regulatory liability of approximately $512 million at December 31, 2017 and a reduction in regulatory assets of $65 
million that would be returned to or received from customers over a period of time. The revaluation of the deferred 
tax  assets  and  federal  income  tax  net  operating  losses  at  ITC  Holdings  has  resulted  in  additional  income  tax 
expense in the fourth quarter of 2017 of $5 million. For additional information on the impacts of tax reform, see 
Note 6 and Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements.

The Merger

On February 9, 2016, ITC Holdings entered into the Merger Agreement with Fortis, FortisUS and Merger Sub. 
On April 20, 2016, Fortis reached a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of GIC for that subsidiary to acquire an 

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Table of Contents

indirect 19.9% equity interest in ITC Holdings upon completion of the Merger. On October 14, 2016, ITC Holdings 
and Fortis completed the Merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement. On the same date, the common shares 
of ITC Holdings were delisted from the NYSE and the common shares of Fortis were listed and began trading on 
the NYSE. Fortis continues to have its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As a result of the Merger, 
Merger Sub merged with and into ITC Holdings with ITC Holdings continuing as the surviving corporation and 
becoming a majority owned indirect subsidiary of Fortis. In the Merger, ITC Holdings shareholders received $22.57 
in cash and 0.7520 Fortis common shares for each share of common stock of ITC Holdings. Refer to Note 2 to 
the consolidated financial statements for further details on the Merger. 

Rate of Return on Equity Complaints

In November 2013 and February 2015, certain parties filed complaints with the FERC under Section 206 of the 
FPA, requesting that the FERC find the then current MISO regional base ROE rate for all MISO TOs, including 
ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest, to no longer be just and reasonable. The complainants sought a FERC 
order reducing the base ROE used in the formula transmission rates for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries.

In September 2016, the FERC issued the September 2016 Order in connection with the Initial Complaint reducing 
the base ROE from 12.38% to 10.32%, with a maximum ROE of 11.35%, effective for the period from November 
12, 2013 through February 11, 2015 and prospectively from the date of that order until a new approved rate is 
established by the FERC in connection with the Second Complaint filed with the FERC under Section 206 of the 
FPA on February 12, 2015. The total estimated refund for the Initial Complaint resulting from this FERC order, 
including interest, was $118 million for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2016, 
recorded in current liabilities on the consolidated statements of financial position. During the year ended December 
31, 2017, we provided net refunds with interest, which were substantially finalized during the second quarter of 
2017. The total amount of the net refunds, including interest and the associated true-up, for the Initial Complaint 
were not materially different from the estimated amount recorded as of December 31, 2016.

An order has not yet been issued by the FERC in connection with the Second Complaint. If the Second Complaint 
is not dismissed, we expect the FERC to establish a new base ROE and zone of reasonableness that will be used, 
along with any ROE adders, to calculate the liability for the refund period related to the Second Complaint and 
future ROEs for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2017, the estimated range of 
refunds for the related refund period is from $106 million to $145 million on a pre-tax basis. Our MISO Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries have recorded an estimated current regulatory liability for the Second Complaint of $145 
million as of December 31, 2017. An estimated liability for the Second Complaint of $140 million was recorded as 
a non-current regulatory liability as of December 31, 2016. The recognition of the obligations associated with the 
complaints resulted in a reduction of revenues and net income and additional interest expense as set forth in the 
table below for the periods indicated.

(In millions)

Revenue reduction
Interest expense increase
Estimated net income reduction (a)

____________________________

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2017

2015

$

— $
6
3

80 $
10
55

115
5
73

(a)  Includes an effect on net income of $27 million and $28 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 and 

2015, respectively, for revenue initially recognized in 2015, 2014 and 2013.

It is possible that the outcome of these matters could differ from the estimated range of losses and materially 
affect our consolidated results of operations due to the uncertainty of the calculation of an authorized base ROE 
along with the zone of reasonableness. Further uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Initial Complaint and the 
Second Complaint and the timing of completion of these matters has been introduced due to the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s Emera Maine v. FERC decision. Based on the level of aggregate 
equity  in  our  MISO  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries,  we  estimate  that  each  10  basis  point  reduction  in  the 
authorized ROE would reduce annual consolidated net income by approximately $3 million. In addition, the motion 
to dismiss, filed in September 2017, could also affect the resolution of the Second Complaint. For a more detailed 
discussion of the ROE complaints, see Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements.

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Significant Components of Results of Operations

Revenues

We derive nearly all of our revenues from providing transmission, scheduling, control and dispatch services 
and  other  related  services  over  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  transmission  systems  to  DTE  Electric, 
Consumers Energy, IP&L and other entities, such as alternative electricity suppliers, power marketers and other 
wholesale customers that provide electricity to end-use consumers, as well as from transaction-based capacity 
reservations on our transmission systems. MISO and SPP are responsible for billing and collecting the majority of 
transmission service revenues. As the billing agent for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries and ITC Great 
Plains, MISO and SPP collect fees for the use of our transmission systems, invoicing DTE Electric, Consumers 
Energy, IP&L and other customers on a monthly basis.

Network Revenues are generated from network customers for their use of our electric transmission systems 
and are based on the actual revenue requirements as a result of our accounting under our cost-based formula 
rates that contain a true-up mechanism. Refer to “Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Revenue Recognition under 
Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism” for a discussion of revenue recognition relating to network 
revenues. 

Network revenues from ITC Great Plains include the annual revenue requirements specific to projects that are 
charged exclusively within one pricing zone within SPP or are classified as direct assigned network upgrades under 
the SPP tariff, and contain a true-up mechanism.

Point-to-Point Revenues consist of revenues generated from a type of transmission service for which the 
customer pays for transmission capacity reserved along a specified path between two points on an hourly, daily, 
weekly or monthly basis. Point-to-point revenues also include other components pursuant to schedules under the 
MISO and SPP transmission tariffs. Point-to-point revenues are treated as a revenue credit to network or regional 
customers and are a reduction to gross revenue requirement when calculating net revenue requirement under our 
cost-based formula rates.

Regional Cost Sharing Revenues are generated from transmission customers throughout RTO regions for 
their use of our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ network upgrade projects that are eligible for regional 
cost sharing under provisions of the MISO tariff, including MVP projects such as our portion of four MVPs and the 
Thumb Loop Project in Michigan. Regional cost sharing revenue also includes revenues collected by transmission 
customers from other RTOs outside of MISO to allocate costs of certain transmission plant investments. Additionally, 
certain projects at ITC Great Plains are eligible for recovery through a region-wide charge under provisions of the 
SPP tariff. A portion of regional cost sharing revenues is treated as a revenue credit to regional or network customers 
and is a reduction to gross revenue requirement when calculating net revenue requirement under our cost-based 
formula rates. 

Scheduling, Control and Dispatch Revenues are allocated to our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries 
by MISO as compensation for the services performed in operating the transmission system. Such services include 
monitoring of reliability data, current and next day analysis, implementation of emergency procedures and outage 
coordination and switching.

Other Revenues consist of rental revenues, easement revenues, revenues relating to utilization of jointly owned 
assets under our transmission ownership and operating agreements and amounts from providing ancillary services 
to customers. The majority of other revenues are treated as a revenue credit and taken as a reduction to gross 
revenue requirement when calculating net revenue requirement under our cost-based formula rates.

Operating Expenses

Operation and Maintenance Expenses consist primarily of the costs for contractors that operate and maintain 

our transmission systems as well as our personnel involved in operation and maintenance activities.

Operation expenses include activities related to control area operations, which involve balancing loads and 
generation and transmission system operations activities, including monitoring the status of our transmission lines 
and  stations.  Rental  expenses  relating  to  land  easements,  including  METC’s  Easement Agreement,  are  also 
recorded within operation expenses.

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Maintenance expenses include preventive or planned maintenance, such as vegetation management, tower 

painting and equipment inspections, as well as reactive maintenance for equipment failures.

General  and  Administrative  Expenses  consist  primarily  of  costs  for  personnel  in  our  legal,  information 
technology,  finance,  regulatory,  human  resources  and  business  development  organizations,  general  office 
expenses  and  fees  for  professional  services.  Professional  services  are  principally  composed  of  outside  legal, 
consulting, audit and information technology services.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses consist primarily of depreciation of property, plant and equipment 
using the straight-line method of accounting. Additionally, this consists of amortization of various regulatory and 
intangible assets.

Taxes Other than Income Taxes consist primarily of property taxes and payroll taxes.

Other Items of Income or Expense

Interest  Expense  consists  primarily  of  interest  on  debt  at  ITC  Holdings  and  our  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries. Additionally, the amortization of debt financing expenses and loss on extinguishment of debt are 
recorded to interest expense. An allowance for borrowed funds used during construction is included in property, 
plant and equipment accounts and treated as a reduction to interest expense. The amortization of gains and losses 
on settled and terminated derivative financial instruments is recorded to interest expense. The interest portion of 
the refund and estimated refund relating to the ROE complaints is also recorded to interest expense.

Allowance for Equity Funds Used During Construction (“AFUDC equity”) is recorded as an item of other 
income and is included in property, plant and equipment accounts. The allowance represents a return on equity 
at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries used for construction purposes in accordance with the FERC regulations. 
The capitalization rate applied to the construction work in progress balance is based on the proportion of equity 
to total capital (which currently includes equity and long-term debt) and the allowed return on equity for our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries.

Income Tax Provision

Income tax provision consists of current and deferred federal and state income taxes.

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Table of Contents

Results of Operations

The following table summarizes historical operating results for the periods indicated:

(In millions)
OPERATING REVENUES

OPERATING EXPENSES

Operation and maintenance

General and administrative

Depreciation and amortization

Taxes other than income taxes

Other operating income and expenses

— net

Total operating expenses

OPERATING INCOME

OTHER EXPENSES (INCOME)

Interest expense — net

Allowance for equity funds used during

construction

Other income

Other expense

Total other expenses (income)

INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAX PROVISION

NET INCOME

$

Operating Revenues

Year Ended
December 31,

2017

2016

Increase
(Decrease)

Percentage
Increase
(Decrease)

Year Ended
December 31,
2015

Increase
(Decrease)

Percentage
Increase
(Decrease)

$

1,211

$

1,125

$

86

8%

$

1,045

$

110

123

169

103

(2)

503

708

224

(33)

(3)

5

193

515

196

319

114

239

158

93

(1)

603

522

211

(35)

(2)

5

179

343

97

$

246

$

(4)

(4)%

(116)

(49)%

11

10

(1)

(100)

186

13

2

(1)

—

14

172

99

73

7%

11%

100%

(17)%

36%

6%

(6)%

50%

—%

8%

50%

102%

30%

$

113

145

145

82

(1)

484

561

204

(28)

(2)

3
177

384

142

242

$

80

1

94

13

11

—

119

(39)

7

(7)

—

2

2

(41)

(45)

4

8%

1%

65%

9%

13%

—%

25%

(7)%

3%

25%

—%

67%

1%

(11)%

(32)%

2%

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016 

The following table sets forth the components of and changes in operating revenues:

2017

2016

Amount

Percentage

Amount

Percentage

(In millions)
Network revenues

Regional cost sharing revenues

Point-to-point

Scheduling, control and dispatch

Other

Recognition of refund liabilities

Total

$

$

816
340
18
14
24
(1)
1,211

67 % $
28 %
2 %
1 %
2 %
— %
100 % $

814
337
20
14
20
(80)
1,125

Increase
(Decrease)
2
3
(2)
—
4
79
86

72 % $
30 %
2 %
1 %
2 %
(7)%
100 % $

Percentage
Increase
(Decrease)

— %
1 %
(10)%
— %
20 %
(99)%
8 %

Although network and regional cost sharing revenues were consistent with the respective prior period, there 
was a decrease in revenue requirement due to lower ROEs, which was offset by a higher rate base mainly due to 
higher property, plant and equipment.

The recognition of the liability for the refund and estimated refund relating to the ROE complaints, described in 
Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements, resulted in a reduction of operating revenues during the year 
ended December 31, 2016. We are not able to estimate whether any required refunds would be applied to all 
components of revenue listed in the table above or only certain components.

Operating revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 include revenue accruals and deferrals 

as described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

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Table of Contents

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015 

The following table sets forth the components of and changes in operating revenues:

2016

2015

Amount

Percentage

Amount

Percentage

(In millions)
Network revenues

Regional cost sharing revenues

Point-to-point

Scheduling, control and dispatch
Other

Recognition of refund liabilities

Total

$

$

814
337
20
14
20
(80)
1,125

72 % $
30 %
2 %
1 %
2 %
(7)%
100 % $

802
328
15
13
12
(125)
1,045

Increase
(Decrease)
12
9
5
1
8
45
80

77 % $
31 %
2 %
1 %
1 %
(12)%
100 % $

Percentage
Increase
(Decrease)

1 %
3 %
33 %
8 %
67 %
(36)%
8 %

Network revenues increased due primarily  to higher net  revenue requirements  at our Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries, partially offset by higher regional revenue requirements, during the year ended December 31, 2016 
as compared to 2015. Higher net revenue requirements were due primarily to higher rate bases associated with 
higher balances of property, plant and equipment in-service in 2016.

Regional cost sharing revenues increased primarily due to additional capital projects identified by MISO and 
SPP as eligible for regional cost sharing and these projects being placed in-service, in addition to higher accumulated 
investment for regional cost sharing projects in northern Michigan and Kansas during the year ended December 
31, 2016 as compared to the same period in 2015. 

The recognition of the liabilities for the refund relating to the formula rate template modifications and the refund 
and estimated refund relating to the ROE complaints described in Notes 5 and 17 to the consolidated financial 
statements, respectively, resulted in a reduction to operating revenues during the years ended December 31, 2016
and 2015, respectively. We are not able to estimate whether any required refunds would be applied to all components 
of revenue listed in the table above or only certain components.

Operating revenues for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 include revenue accruals and deferrals 

as described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

Operating Expenses

Operation and maintenance expenses

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to the respective period in 2016 and the year ended December 31, 

2016 compared to the respective period in 2015

Operation and maintenance expenses were consistent with the respective prior period.

General and administrative expenses

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

General  and  administrative  expenses  decreased  due  to  a  reduction  in  professional  services  related  to  the 
Merger and a reduction in compensation-related expenses primarily due to lower bonuses and stock compensation 
expense, including the accelerated vesting of the share-based awards that occurred at the completion of the Merger 
in 2016 as described in Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements. The costs related to the Merger were 
recorded at ITC Holdings and have not been included as components of revenue requirement at our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries.

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

General  and  administrative  expenses  increased  related  to  higher  compensation-related  expenses  due  to 
retention bonuses relating to the Merger, personnel additions and additional stock compensation expense, including 
the accelerated vesting of the share-based awards that occurred at the completion of the Merger as described in 
Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements, and increased expenses related to external legal, advisory and 
financial services fees incurred in 2016 related to the Merger. These increases were partially offset by a decrease 

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in  development  bonus  expenses,  which  were  not  recovered  in  rates,  for  the  successful  completion  of  certain 
milestones relating to projects at ITC Great Plains in 2015.

Depreciation and amortization expenses

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to the respective period in 2016 and the year ended December 31, 

2016 compared to the respective period in 2015

Depreciation and amortization expenses increased in the respective period due primarily to a higher depreciable 

base resulting from property, plant and equipment in-service additions.

Taxes other than income taxes

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to the respective period in 2016 and the year ended December 31, 

2016 compared to the respective period in 2015

Taxes other than income taxes increased due to higher property tax expenses primarily due to our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries’ 2016 and 2015 capital additions, which are included in the assessments for 2017 and 2016 
property taxes, respectively.

Other expenses (income)

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

Interest expense increased due primarily to long-term debt issuances subsequent to December 31, 2016 which 
resulted in overall higher carrying balances of long-term debt. These issuances were used for refinancing of current 
debt maturities as well as general corporate purposes.

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

Interest expense increased due primarily to the additional interest expense associated with the refund liability 
relating to the ROE complaints described in Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements and long-term debt 
issuances  subsequent  to  December  31,  2015,  which  were  used  for  refinancing  of  current  debt  maturities  and 
general corporate purposes.

AFUDC equity increased due primarily to higher balances of construction work in progress eligible for AFUDC 

equity during the period.

Income Tax Provision

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

Our effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 are 38.1% and 28.3%, respectively. 
Our effective tax rate as of December 31, 2017 exceeded our 35% statutory federal income tax rate due primarily 
to the enactment of the TCJA and the required revaluation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities from 35% to 
21%, partially offset by income tax relating to AFUDC equity as discussed in Note 10 to the consolidated financial 
statements. Our effective tax rate as of December 31, 2016 was less than our 35% statutory federal income tax 
rate due primarily to us recognizing an income tax benefit of $27 million for excess tax deductions for the year 
ended December 31, 2016 as a result of adopting the new accounting guidance associated with share-based 
payments as described in Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements. The amount of income tax expense 
relating to AFUDC equity was recognized as a regulatory asset and not included in the income tax provision. 

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

Our effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 are 28.3% and 36.9%, respectively. 
Our effective tax rate as of December 31, 2016 was less than our 35%  statutory federal income tax rate due 
primarily  to  us  recognizing  an  income  tax  benefit  of  $27  million  for  excess  tax  deductions  for  the  year  ended 
December 31, 2016 as a result of adopting the new accounting guidance associated with share-based payments 
as described in Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements. Our effective tax rate as of December 31, 2015
exceeded our 35% statutory federal income tax rate due primarily to state income taxes, partially offset by the tax 
effects  of AFUDC  equity. The  amount  of  income  tax  expense  relating  to AFUDC  equity  was  recognized  as  a 
regulatory asset and not included in the income tax provision. 

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

We expect to maintain our approach of funding our future capital requirements with cash from operations at 
our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries,  our  existing  cash  and  cash  equivalents,  future  issuances  under  our 
commercial paper program and amounts available under our revolving and term loan credit agreements (the terms 
of which are described in Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements). In addition, we may from time to time 
secure debt funding in the capital markets, although we can provide no assurance that we will be able to obtain 
financing on favorable terms or at all. As market conditions warrant, we may also from time to time repurchase 
debt securities issued by us, in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions, by tender offer or otherwise. 
We expect that our capital requirements will arise principally from our need to:

•  Fund capital expenditures at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. Our plans with regard to property, plant 
and  equipment  investments  are  described  in  detail  above  under  “Item  7  Management’s  Discussion  and 
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Capital Investment and Operating Results 
Trends.”

•  Fund  business  development  expenses  and  related  capital  expenditures.  We  are  pursuing  development 
activities for projects that will continue to result in the incurrence of development expenses and could result 
in  significant  capital  expenditures  incremental  to  our  current  plan.  Refer  to  Note  17  to  the  consolidated 
financial statements for a discussion of contingent payments related to development projects.

•  Fund working capital requirements.

•  Fund our debt service requirements, including principal repayments and periodic interest payments, which 
are  further  described  in  detail  below  under  “Item  7  Management’s  Discussion  and Analysis  of  Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations — Contractual Obligations.” We expect our interest payments to increase 
each year as a result of additional debt expected to be incurred to fund our capital expenditures and for 
general corporate purposes.

•  Fund any refund obligation in connection with the ROE complaints.

•  Fund any possible 2018 refund obligation in connection with the potential reposting of the 2018 rates at the 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to reflect the change in federal tax rate arising from the enactment of the 
TCJA.

•  Fund payments related to the amortization through rates of the net regulatory liability recorded for excess 
deferred taxes and any other obligations arising from the implementation of the TCJA, as described in Note 
6 to the consolidated financial statements.

•  Fund contributions to our retirement benefit plans, as described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial 

statements. We expect to contribute up to $14 million to these plans in 2018. 

In addition to the expected capital requirements above, any adverse determinations or settlements relating to 
the regulatory matters or contingencies described in Notes 5 and 17 to the consolidated financial statements would 
result in additional capital requirements. 

We believe that we have sufficient capital resources to meet our currently anticipated short-term needs. We 
rely on both internal and external sources of liquidity to provide working capital and fund capital investments. ITC 
Holdings’  sources  of  cash  are  dividends  and  other  payments  received  by  us  from  our  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries and any of our other subsidiaries as well as the proceeds raised from the sale of our debt securities. 
Each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, while wholly owned by ITC Holdings, is legally distinct from ITC 
Holdings and has no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to make funds available to us.

We expect to continue to utilize our commercial paper program and revolving and term loan credit agreements 
as well as our cash and cash equivalents as needed to meet our short-term cash requirements. As of December 31, 
2017, we had consolidated indebtedness under our revolving and term loan credit agreements of $271 million, 
with unused capacity under the revolving credit agreements of $679 million. Additionally, ITC Holdings had no
commercial paper issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2017, with the ability to issue $400 million under 
the commercial paper program. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for a detailed discussion of 
the commercial paper program and our revolving and term loan credit agreements as well as the debt activity 
during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

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Table of Contents

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $100 million of fixed rate debt maturing within one year, which 
we expect to repay with borrowings under our revolving credit agreements or refinance with long-term debt. To 
address our long-term capital requirements, we expect that we will need to obtain additional debt financing. Certain 
of our capital projects could be delayed if we experience difficulties in accessing capital. We expect to be able to 
obtain such additional financing as needed, in amounts and upon terms that will be reasonably satisfactory to us 
due to our strong credit ratings and our historical ability to obtain financing.

Credit Ratings

Credit ratings by nationally recognized statistical rating agencies are an important component of our liquidity 
profile. Credit ratings relate to our ability to issue debt securities and the cost to borrow money, and should not be 
viewed as recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. Ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time 
and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Our current credit ratings are displayed in 
the following table. An explanation of these ratings may be obtained from the respective rating agency.

Issuer

ITC Holdings
ITC Holdings
ITCTransmission
METC
ITC Midwest
ITC Great Plains

Issuance
Senior Unsecured Notes
Commercial Paper
First Mortgage Bonds
Senior Secured Notes
First Mortgage Bonds
First Mortgage Bonds

____________________________

Standard and Poor’s
Ratings Services (a)
A-
A-2
A
A
A
A

Moody’s Investor
Service, Inc. (b)
Baa2
Prime-2
A1
A1
A1
A1

(a)  On September 15, 2017, Standard and Poor’s reaffirmed the secured credit ratings of ITCTransmission, METC, 
ITC Midwest, ITC Great Plains and the short-term commercial paper rating at ITC Holdings, which applies to 
the commercial paper program discussed in Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements. Standard and 
Poor’s also reaffirmed the stable outlook for these entities. On September 28, 2017, Standard and Poor’s 
raised the senior unsecured credit rating of ITC Holdings to A- from BBB+. On December 20, 2017, Standard 
and Poor’s published reports on ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest as part of their annual review 
process. No ratings actions were taken in these reports. 

(b)  On April 12, 2017, Moody’s reaffirmed the senior unsecured credit rating of ITC Holdings, the secured credit 
ratings of ITCTransmission, METC, ITC Midwest, ITC Great Plains and the short-term commercial paper rating 
at ITC Holdings, which applies to the commercial paper program discussed in Note 9 to the consolidated 
financial statements. Moody’s also reaffirmed the stable outlook for these entities.

Covenants

Our debt instruments contain numerous financial and operating covenants that place significant restrictions on 
certain transactions as well as require us to meet certain financial ratios, which are described in Note 9 to the 
consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2017, we were not in violation of any debt covenant. In the 
event of a downgrade in our credit ratings, none of the covenants would be directly impacted, although the borrowing 
costs under our revolving credit agreements may increase.

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Cash Flows

The following table summarizes cash flows for the periods indicated:

(In millions)
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating 
activities:

Depreciation and amortization expense
Recognition, refund and collection of revenue accruals and deferrals — 

including accrued interest

Deferred income tax expense

Other

Net cash provided by operating activities

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Expenditures for property, plant and equipment
Other

Net cash used in investing activities

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Net issuance/repayment of debt (including commercial paper and revolving

and term loan credit agreements)

Issuance of common stock

Dividends on common and restricted stock

Dividends to ITC Investment Holdings Inc.
Refundable deposits from and repayments to generators for transmission

network upgrades — net

Repurchase and retirement of common stock

Settlement of share-based awards associated with the Merger — including 

cost of accelerated share-based awards

Contribution from ITC Investment Holdings Inc. for the settlement of share-

based awards associated with the Merger

Other

Net cash provided by financing activities

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Beginning of period
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — End of period

Cash Flows From Operating Activities

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

319 $

246 $

242

169

34
195
(109)
608

(755)
11
(744)

511
—
—
(300)

(12)
—

—

—
(5)
194
58
8

158

(2)
219
66
687

(750)
15
(735)

161
13
(90)
(33)

23
(9)

(137)

137
(23)
42
(6)
14

$

66 $

8 $

145

(54)
77
146
556

(701)
1
(700)

352
14
(108)
—

1
(137)

—

—
8
130
(14)
28
14

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

Net cash provided by operating activities decreased in 2017 compared to 2016. The decrease in cash provided 
by operating activities was due primarily to the refund, including interest, pursuant to the September 2016 Order, 
and higher interest payments (net of interest capitalized excluding the interest paid as part of the refund noted 
above) for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. Additionally, the cash provided 
by operating activities was lower during 2017 due to the receipt of an income tax refund from the IRS in August 
2016. The decreases were partially offset by an increase in receipts from operating revenues, an increase in the 
cash receipts for the regional cost allocation refund in 2017 compared to cash payments in 2016, accelerated 
incentive payouts in 2016 associated with the Merger and lower income taxes paid during the year ended December 
31, 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. 

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

Net cash provided by operating activities increased in 2016 compared to 2015. The increase in cash provided 
by operating activities was due primarily to receipt of the federal income tax refund in August 2016 and lower 
income taxes paid during 2016 compared to 2015, which both resulted from the election of bonus depreciation as 

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Table of Contents

described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements. Additionally, the cash received from operating revenues 
increased during 2016 compared to 2015. These increases were partially offset by an increase in payments of 
operating expenses and the regional cost allocation refund provided by ITCTransmission to the relevant RTOs in 
October 2016 as described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

Cash Flows From Investing Activities

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2017 was comparable to the same 

period in 2016. 

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

Net cash used in investing activities increased in 2016 compared to 2015. The increase in cash used in investing 
activities was due primarily to the timing of payments for investments in property, plant and equipment during the 
year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. 

Cash Flows From Financing Activities

Year ended December 31, 2017 compared to year ended December 31, 2016

Net cash provided by financing activities increased in 2017 compared to 2016. The increase in cash provided 
by  financing  activities  was  due  primarily  to  a  net  increase  in  amounts  outstanding  under  our  term  loan  credit 
agreements compared to net repayments of term loan credit agreements in 2016 and an increase in long-term 
debt issuances. These increases were partially offset by net repayments of commercial paper under our commercial 
paper program and borrowing under our revolving credit agreements, an increase in payments to retire long-term 
debt,  an  increase  in  dividend  payments  and  higher  net  repayments  associated  with  refundable  deposits  for 
transmission  network  upgrades  compared  to  net  deposits  in  2016.  See  Note  9  to  the  consolidated  financial 
statements on the issuances and retirement of long-term debt.

Year ended December 31, 2016 compared to year ended December 31, 2015

Net cash provided by financing activities decreased in 2016 compared to 2015. The decrease in cash provided 
by financing activities was due primarily to a net decrease in amounts outstanding under our revolving and term 
loan credit agreements, the settlement of share-based awards associated with the Merger, payment in connection 
with  an  accelerated  share  repurchase  program,  a  decrease  in  net  issuances  of  commercial  paper  under  our 
commercial paper program and an increase in dividend payments during 2016 compared to 2015. These decreases 
were partially offset by an increase in long-term debt issuances, a capital contribution from Investment Holdings, 
a decrease in the repurchase and retirement of common stock, a decrease in payments to retire long-term debt 
and higher net proceeds of associated with refundable deposits for transmission network upgrades. See Note 9
to the consolidated financial statements for detail on the issuances and retirements of debt.

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Table of Contents

Contractual Obligations

The following table details our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2017:

(In millions)

Debt:

Due within

Due in

Due in

Total

1 Year

Years 2-3

Years 4-5

Due after

5 years

— $

200 $

500 $

2,050

ITC Holdings Senior Notes

$

ITCTransmission First Mortgage Bonds

ITCTransmission revolving credit agreement

ITCTransmission term loan credit agreement

METC Senior Secured Notes

METC revolving credit agreement

ITC Midwest First Mortgage Bonds

ITC Midwest revolving credit agreement

ITC Great Plains First Mortgage Bonds

ITC Great Plains revolving credit agreement

2,750 $
585
36

50

475
48

910
88

150
49

Interest payments:

ITC Holdings Senior Notes

ITCTransmission First Mortgage Bonds

METC Senior Secured Notes

ITC Midwest First Mortgage Bonds

ITC Great Plains First Mortgage Bonds

Operating leases

Purchase obligations

Regulatory liabilities — revenue deferrals,

including accrued interest

METC Easement Agreement

Other

Total obligations

564

528

948

167
4

72

64

329
1
8,977 $

$

100

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

50

—

—

35

—

—

—

—

36

—

—

48

—

88

—

49

25

20

41

6

1

71

38

10

1

47

40

83

12

1

1

26

20

—

47

40

77

12

1

—

—

20

—

485

—

—

475

—

875

—

150

—

654

445

428

747

137

1

—

—

279

—

1,159

108

205

192

421 $

720 $

1,110 $

6,726

Interest payments included above relate only to our fixed-rate long-term debt outstanding at December 31, 
2017. We also expect to pay interest and commitment fees under our variable-rate revolving and term loan credit 
agreements that have not been included above due to varying amounts of borrowings and interest rates under the 
facilities. In 2017, we paid $9 million of interest and commitment fees under our revolving and term loan credit 
agreements.

Operating  leases  include  leases  for  office  space,  equipment  and  storage  facilities.  Purchase  obligations 
represent  commitments  primarily  for  materials,  services  and  equipment  that  had  not  been  received  as  of 
December 31, 2017, primarily for construction and maintenance projects for which we have an executed contract. 
The majority of the items relate to materials and equipment that have long production lead times. See Note 17 to 
the consolidated financial statement for more information on our operating leases and purchases obligations.

The revenue deferrals, including accrued interest, in the table above represent the over-recovery of revenues 
resulting from differences between the amounts billed to customers and actual revenue requirement at each of 
our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, as described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements. These 
amounts will offset future revenue requirement for purposes of calculating our formula rates as part of the true-up 
mechanism in our rate construct.

The  Easement Agreement  provides  METC  with  an  easement  for  transmission  purposes  and  rights-of-way, 
leasehold interests, fee interests and licenses associated with the land over which the transmission lines cross. 
The cost for use of the rights-of-way is $10 million per year. The term of the Easement Agreement runs through 
December  31,  2050  and  is  subject  to  10  automatic  50-year  renewals  thereafter  unless  METC  gives  notice  of 

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nonrenewal of at least one year in advance. Payments to Consumers Energy under the Easement Agreement are 
charged to operation and maintenance expense.

The contractual obligations table above excludes certain items, including the estimated refund related to the 
Second Complaint, contingent liabilities and other long-term liabilities, due to uncertainty on the final outcome in 
addition to the timing and amount of future cash flows necessary to settle these obligations. The amount of cash 
flows to be paid for pension and other postretirement obligations and settle regulatory liabilities related to asset 
removal costs and liabilities to refund deposits from generators for transmission network upgrades, which are 
recorded in other current and long term liabilities, are not known with certainty. As a result, cash obligations for 
these items are excluded from the contractual obligations table above.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our  consolidated  financial  statements  are  prepared  in  accordance  with  GAAP.  The  preparation  of  these 
consolidated financial statements requires the application of appropriate technical accounting rules and guidance, 
as well as the use of estimates. The application of these policies requires judgments regarding future events.

These  estimates  and  judgments,  in  and  of  themselves,  could  materially  impact  the  consolidated  financial 
statements and disclosures based on varying assumptions, as future events rarely develop exactly as forecasted, 
and even the best estimates routinely require adjustment.

The following is a list of accounting policies that are most significant to the portrayal of our financial condition 

and results of operations and/or that require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments.

Regulation

Our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  are  subject  to  rate  regulation  by  the  FERC. As  a  result,  we  apply 
accounting principles in accordance with the standards set forth by the FASB for accounting for the effects of 
certain  types  of  regulation.  Use  of  this  accounting  guidance  results  in  differences  in  the  application  of  GAAP 
between regulated and non-regulated businesses and requires the recording of regulatory assets and liabilities 
for certain transactions that would have been treated as expense or revenue in non-regulated businesses. As 
described in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements, we had regulatory assets and liabilities of $215 million 
and  $802  million,  respectively,  as  of  December 31,  2017.  Future  changes  in  the  regulatory  and  competitive 
environments could result in discontinuing the application of the accounting standards for the effects of certain 
types of regulations. If we were to discontinue the application of this guidance on the operations of our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries, we may be required to record losses relating to certain regulatory assets or gains relating 
to certain regulatory liabilities. We also may be required to record losses of $41 million relating to intangible assets 
at December 31, 2017 that are described in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements.

We believe that currently available facts support the continued applicability of the standards for accounting for 
the effects of certain types of regulation and that all regulatory assets and liabilities are recoverable or refundable 
under our current rate environment.

Revenue Recognition under Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism

Our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  recover  expenses  and  earn  a  return  on  and  recover  investments  in 
property, plant and equipment on a current basis, under their forward-looking cost-based formula rates with a true-
up mechanism.

Under their formula rates, our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries use forecasted expenses, property, plant and 
equipment, point-to-point revenues and other items for the upcoming calendar year to establish their projected 
revenue requirement and for the MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, their component of the billed network 
rates for service on their systems from January 1 to December 31 of that year. The cost-based formula rates include 
a true-up mechanism, whereby our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries compare their actual revenue requirements 
to their billed revenues for each year in order to subsequently collect or refund any over-recovery or under-recovery 
of revenues, as appropriate. The over- or under-collection typically results from differences between the projected 
revenue  requirement  used  as  the  basis  for  billing  and  actual  revenue  requirement  at  each  of  our  Regulated 
Operating  Subsidiaries,  or  from  differences  between  actual  and  projected  monthly  peak  loads  at  our  MISO 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries.

The true-up mechanism under our formula rates meet the GAAP requirements for accounting for rate-regulated 
utilities and the effects of certain alternative revenue programs. Accordingly, revenue is recognized during each 

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reporting  period  based  on  actual  revenue  requirements  calculated  using  the  cost-based  formula  rates.  Our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries accrue or defer revenues to the extent that their actual revenue requirement for 
the reporting period is higher or lower, respectively, than the amounts billed relating to that reporting period. The 
true-up amount is automatically reflected in customer bills within two years under the provisions of the formula 
rates. See Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements for the regulatory assets and liabilities recorded at our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ as a result of the formula rate revenue accruals and deferrals.

Valuation of Goodwill

We have goodwill resulting from our acquisitions of ITCTransmission and METC and ITC Midwest’s acquisition 
of the IP&L transmission assets. We perform an impairment test annually at the reporting unit level or whenever 
events  or  circumstances  indicate  that  the  value  of  goodwill  may  be  impaired.  Our  reporting  units  are 
ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest as each entity represents an individual operating segment to which 
goodwill has been assigned. In order to perform an impairment assessment, we have the option of performing a 
qualitative assessment to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination 
that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount. In performing 
a qualitative assessment, we assess macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, 
overall  financial  performance,  entity-specific  considerations,  and  industry-specific  considerations  such  as  our 
regulatory environment and rate structure. If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, we determine 
it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, then performing 
a quantitative impairment analysis is unnecessary. 

If  we  determine  a  quantitative  analysis  is  necessary  or  we  elect  to  bypass  the  qualitative  assessment,  we 
compare the fair value of each reporting unit with their respective carrying value. We determine fair value using 
valuation techniques based on discounted future cash flows under various scenarios. We also consider estimates 
of market-based valuation multiples for companies within the peer group of our reporting units. The market-based 
multiples  involve  judgment  regarding  the  appropriate  peer  group  and  the  appropriate  multiple  to  apply  in  the 
valuation and the cash flow estimates involve judgments based on a broad range of assumptions, information and 
historical  results.  To  the  extent  estimated  market-based  valuation  multiples  and/or  discounted  cash  flows  are 
revised downward, we may be required to write down all or a portion of goodwill, which would adversely impact 
earnings. 

As  of  December 31,  2017  and  2016,  consolidated  goodwill  totaled  $950  million.  We  completed  our  annual 
goodwill impairment test for our reporting units as of October 1, 2017 using a qualitative assessment and determined 
that no impairment exists. There were no events subsequent to October 1, 2017, including the enactment of the 
TCJA, that indicated impairment of our goodwill. We do not believe there is a material risk of our goodwill being 
impaired in the near term for any of our reporting units.

Contingent Obligations

We are subject to a number of federal and state laws and regulations, as well as other factors and conditions 
that potentially subject us to environmental, litigation, income tax and other contingencies. Additionally, we have 
other contingent obligations that may be required to be paid to developers based on achieving certain milestones 
relating to development initiatives. We periodically evaluate our exposure to such contingencies and record liabilities 
for  those  matters  where  a  loss  is  considered  probable  and  reasonably  estimable.  Our  liabilities  exclude  any 
estimates for legal costs not yet incurred associated with handling these matters, which could be material. The 
adequacy  of  liabilities  recorded  can  be  significantly  affected  by  external  events  or  conditions  that  can  be 
unpredictable;  thus,  the  ultimate  outcome  of  such  matters  could  materially  affect  our  consolidated  financial 
statements. These events or conditions include, without limitation, the following:

•  Changes in existing state or federal regulation by governmental authorities having jurisdiction over air quality, 
water quality, control of toxic substances, hazardous and solid wastes and other environmental matters.

•  Changes in existing federal income tax laws or IRS regulations.

•  Identification and evaluation of lawsuits or complaints in which we may be or have been named as a defendant.

•  Resolution or progression of existing matters through the legislative process,  the courts, the FERC, the 

NERC, the IRS or the Environmental Protection Agency. 

•  Completion of certain milestones relating to development initiatives.

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Refer to Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements for discussion on contingencies, including the ROE 

complaints.

Pension and Postretirement Costs

We sponsor certain retirement benefits for our employees, which include retirement pension plans and certain 
postretirement health care, dental and life insurance benefits. Our periodic costs and obligations associated with 
these plans are developed from actuarial valuations derived from a number of assumptions, including rates of 
return on plan assets, the discount rates, the rate of increase in health care costs, the amount and timing of plan 
sponsor contributions and demographic factors such as retirements, mortality and turnover, among others. We 
evaluate these assumptions annually and update them periodically to reflect our actual experience. Three critical 
assumptions in determining our periodic costs and obligations are discount rate, expected long-term return on plan 
assets and the rate of increases in health care costs. The discount rate represents the market rate for synthesized 
AA-rated zero-coupon bonds with durations corresponding to the expected durations of the benefit obligations and 
is used to calculate the present value of the expected future cash flows for benefit obligations under our plans. In 
determining our long-term rate of return on plan assets, we consider the current and expected asset allocations, 
as well as historical and expected long-term rates of return on those types of asset classes. Assumed health care 
cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the health care plans as described in Note 
11 to the consolidated financial statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our 

financial condition.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 7A.   QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Commodity Price Risk

We have commodity price risk at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries arising from market price fluctuations 
for materials such as copper, aluminum, steel, oil and gas and other goods used in construction and maintenance 
activities. Higher costs of these materials are passed on to us by the contractors for these activities. These items 
affect only cash flows, as the amounts are included as components of net revenue requirement and any higher 
costs are included in rates under their cost-based formula rates.

Interest Rate Risk

Fixed Rate Debt

Based on the borrowing rates obtained from third party lending institutions currently available for bank loans 
with similar terms and average maturities from active markets, the fair value of our consolidated long-term debt 
and debt maturing within one year, excluding revolving and term loan credit agreements and commercial paper, 
was  $5,192  million  at  December 31,  2017. The  total  book  value  of  our  consolidated  long-term  debt  and  debt 
maturing within one year, net of discount and deferred financing fees and excluding revolving and term loan credit 
agreements  and  commercial  paper,  was  $4,830  million  at  December 31,  2017.  We  performed  an  analysis 
calculating the impact of changes in interest rates on the fair value of long-term debt and debt maturing within one 
year, excluding revolving credit agreements and commercial paper, at December 31, 2017. An increase in interest 
rates of 10% (from 5.0% to 5.5%, for example) at December 31, 2017 would decrease the fair value of debt by 
$198 million, and a decrease in interest rates of 10% at December 31, 2017 would increase the fair value of debt 
by $212 million at that date.

Revolving and Term Loan Credit Agreements 

At December 31, 2017, we had a consolidated total of $271 million outstanding under our revolving and term 
loan credit agreements, which are variable rate loans. The fair value of these loans approximates book value based 
on the borrowing rates currently available for variable rate loans obtained from third party lending institutions. A 
10% increase or decrease in borrowing rates under the revolving and term loan credit agreements compared to 
the weighted average rates in effect at December 31, 2017 would increase or decrease interest expense by $1 
million, respectively, for an annual period with a constant borrowing level of $271 million.

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Commercial Paper

ITC Holdings has an ongoing commercial paper program for the issuance and sale of unsecured commercial 

paper. At December 31, 2017, ITC Holdings did not have any commercial paper issued or outstanding. 

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We use derivative financial instruments, including interest rate swap contracts, to manage our exposure to 
fluctuations in interest rates. The use of these financial instruments mitigates exposure to these risks and the 
variability of our operating results. We are not a party to leveraged derivatives and do not enter into derivative 
financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

In November 2017, we terminated $375 million of 10-year interest rate swap contracts and $375 million of 5-
year interest rate swap contracts that managed the interest rate risk associated with the unsecured Notes issued 
by ITC Holdings described in Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2017, ITC Holdings 
did not have any interest rate swaps outstanding.

Credit Risk

Our  credit  risk  is  primarily  with  DTE  Electric,  Consumers  Energy  and  IP&L,  which  were  responsible  for 
approximately 22.1%, 21.3% and 25.7%, respectively, or $280 million, $269 million and $325 million, respectively, 
of our consolidated billed revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017. These percentages and amounts of 
total billed revenues of DTE Electric, Consumers Energy and IP&L include the collection of 2015 revenue accruals 
and deferrals and exclude any amounts for the 2017 revenue accruals and deferrals that were included in our 
2017  operating  revenues,  but  will  not  be  billed  to  our  customers  until  2019.  Refer  to  “Item  7  Management’s 
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-
Up Mechanism” for a discussion on the difference between billed revenues and operating revenues. Under DTE 
Electric’s and Consumers Energy’s current rate structure, DTE Electric and Consumers Energy include in their 
retail rates the actual cost of transmission services provided by ITCTransmission and METC, respectively, in their 
billings to their customers, effectively passing through to end-use consumers the total cost of transmission service. 
IP&L currently includes in their retail rates an allowance for transmission services provided by ITC Midwest in their 
billings to their customers. However, any financial difficulties experienced by DTE Electric, Consumers Energy or 
IP&L  may  affect  their  ability  to  make  payments  for  transmission  service  to  ITCTransmission,  METC,  and  ITC 
Midwest, which could negatively impact our business. MISO, as our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ billing 
agent, bills DTE Electric, Consumers Energy, IP&L and other customers on a monthly basis and collects fees for 
the use of the MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ transmission systems. SPP is the billing agent for ITC 
Great Plains and bills transmission customers for the use of ITC Great Plains transmission systems. MISO and 
SPP  have  implemented  strict  credit  policies  for  its  members’  customers,  which  include  customers  using  our 
transmission systems. Specifically, MISO and SPP require a letter of credit or cash deposit equal to the credit 
exposure, which is determined by a credit scoring model and other factors, from any customer using a member’s 
transmission system.

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ITEM 8.   FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

The following financial statements and schedules are included herein:

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of December 31, 2017 and 2016

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and
2015

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Schedule I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

Page

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

135

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MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. 
Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance as to the 
reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted 
accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations. 
Therefore, internal control over financial reporting determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance 
with respect to financial statement preparation and may not prevent or detect all misstatements.

Under management’s supervision, an evaluation of the design and effectiveness of our internal control over 
financial reporting was conducted based on the criteria set forth in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013)
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Our assessment 
included extensive documenting, evaluating and testing of the design and operating effectiveness of our internal 
control over financial reporting. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over 
financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2017.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholder of
ITC Holdings Corp.:
Novi, Michigan

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We  have  audited  the  accompanying  consolidated  statements  of  financial  position  of  ITC  Holdings  Corp.  and 
subsidiaries  (the  "Company")  as  of  December 31,  2017  and  2016,  the  related  consolidated  statements  of 
operations, comprehensive income, changes in stockholder’s equity, and cash flows for each of the three years 
in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes and the schedule listed in the Index at Item 15 
(collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all 
material aspects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of its 
operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, in conformity 
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express 
an opinion on the financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with 
respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations 
of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with the auditing 
standards Generally Accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform 
the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, 
whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of 
its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of 
internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of 
the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, 
whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included 
examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits 
also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well 
as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable 
basis for our opinion.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Detroit, Michigan
February 14, 2018

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2001.

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ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

(In millions, except share data)
ASSETS

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Accounts receivable

Inventory

Regulatory assets

Income tax receivable

Prepaid and other current assets

Total current assets

December 31,

2017

2016

$

66

$

119

29

18

15

13

260

8

108

29

53

17

18

233

Property, plant and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $1,675 and 

$1,575, respectively)

7,309

6,698

Other assets

Goodwill

Intangible assets (net of accumulated amortization of $35 and $32, respectively)

Regulatory assets

Other

Total other assets

TOTAL ASSETS

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

Accrued compensation

Accrued interest

Accrued taxes

Regulatory liabilities

Refundable deposits from generators for transmission network upgrades

Debt maturing within one year

Other

Total current liabilities

Accrued pension and postretirement liabilities

Deferred income taxes

Regulatory liabilities

Refundable deposits from generators for transmission network upgrades

Other

Long-term debt

Commitments and contingent liabilities (Notes 5 and 17)

STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

Common stock, without par value, 235,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2017, and

224,203,112 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Retained earnings

Accumulated other comprehensive income

Total stockholder’s equity

$

$

950

41

197

66

1,254

8,823

$

$

97

28

60

57

183

3

100

34

562

74

601

619

29

17

950

43

247

52

1,292

8,223

100

14

54

49

129

17

235

35

633

68

964

249

27

26

5,001

4,355

892

1,026

2

1,920

892

1,007

2

1,901

8,223

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

$

8,823

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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 ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In millions)
OPERATING REVENUES

OPERATING EXPENSES

Operation and maintenance
General and administrative
Depreciation and amortization
Taxes other than income taxes
Other operating income and expense — net

Total operating expenses

OPERATING INCOME

OTHER EXPENSES (INCOME)

Interest expense — net
Allowance for equity funds used during construction
Other income
Other expense

Total other expenses (income)
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES
INCOME TAX PROVISION
NET INCOME

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

1,211 $

1,125 $

1,045

110
123
169
103
(2)
503
708

224
(33)
(3)
5
193
515
196
319 $

114
239
158
93
(1)
603
522

211
(35)
(2)
5
179
343
97

246 $

113
145
145
82
(1)
484
561

204
(28)
(2)
3
177
384
142
242

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In millions)
NET INCOME

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

Derivative instruments, net of tax (Note 13)
TOTAL OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS, 
   NET OF TAX (NOTE 13)
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

2017

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

319 $

246 $

242

—

(2)

—
319 $

(2)
244 $

(1)

(1)
241

$

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

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ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN 
STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

Common Stock

Retained
Earnings

Comprehensive Stockholder’s
Income (Loss)

Equity

Accumulated
Other

Total

(In millions)
BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2014
Net income

Repurchase and retirement of common stock

Dividends declared on common stock

Stock option exercises

Share-based compensation, net of forfeitures

Tax benefit for excess tax deductions of share-based compensation

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax (Note 13)

Other

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2015
Net income

Repurchase and retirement of common stock

Dividends declared on common stock

Dividends to ITC Investment Holdings Inc.

Stock option exercises

Share-based compensation, net of forfeitures

Share-based compensation associated with the Merger (Note 14)

Settlement of share-based awards associated with the Merger

(Note 16)

Contribution from ITC Investment Holdings Inc. for the settlement of

share-based awards associated with the Merger (Note 16)

Tax benefit for excess tax deductions of share-based compensation

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax (Note 13)

Other

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2016
Net income

Dividends to ITC Investment Holdings Inc.

BALANCE, DECEMBER 31, 2017

$

924

$

—
(137)

—

11

18

12

—

1
829

$

—

(9)

—

—

11

18

41

(137)

137

—

—

2
892

—

—

$

892

$

$

$

$

$

$

741

242

—

(108)

—

—

—

—

1
876

246

—

(90)
(33)
—

—

—

(1)

—

9

—

—
1,007

319
(300)
1,026

$

$

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

5

—

—

—

—

—

—

(1)
—

4

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

(2)
—

2

—

—

2

$

1,670

242
(137)

(108)

11

18

12

(1)
2

1,709

246

(9)

(90)
(33)
11

18

41

(138)

137

9

(2)
2

1,901

319
(300)
1,920

$

$

$

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ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In millions)
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization expense

Recognition, refund and collection of revenue accruals and deferrals — including accrued interest

Deferred income tax expense

Allowance for equity funds used during construction

Expense for the accelerated vesting of share-based awards associated with the Merger

Other

Changes in assets and liabilities, exclusive of changes shown separately:

Accounts receivable
Current regulatory assets
Income tax receivable
Other current assets
Accounts payable
Accrued compensation
Accrued taxes
Other current liabilities
Estimated refund related to return on equity complaints
Other non-current assets and liabilities, net

Net cash provided by operating activities

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment
Contributions in aid of construction
Other

Net cash used in investing activities

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Issuance of long-term debt, net of discount
Borrowings under revolving credit agreements
Borrowings under term loan credit agreements
Net issuance (repayment) of commercial paper, net of discount
Retirement of long-term debt — including extinguishment of debt costs
Repayments of revolving credit agreements
Repayments of term loan credit agreements
Issuance of common stock
Dividends on common and restricted stock
Dividends to ITC Investment Holdings Inc.
Refundable deposits from generators for transmission network upgrades
Repayment of refundable deposits from generators for transmission network upgrades

Repurchase and retirement of common stock
Settlement of share-based awards associated with the Merger — including cost of accelerated

share-based awards

Contribution from ITC Investment Holdings Inc. for the settlement of share-based awards

associated with the Merger

Other

Net cash provided by financing activities

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Beginning of period

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — End of period

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

53

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

319

$

246

$

242

169

34
195
(33)
—

11

(17)
29
—
—
(3)
14
5
2
(113)
(4)
608

(755)
21
(10)
(744)

1,199
1,065
250
(148)
(477)
(1,178)
(200)
—
—
(300)
16
(28)
—

—

—

(5)
194

58

8

66

$

$

158

(2)
219
(35)
41

30

(2)
(29)
(17)
(4)
5
(11)
4
3
90
(9)
687

(750)
11
4
(735)

599
1,042
—
48
(139)
(1,028)
(361)
13
(90)
(33)
33
(10)
(9)

(137)

137

(23)
42

(6)

14
8

$

145
(54)
77
(28)
—

22

(1)
—
—
2
(7)
—
15
9
120
14
556

(701)
17
(16)
(700)

225
2,832
200
95
(175)
(2,825)
—
14
(108)
—
13
(12)
(137)

—

—

8
130
(14)
28

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1.  GENERAL

ITC HOLDINGS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ITC Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries are engaged in the transmission of electricity in the United States. 
Through our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, we own and operate high-voltage systems in Michigan’s Lower 
Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that transmit electricity from 
generating stations to local distribution facilities connected to our systems. Our business strategy is to own, operate, 
maintain  and  invest  in  transmission  infrastructure  in  order  to  enhance  system  integrity  and  reliability,  reduce 
transmission constraints and support new generating resources to interconnect to our transmission systems. We 
also are pursuing transmission development projects not within our existing systems, which are also intended to 
improve overall grid reliability, reduce transmission constraints and facilitate interconnections of new generating 
resources, as well as enhance competitive wholesale electricity markets.

Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are independent electric transmission utilities, with rates regulated by 
the FERC and established on a cost-of-service model. ITCTransmission’s service area is located in southeastern 
Michigan,  while  METC’s  service  area  covers  approximately  two-thirds  of  Michigan’s  Lower  Peninsula  and  is 
contiguous  with  ITCTransmission’s  service  area.  ITC  Midwest’s  service  area  is  located  in  portions  of  Iowa, 
Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri and ITC Great Plains currently owns assets located in Kansas and Oklahoma. 
MISO  bills  and  collects  revenues  from  the  MISO  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  customers.  SPP  bills  and 
collects revenue from ITC Great Plains customers. ITC Interconnection currently owns assets in Michigan and 
earns revenues based on its facilities reimbursement agreement with a merchant generating company.

2.  THE MERGER 

On  February 9,  2016,  Fortis,  FortisUS,  Merger  Sub  and  ITC  Holdings  entered  into  the  Merger Agreement, 
pursuant to which Merger Sub would merge with and into ITC Holdings with ITC Holdings continuing as a surviving 
corporation and becoming a majority owned indirect subsidiary of Fortis. On April 20, 2016, FortisUS assigned its 
rights, interest, duties and obligations under the Merger Agreement to Investment Holdings, a subsidiary of FortisUS 
formed to complete the Merger. On the same date, Fortis reached a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of GIC 
for that subsidiary to acquire an indirect 19.9% equity interest in ITC Holdings and debt securities to be issued by 
Investment  Holdings  for  aggregate  consideration  of  $1.228  billion  in  cash  upon  completion  of  the  Merger.  On 
October 14, 2016, ITC Holdings and Fortis completed the Merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement consistent 
with the terms described above. On the same date, the common shares of ITC Holdings were delisted from the 
NYSE and the common shares of Fortis were listed and began trading on the NYSE. Fortis continues to have its 
shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In the Merger, ITC Holdings shareholders received $22.57 in cash and 0.7520 Fortis common shares for each 
share of common stock of ITC Holdings (the “Merger consideration”). Upon completion of the Merger, ITC Holdings 
shareholders  held  approximately  27%  of  the  common  shares  of  Fortis.  The  per  share  amount  of  the  Merger 
consideration determined in accordance with the Merger Agreement and used for purposes of settling the share-
based awards was $45.72. We elected not to apply pushdown accounting to ITC Holdings or its subsidiaries in 
connection with the Merger. Under the Merger Agreement, outstanding share-based awards vested as described 
in Note 14.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, we expensed approximately $5 million related to the Merger for internal 
labor and associated costs. For the year ended December 31, 2016, expenses related to the Merger for internal 
labor and associated costs were approximately $58 million and external legal, advisory and financial services fees 
were approximately $55 million. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the internal labor and associated costs 
included approximately $41 million of expense that was recognized due to the accelerated vesting of the share-
based awards described in Note 14. The majority of these Merger-related costs were recorded within general and 
administrative expenses. The external and internal costs related to the Merger were recorded at ITC Holdings and 
have not been included as components of revenue requirement at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries.

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3.  RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Recently Issued Pronouncements

We have considered all new accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB and concluded the following 
accounting guidance, which has not yet been adopted by us, may have a material impact on our consolidated 
financial statements. 

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In May 2014, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring entities to apply a new model for recognizing 
revenue from contracts with customers. Subsequent updates have been issued primarily to provide implementation 
guidance  related  to  the  initial  guidance  issued  in  May  2014.  The  guidance  supersedes  the  current  revenue 
recognition guidance and requires entities to evaluate their revenue recognition arrangements using a five-step 
model to determine when a customer obtains control of a transferred good or service.

Substantially all of our revenue from contracts with customers is generated from providing transmission services 
to customers based on tariff rates, as approved by the FERC, and is considered to be in the scope of the new 
guidance. The true-up mechanisms under our formula rates are considered alternative revenue programs of rate-
regulated  utilities  and  are  outside  the  scope  of  the  new  guidance,  as  they  are  not  considered  contracts  with 
customers.  Based  on  our  assessment  of  the  new  guidance,  we  do  not  expect  the  implementation  of  the  new 
standard will have a material impact on the amount and timing of revenue recognition. However, we expect to 
present revenues arising from alternative revenue programs separately from revenues in the scope of the new 
guidance  in  the  statements  of  operations.  In  addition,  we  expect  to  add  footnote  disclosures  to  address  the 
requirements in the guidance to provide more information regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of 
revenue and cash flows as well as changes in accounts receivable from customers. We are in the process of 
drafting these disclosures as we continue to work towards implementation of the guidance.

The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and may be adopted 
using either (a) a full retrospective method, whereby comparative periods would be restated to present the impact 
of  the  new  standard,  with  the  cumulative  effect  of  applying  the  standard  recognized  as  of  the  earliest  period 
presented, or (b) a modified retrospective method, under which comparative periods would not be restated and 
the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the date of initial adoption, January 1, 2018. 
We expect to adopt the guidance using the modified retrospective approach. We have elected not to early adopt.

Recognition and Measurement of Financial Instruments

In January 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance amending the classification and measurement of 
financial instruments. The guidance requires entities to carry most investments in equity securities at fair value 
and recognize changes in fair value in net income, unless the investment results in consolidation or equity method 
accounting. Additionally, the new guidance amends certain disclosure requirements associated with the fair value 
of financial instruments. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including 
interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The guidance is required to be adopted using 
a modified retrospective approach, with limited exceptions. Upon adoption of the standard, we expect certain of 
our  investments  currently  accounted  for  as  available-for-sale  with  changes  in  fair  value  recorded  in  other 
comprehensive income will be required to be accounted for with changes in fair value in net income; however, we 
do not expect this change in accounting will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. We 
are continuing to assess the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements, including our 
disclosures.

Accounting for Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on accounting for leases, which impacts accounting 
by  lessees  as  well  as  lessors.  The  new  guidance  creates  a  dual  approach  for  lessee  accounting,  with  lease 
classification determined in accordance with principles in existing lease guidance. Income statement presentation 
differs depending on the lease classification; however, both types of leases result in lessees recognizing a right-
of-use asset and a lease liability, with limited exceptions. Under existing accounting guidance, operating leases 
are not recorded on the balance sheet of lessees. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after 

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December  15,  2018,  including  interim  periods  within  those  fiscal  years  and  will  be  applied  using  a  modified 
retrospective approach, with possible optional practical expedients. Early adoption is permitted; however, we have 
elected not to early adopt. We are currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated 
financial statements, including our disclosures.

Presentation of Restricted Cash in the Statement of Cash Flows

In November 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance on the presentation of restricted cash and restricted 
cash equivalents within the statement of cash flows. The new guidance specifies that restricted cash and restricted 
cash equivalents shall be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and 
end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The guidance does not, however, provide a 
definition of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after 
December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted; however, we 
have elected not to early adopt. The guidance is required to be adopted using a retrospective approach to each 
period presented. We are currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial 
statements, including our disclosures.

Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost

In  March  2017,  the  FASB  issued  guidance  that  requires  entities  to  disaggregate  the  current  service  cost 
component of net benefit cost (i.e., net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost) and 
present it in the same income statement line item as other current compensation costs for employees. Entities are 
required to present the other components of net benefit cost elsewhere in the income statement and outside income 
from operations. The line or lines containing such other components must be appropriately described on the face 
of  the  income  statement;  otherwise,  disclosure  of  the  location  of  such  other  costs  in  the  income  statement  is 
required. In addition, the new guidance allows capitalization of only the service cost component of net benefit cost. 
The new guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The changes to the presentation 
of net benefit cost in the income statement are required to be adopted retrospectively (with a possible practical 
expedient)  while  the  changes  regarding  cost  capitalization  are  required  to  be  adopted  prospectively.  We  are 
currently assessing the impact this guidance will have on our financial statements, including our disclosures. 

Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities

In August 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to make targeted improvements to hedge accounting 
to better align with an entity’s risk management objectives and to reduce the complexity of hedge accounting. 
Among other changes, the new guidance simplifies hedge accounting by (a) allowing more time for entities to 
complete initial quantitative hedge effectiveness assessments, (b) enabling entities to elect to perform subsequent 
effectiveness assessments qualitatively, (c) eliminating the concept of recognizing periodic hedge ineffectiveness 
for cash flow hedges, (d) requiring the change in fair value of a derivative to be recorded in the same income 
statement line item as the earnings effect of the hedged item, and (e) permitting additional hedge strategies to 
qualify for hedge accounting. In addition, the guidance modifies existing disclosure requirements and adds new 
disclosure requirements, including tabular disclosures about both (a) the total amounts reported in the income 
statement for each income and expense line item that is affected by hedging and (b) the effects of hedging on 
those line items. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim 
periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The guidance is required to be adopted on a modified 
retrospective basis to existing hedging relationships and on a prospective basis for the presentation and disclosure 
requirements. We do not expect a significant impact upon adoption, but we would add the additional required 
disclosures to the extent we have outstanding hedges upon adoption. We are considering early adoption in 2018.

4.  SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A  summary  of  the  major  accounting  policies  followed  in  the  preparation  of  the  accompanying  consolidated 

financial statements, which conform to GAAP, is presented below:

Principles of Consolidation — ITC Holdings consolidates its majority owned subsidiaries. We eliminate 

all intercompany balances and transactions.

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Use of Estimates — The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires us to use estimates 
and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the 
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from our estimates.

Regulation — Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the FERC, 
which issues orders pertaining to rates, recovery of certain costs, including the costs of transmission assets 
and  regulatory  assets,  conditions  of  service,  accounting,  financing  authorization  and  operating-related 
matters. The utility operations of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries meet the accounting standards set 
forth  by  the  FASB  for  the  accounting  effects  of  certain  types  of  regulation. These  accounting  standards 
recognize the cost based rate setting process, which results in differences in the application of GAAP between 
regulated and non-regulated businesses. These standards require the recording of regulatory assets and 
liabilities for certain transactions that would have been recorded as revenue and expense in non-regulated 
businesses. Regulatory assets represent costs that will be included as a component of future tariff rates and 
regulatory liabilities represent amounts provided in the current tariff rates that are intended to recover costs 
expected to be incurred in the future or amounts to be refunded to customers.

Cash and Cash Equivalents — We consider all unrestricted highly-liquid temporary investments with an 

original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows — The following table presents certain supplementary cash 

flows information for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:

(In millions)
Supplementary cash flows information:

Interest paid (net of interest capitalized) (a)
Income taxes paid (b)

Supplementary non-cash investing and financing activities:

Additions to property, plant and equipment and other long-lived

assets (c)

Allowance for equity funds used during construction

____________________________

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2017

2015

$

$

213 $
—

190 $

23

87 $
33

93 $
35

191
56

110
28

(a)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2017 includes $9 million of interest paid associated with the 

ROE complaints. See Note 17 for information on the ROE complaints.

(b)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2016 does not include the income tax refund of $128 million
received from the IRS in August 2016, which resulted from the election of bonus depreciation as described 
in Note 5.

(c)  Amounts consist of current and accrued liabilities for construction, labor, materials and other costs that 
have not been included in investing activities. These amounts have not been paid for as of December 31, 
2017, 2016 or 2015, respectively, but have been or will be included as a cash outflow from investing 
activities for expenditures for property, plant and equipment when paid.

Excess tax benefits are recognized as an adjustment to income tax expense in the statement of operations. 
Cash retained as a result of those excess tax benefits is presented in the statement of cash flows as cash 
inflows from operating activities.

 Accounts Receivable — We recognize losses for uncollectible accounts based on specific identification 

of any such items. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we did not have an accounts receivable reserve.

Inventories — Materials and supplies inventories are valued at average cost. Additionally, the costs of 

warehousing activities are recorded here and included in the cost of materials when requisitioned.

Property,  Plant  and  Equipment  —  Depreciation  and  amortization  expense  on  property,  plant  and 

equipment was $160 million, $149 million and $136 million for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Property, plant and equipment in service at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries is stated at its original 
cost when first devoted to utility service. The gross book value of assets retired less salvage proceeds is 
charged to accumulated depreciation. The provision for depreciation of transmission assets is a significant 

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component  of  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  cost  of  service  under  FERC-approved  rates. 
Depreciation is computed over the estimated useful lives of the assets using the straight-line method for 
financial reporting purposes and accelerated methods for income tax reporting purposes. The composite 
depreciation  rate  for  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  included  in  our  consolidated  statements  of 
operations was 2.0%, 2.0% and 2.1% for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The composite depreciation 
rates include depreciation primarily on transmission station equipment, towers, poles and overhead and 
underground lines that have a useful life ranging from 45 to 60 years. The portion of depreciation expense 
related to asset removal costs is added to regulatory liabilities or deducted from regulatory assets and removal 
costs incurred are deducted from regulatory liabilities or added to regulatory assets. Certain of our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries capitalize to property, plant and equipment AFUDC in accordance with the FERC 
regulations. AFUDC represents the composite cost incurred to fund the construction of assets, including 
interest expense and a return on equity capital devoted to construction of assets. The interest component 
of AFUDC of $9 million, $9 million and $7 million was a reduction to interest expense for 2017, 2016 and 
2015, respectively.

For  acquisitions  of  property,  plant  and  equipment  greater  than  the  net  book  value  (other  than  asset 
acquisitions accounted for under the purchase method of accounting that result in goodwill), the acquisition 
premium is recorded to property, plant and equipment and amortized over the estimated remaining useful 
lives of the assets using the straight-line method for financial reporting purposes and accelerated methods 
for income tax reporting purposes.

Property, plant and equipment includes capital equipment inventory stated at original cost consisting of 

items that are expected to be used exclusively for capital projects.

Property, plant and equipment at ITC Holdings and non-regulated subsidiaries is stated at its acquired 
cost. Proceeds from salvage less the net book value of the disposed assets is recognized as a gain or loss 
on  disposal.  Depreciation  is  computed  based  on  the  acquired  cost  less  expected  residual  value  and  is 
recognized over the estimated useful lives of the assets on a straight-line method for financial reporting 
purposes and accelerated methods for income tax reporting purposes.

Generator Interconnection Projects and Contributions in Aid of Construction — Certain capital investment 
at  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  relates  to  investments  made  under  generator  interconnection 
agreements.  The  generator  interconnection  agreements  typically  consist  of  both  transmission  network 
upgrades, which are a category of upgrades deemed by the FERC to benefit the transmission system as a 
whole, as well as direct connection facilities, which are necessary to interconnect the generating facility to 
the transmission system and primarily benefit the generating facility. As a result, generator interconnection 
agreements typically require the generator to make a contribution in aid of construction to our Regulatory 
Operating Subsidiaries to cover the cost of certain investments made by us as part of the agreement.

Our investments in transmission facilities are recorded to property, plant and equipment, and are recorded 
net of any contribution in aid of construction. We also receive refundable deposits from the generator for 
certain investment in network upgrade facilities in advance of construction, which are recorded to current or 
non-current liabilities depending on the expected refund date.

Available-For-Sale  Securities  —  We  have  certain  investments  in  debt  and  equity  securities  that  are 
classified  as  available-for-sale  securities.  These  investments  currently  fund  our  two  supplemental 
nonqualified, noncontributory, retirement benefit plans for selected management employees as described 
in Note 11. Unrealized gains recorded for the investments are reported, net of tax, as a component of other 
comprehensive  income  (loss).  Any  unrealized  losses  (where  cost  exceeds  fair  market  value)  on  the 
investments will also be reported, net of tax, as a component of other comprehensive income (loss), unless 
the unrealized loss is other than temporary, in which case it would be recorded as an investment loss in the 
consolidated statements of operations.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets — Other than goodwill, our long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment 
whenever  events  or  changes  in  circumstances  indicate  the  carrying  amount  of  an  asset  may  not  be 
recoverable.  If  the  carrying  amount  of  the  asset  exceeds  the  expected  undiscounted  future  cash  flows 
generated  by  the  asset,  the  asset  is  written  down  to  its  estimated  fair  value  and  an  impairment  loss  is 
recognized in our consolidated statements of operations. 

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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets — Goodwill is not subject to amortization; however, goodwill is 
required to be assessed for impairment, and a resulting write-down, if any, is to be reflected in operating 
expense. We have goodwill recorded relating to our acquisitions of ITCTransmission and METC and ITC 
Midwest’s acquisition of the IP&L transmission assets. Goodwill is reviewed at the reporting unit level at least 
annually for impairment and whenever facts or circumstances indicate that the value of goodwill may be 
impaired. Our reporting units are ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest as each entity represents an 
individual operating segment to which goodwill has been assigned.

In order to perform an impairment analysis, we have the option of performing a qualitative assessment 
to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely 
than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, in which case no further 
testing is required. If an entity bypasses the qualitative assessment or performs a qualitative assessment 
but determines that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount, 
a quantitative, fair value-based test is performed to assess and measure goodwill impairment, if any. If a 
quantitative assessment is performed, we determine the fair value of our reporting units using valuation 
techniques based on discounted future cash flows under various scenarios and consider estimates of market-
based valuation multiples for companies within the peer group of our reporting units. 

We completed our annual goodwill impairment test for our reporting units as of October 1, 2017 and 
determined that no impairment exists. There were no events subsequent to October 1, 2017, including the 
enactment of the TCJA, that indicated impairment of our goodwill. Our intangible assets other than goodwill 
have finite lives and are amortized over their useful lives. Refer to Note 7 for additional discussion on our 
goodwill and intangible assets.

Deferred Financing Fees and Discount or Premium on Debt — Costs related to the issuance of long-term 
debt are generally recorded as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt and amortized 
over the life of the debt issue. Debt issuance costs incurred prior to the associated debt funding are presented 
as an asset. Unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the revolving credit agreements, commercial 
paper  and  other  similar  arrangements  are  presented  as  an  asset  (regardless  of  whether  there  are  any 
amounts outstanding under those credit facilities) and amortized over the life of the particular arrangement. 
The debt discount or premium related to the issuance of long-term debt is recorded to long-term debt and 
amortized over the life of the debt issue. We recorded $4 million to interest expense for the amortization of 
deferred financing fees and debt discounts during each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 
2015.

Asset Retirement Obligations — A conditional asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation to perform 
an asset retirement activity in which the timing and/or method of settlement are conditional on a future event 
that may or may not be within our control. We have identified conditional asset retirement obligations primarily 
associated with the removal of equipment containing PCBs and asbestos. We record a liability at fair value 
for a legal asset retirement obligation in the period in which it is incurred. When a new legal obligation is 
recorded, we capitalize the costs of the liability by increasing the carrying amount of the related long-lived 
asset. We accrete the liability to its present value each period and depreciate the capitalized cost over the 
useful life of the related asset. At the end of the asset’s useful life, we settle the obligation for its recorded 
amount. We recognize regulatory assets for the timing differences between the incurred costs to settle our 
legal asset retirement obligations and the recognition of such obligations as applicable for our Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries. There were no significant changes to our asset retirement obligations in 2017. Our 
asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 of $6 million and $5 million, respectively, 
are included in other liabilities.

Financial Instruments — For derivative instruments that have been designated and qualify as cash flow 
hedges of the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows, the gain or loss on the derivative is initially 
reported, net of tax, as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified to the consolidated 
statement  of  operations  when  the  underlying  hedged  transaction  affects  net  income.  Any  hedge 
ineffectiveness  is  recognized  in  net  income  immediately  at  the  time  the  gain  or  loss  on  the  derivative 
instruments is calculated. Refer to Note 9 for additional discussion regarding derivative instruments. Cash 
flows related to derivative instruments that are designated in hedging relationships are generally classified 
on the statement of cash flows in the same category as the cash flows from the associated hedged item. 

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Contingent Obligations — We are subject to a number of federal and state laws and regulations, as well 
as other factors and conditions that potentially subject us to environmental, litigation and other risks. We 
periodically  evaluate  our  exposure  to  such  risks  and  record  liabilities  for  those  matters  when  a  loss  is 
considered probable and reasonably estimable. Our liabilities exclude any estimates for legal costs not yet 
incurred associated with handling these matters. The adequacy of liabilities can be significantly affected by 
external events or conditions that can be unpredictable; thus, the ultimate outcome of such matters could 
materially affect our consolidated financial statements.

Revenues — Revenues from the transmission of electricity are recognized as services are provided based 
on FERC-approved cost-based formula rates. We record a reserve for revenue subject to refund when such 
refund is probable and can be reasonably estimated. This reserve is recorded as a reduction to operating 
revenues.

The cost-based formula rates at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries include a true-up mechanism that 
compares the actual revenue requirements of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to their billed revenues 
for each year to determine any over- or under-collection of revenue requirements and record a revenue 
accrual  or  deferral  for  the  difference.  Refer  to  Note  5  under  “Cost-Based  Formula  Rates  with  True-Up 
Mechanism” for a discussion of our revenue accounting under our cost-based formula rates.

Share-Based Payment and Employee Share Purchase Plan — We have an Omnibus Plan, pursuant to 
which we may grant long term incentive awards of performance-based units and service-based units. The 
awards are classified as liability awards based on the cash settlement feature. The award units earn dividend 
equivalents which are also settled in cash at the end of the vesting period. Compensation cost is recognized 
over the expected vesting period and remeasured each reporting period based on Fortis’ stock price. The 
PBUs are also remeasured each reporting period based on the applicable market and performance conditions 
in the awards. Compensation cost is adjusted for forfeitures in the period in which they occur and the final 
measure of compensation cost for the awards is based on the cash settlement amount.

We also have an Employee Share Purchase Plan which enables ITC employees to purchase shares of 
Fortis common stock. Our cost of the plan is based on the value of our contribution, as additional compensation 
to a participating employee, equal to 10% of an employee’s contribution up to a maximum annual contribution 
of 1% of an employee’s base pay and an amount equal to 10% of all dividends payable by Fortis on the 
Fortis shares allocated to an employee’s ESPP account.

Refer to Note 14 for additional discussion of the plans.

Comprehensive Income (Loss) — Comprehensive income (loss) is the change in common stockholder’s 
equity during a period arising from transactions and events from non-owner sources, including net income, 
any gain or loss recognized for the effective portion of our interest rate swaps and any unrealized gain or 
loss associated with our available-for-sale securities.

Income Taxes — Deferred income taxes are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of 
events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Deferred income 
tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and the 
tax bases of various assets and liabilities, using the tax rates expected to be in effect for the year in which 
the differences are expected to reverse, and classified as non-current in our consolidated statements of 
financial position.

The  accounting  standards  for  uncertainty  in  income  taxes  prescribe  a  recognition  threshold  and  a 
measurement  attribute  for  tax  positions  taken,  or  expected  to  be  taken,  in  a  tax  return  that  may  not  be 
sustainable. As of December 31, 2017, we have not recognized any uncertain income tax positions.

We file income tax returns with the IRS and with various state and city jurisdictions. We are no longer 
subject to U.S. federal tax examinations for tax years 2012 and earlier. State and city jurisdictions that remain 
subject to examination range from tax years 2013 to 2016. In the event we are assessed interest or penalties 
by any income tax jurisdictions, interest and penalties would be recorded as interest expense and other 
expense, respectively, in our consolidated statements of operations.

Refer to Notes 6 and 10 for additional discussion on income taxes and tax reform.

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5.  REGULATORY MATTERS

Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism

The transmission revenue requirements at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are set annually, using a 
FERC-approved formula that is used to calculate rates (“formula rates”), and remain in effect for a one-year period. 
By  updating  the  inputs  to  the  formula  and  resulting  rates  on  an  annual  basis,  the  revenues  at  our  Regulated 
Operating  Subsidiaries  reflect  changing  operational  data  and  financial  performance,  including  the  amount  of 
network load on their transmission systems (for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries), operating expenses 
and additions to property, plant and equipment when placed in service, among other items. The formula used to 
derive the rates does not require further action or FERC filings each year, although the formula inputs remain 
subject to legal challenge at the FERC. Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries will continue to use the formula to 
calculate  their  respective  annual  revenue  requirements  unless  the  FERC  determines  the  resulting  rates  to  be 
unjust and unreasonable and another mechanism is determined by the FERC to be just and reasonable. See “Rate 
of  Return  on  Equity  Complaints”  in  Note  17  for  detail  on  ROE  matters  for  our  MISO  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries. 

The  cost-based  formula  rates  at  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries  include  a  true-up  mechanism  that 
compares the actual revenue requirements of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to their billed revenues for 
each year to determine any over- or under-collection of revenue requirements. Revenue is recognized for services 
provided during each reporting period based on actual revenue requirements calculated using the formula. Our 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries accrue or defer revenues to the extent that the actual revenue requirement for 
the reporting period is higher or lower, respectively, than the amounts billed relating to that reporting period. The 
amount of accrued or deferred revenues is reflected in future revenue requirements and thus flows through to 
customer bills within two years under the provisions of our formula rates.

The  net  changes  in  regulatory  assets  and  liabilities  associated  with  our  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’ 
formula rate revenue accruals and deferrals, including accrued interest, were as follows during the year ended 
December 31, 2017:

(In millions)

Net regulatory liability as of December 31, 2016

Net collection of 2015 revenue deferrals and accruals, including accrued interest

Net revenue deferral for the year ended December 31, 2017

Net accrued interest payable for the year ended December 31, 2017

Net regulatory liability as of December 31, 2017

Total

(1)

(15)

(17)

(2)

(35)

$

$

Regulatory assets and liabilities associated with our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ formula rate revenue 
accruals and deferrals, including accrued interest, are recorded in the consolidated statements of financial position 
at December 31, 2017 and 2016 as follows:

(In millions)
Current regulatory assets

Non-current regulatory assets

Current regulatory liabilities
Non-current regulatory liabilities
Net regulatory liability as of December 31, 2017

ITCTransmission Regional Cost Allocation Refund

2017

2016

$

$

18 $
11
(38)
(26)
(35) $

24
16
(9)
(32)
(1)

In October 2010, MISO and ITCTransmission made a filing with the FERC under Section 205 of the FPA to 
revise the MISO tariff to establish a methodology to allocate and recover costs of ITCTransmission’s PARs among 
MISO and other FERC-approved RTOs — the New York Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection 
(“Other RTOs”). In December 2010, the FERC accepted the proposed revisions, subject to refund, while setting 
them for hearing and settlement procedures. On September 22, 2016, the FERC issued an order largely affirming 
the presiding administrative law judge’s initial decision issued in December 2012, which stated, among other things, 
that  MISO  and  ITCTransmission  failed  to  show  that  the  Other  RTOs  will  benefit  from  the  operation  of 

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ITCTransmission’s PARs. The FERC order required ITCTransmission to provide refunds within 30 days for excess 
amounts collected from customers of the Other RTOs. The refunds, including interest, were provided to the Other 
RTOs in October 2016. On December 6, 2016, ITCTransmission made a filing with the FERC, under Section 205 
of the FPA, requesting to recover the amount refunded to the Other RTOs (“regional cost allocation recovery”) in 
network rates during the next calendar year, beginning January 1, 2017. On January 30, 2017, the FERC issued 
an order approving collection of the regional cost allocation recovery in 2017. ITCTransmission recorded $29 million
for  the  regional  cost  allocation  recovery,  including  interest,  in  current  regulatory  assets  on  the  consolidated 
statement of financial position as of December 31, 2016. As a result of the FERC order, ITCTransmission collected 
the amounts refunded, plus interest, from network customers in 2017. The regulatory asset was amortized in 2017 
and no balance was recorded in regulatory assets related to regional cost allocation recovery as of December 31, 
2017.

MISO Funding Policy for Generator Interconnections

On June 18, 2015, the FERC issued an order initiating a proceeding, pursuant to Section 206 of the FPA, to 
examine MISO’s funding policy for generator interconnections, which allowed a TO to unilaterally elect to fund 
network upgrades and recover such costs from the interconnection customer. In this order, the FERC found that 
the MISO funding policy may be unduly discriminatory, and suggested the MISO funding policy be revised to 
require mutual agreement between the interconnection customer and TO for the TO to utilize the election to fund 
network  upgrades.  In  the  absence  of  such  mutual  agreement,  the  facilities  would  be  funded  solely  by  the 
interconnection customer. On January 8, 2016, MISO made a compliance filing to revise its funding policy to adopt 
the FERC suggestion to require mutual agreement between the customer and TO, with an effective date of June 
24, 2015. Our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, along with another MISO TO, have appealed the FERC’s 
orders on this issue. On January 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued 
an opinion which concluded that evidence does not support the FERC’s position as applied to TOs without affiliated 
generation assets. In addition, the opinion noted that the FERC did not adequately respond to the argument that 
an involuntary generator funding requirement would compel a TO to construct, own, and operate facilities without 
compensatory network upgrade charges, which would force the TO to accept additional risk without corresponding 
return. As a result, the court vacated the orders and remanded this case to the FERC. We do not expect the 
resolution of this proceeding to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations, cash flows or 
financial condition.

MISO Formula Rate Template Modifications Filing

On October 30, 2015, our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries requested modifications, pursuant to Section 
205 of the FPA, to certain aspects of their respective FERC-approved formula rate templates which included, 
among other things, changes to ensure that various income tax items are computed correctly for purposes of 
determining their revenue requirements. Our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries requested an effective date 
of January 1, 2016 for the proposed template changes. On December 30, 2015, the FERC conditionally accepted 
the formula rate template modifications and required a further compliance filing, which was made on February 8, 
2016. On April 14, 2016, the FERC issued an order accepting the February 8, 2016 compliance filing, effective 
January 1, 2016. The formula rate templates, prior to any proposed modifications, include certain deferred income 
taxes on contributions in aid of construction in rate base that resulted in recovery of excess amounts from customers. 
As of December 31, 2016, our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries had recorded an aggregate refund liability 
of $2 million reported in current regulatory liabilities. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we provided the 
remaining refunds with interest.

Challenge Regarding Bonus Depreciation

On December 18, 2015, IP&L filed a formal challenge (“IP&L challenge”) with the FERC against ITC Midwest 
on certain inputs to ITC Midwest’s formula rates. The IP&L challenge alleged that ITC Midwest has unreasonably 
and imprudently opted out of using bonus depreciation in the calculation of its federal income tax expense and 
thereby unduly increased the transmission charges for transmission service to customers. On March 11, 2016, 
the FERC granted the IP&L challenge in part by requiring ITC Midwest to recalculate its revenue requirements, 
effective January 1, 2015, to simulate the election of bonus depreciation for 2015. On June 8, 2016, the FERC 
denied ITC Midwest’s request for rehearing of the March 11, 2016 order. On August 3, 2016, ITC Midwest filed a 
petition for review of the FERC’s March 11, 2016 and June 8, 2016 orders in the United States Court of Appeals, 
District of Columbia Circuit. On September 8, 2016, ITC Midwest filed a motion to defer the petition pending the 

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issuance of a private letter ruling from the IRS. Following ITC Midwest’s receipt of a private letter ruling, which 
confirmed that ITC Midwest would not violate the IRS rules related to ratemaking by following the FERC order to 
calculate rates to simulate the election of bonus depreciation for the historical 2015 year, and after consideration 
of other relevant factors, ITC Midwest moved the court for leave to withdraw our appeal on March 15, 2017, which 
was  granted  by  the  Court  on  March  20,  2017,  and  this  matter  is  now  concluded.  We  intend  to  elect  bonus 
depreciation for 2017 as permissible under the TCJA.

Rate of Return on Equity Complaints

See “Rate of Return on Equity Complaints” in Note 17 for a discussion of the complaints.

6.  REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Regulatory Assets

The following table summarizes the regulatory asset balances at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

(In millions)
Regulatory Assets:

Current:

2017

2016

Revenue accruals (including accrued interest of less than $1 as of December 31,

2017 and 2016) (a)

$

18 $

ITCTransmission regional cost allocation recovery (including accrued interest of

less than $1 as of December 31, 2016) (b)

Total current

Non-current:

Revenue accruals (including accrued interest of less than $1 as of December 31,

2017 and 2016) (a)

ITCTransmission ADIT deferral (net of accumulated amortization of $45 and $42

as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)

METC ADIT deferral (net of accumulated amortization of $26 and $24 as of

December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)

METC regulatory deferrals (net of accumulated amortization of $9 and $8 as of

December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)

Income taxes recoverable related to AFUDC equity (c)
ITC Great Plains start-up, development and pre-construction (net of accumulated
amortization of $3 and $2 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively)
Pensions and postretirement
Income taxes recoverable related to implementation of the Michigan Corporate

Income Tax and other state excess deficient taxes (c)

—

18

11

16

17

7

80
10

30
7

Accrued asset removal costs

Total non-current

Total

____________________________

19
197

$

215 $

24

29

53

16

19

19

8

124
11

25
9

16
247

300

(a)  Refer to discussion of revenue accruals in Note 5 under “Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism.” 
Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries do not earn a return on the balance of these regulatory assets, but do 
accrue interest carrying costs, which are subject to rate recovery along with the principal amount of the revenue 
accrual.

(b)  Refer to discussion of ITCTransmission regional cost allocation recovery in Note 5 under “ITCTransmission 

Regional Cost Allocation Refund.”

(c)  In  2017,  income  taxes  recoverable  related  to  AFUDC  equity  and  income  taxes  recoverable  related  to 
implementation of the Michigan Corporate Income Tax and other state excess deficient taxes decreased by 
$63 million and $2 million, respectively, as a result of the implementation of the TCJA. Refer to discussion of 
the TCJA in Note 10.

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ITCTransmission ADIT Deferral

The carrying amount of the ITC Transmission ADIT Deferral is the remaining unamortized balance of the portion 
of ITCTransmission’s purchase price in excess of fair value of net assets acquired from DTE Energy approved for 
inclusion in future rates by the FERC. The original amount recorded  for this regulatory  asset of $61 million is 
recognized in rates and amortized on a straight-line basis over 20 years beginning March 1, 2003. ITCTransmission 
includes  the  remaining  unamortized  balance  of  this  regulatory  asset  in  rate  base.  ITCTransmission  recorded 
amortization expense of $3 million annually during 2017, 2016 and 2015, which is included in depreciation and 
amortization and recovered through ITCTransmission’s cost-based formula rate template.

METC ADIT Deferral

The carrying amount of the METC ADIT Deferral is the remaining unamortized balance of the portion of METC’s 
purchase price in excess of the fair value of net assets acquired at the time MTH acquired METC from Consumers 
Energy. The original amount approved for recovery recorded for this regulatory asset of $43 million is recognized 
in  rates  and  amortized  on  a  straight-line  basis  over  18  years  beginning  January  1,  2007.  METC  includes  the 
remaining unamortized balance of this regulatory asset in rate base. METC recorded amortization expense of $2 
million annually during 2017, 2016 and 2015, which is included in depreciation and amortization and recovered 
through METC’s cost-based formula rate template.

METC Regulatory Deferrals

The carrying amount of the METC Regulatory Deferrals is the amount METC has deferred, as a regulatory 
asset, depreciation and related interest expense associated with new transmission assets placed in service from 
January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2005 that were included on METC’s balance sheet at the time MTH acquired 
METC from Consumers Energy. The original amount recorded for this regulatory asset of $15 million, and approved 
for inclusion in future rates by the FERC, is recognized in rates and amortized over 20 years beginning January 
1, 2007. METC includes the remaining unamortized balance of this regulatory asset in rate base. METC recorded 
amortization expense of $1 million annually during 2017, 2016 and 2015, which is included in depreciation and 
amortization and recovered through METC’s cost-based formula rate template.

Income Taxes Recoverable Related to AFUDC Equity

Accounting standards for income taxes provide that a regulatory asset be recorded if it is probable that a future 
increase in taxes payable, relating to the book depreciation of AFUDC equity that has been capitalized to property, 
plant and equipment, will be recovered from customers through future rates. The regulatory asset for the tax effects 
of AFUDC equity is recovered over the life of the underlying book asset in a manner that is consistent with the 
depreciation of the AFUDC equity that has been capitalized to property, plant and equipment. This regulatory asset 
and the related offsetting deferred income tax liabilities do not affect rate base.

ITC Great Plains Start-Up, Development and Pre-Construction

In 2013, ITC Great Plains made a filing with the FERC, under Section 205 of the FPA, to recover start-up, 
development and pre-construction expenses in future rates. These expenses included certain costs incurred by 
ITC Great Plains for two regional cost sharing projects in Kansas prior to construction. In March 2015, FERC 
accepted ITC Great Plains’ request to commence amortization of the authorized regulatory assets, subject to 
refund, and set the matter for hearing and settlement judge procedures. In December 2015, the FERC issued an 
order accepting an uncontested settlement agreement establishing the amounts of the regulatory  assets and 
associated  carrying  charges  to  be  recovered.  ITC  Great  Plains  includes  the  unamortized  balance  of  these 
regulatory assets in rate base and will amortize them over a 10-year period, beginning in the second quarter of 
2015. The amortization expense is recorded to general and administrative expenses and recovered through ITC 
Great Plains’ cost-based formula rate. 

Pensions and Postretirement

Accounting standards for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans for rate-regulated entities allow 
for amounts that otherwise would have been charged and/or credited to AOCI to be recorded as a regulatory asset 
or  liability. As  the  unrecognized  amounts  recorded  to  this  regulatory  asset  are  recognized,  expenses  will  be 
recovered from customers in future rates under our cost based formula rates. This regulatory asset is not included 
when determining rate base.

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Income Taxes Recoverable Related to Implementation of the Michigan Corporate Income Tax

In May 2011, the Michigan Business Tax was repealed and replaced with the Michigan Corporate Income Tax, 
effective January 1, 2012. Under the Michigan Corporate Income Tax, we are taxed at a rate of 6.0% on federal 
taxable income attributable to our operations in the state of Michigan, subject to certain adjustments. In addition 
to the traditional income tax, the Michigan Business Tax had also included a modified gross receipts tax that allowed 
for deductions and credits for certain activities, none of which are part of the Michigan Corporate Income Tax. The 
change in Michigan tax law required us in 2011 to remove deferred income tax balances recognized under the 
Michigan Business Tax and establish new deferred income tax balances under the Michigan Corporate Income 
Tax, and the net result was incremental deferred state income tax liabilities at both ITCTransmission and METC. 
Under our cost-based formula rate, the future tax receivable as a result of the tax law change has resulted in the 
recognition of a regulatory asset, which will be collected from customers for the 23-year period and the 32-year 
period for ITCTransmission and METC, respectively, beginning in 2016. ITCTransmission and METC include this 
regulatory asset within deferred taxes for rate-making purposes when determining rate base.

Accrued Asset Removal Costs

The carrying amount of the accrued asset removal costs represents the difference between incurred costs to 
remove property, plant and equipment and the estimated removal costs included and collected in rates. The portion 
of depreciation expense included in our depreciation rates related to asset removal costs reduces this regulatory 
asset and removal costs incurred are added to this regulatory asset. In addition, this regulatory asset has also 
been adjusted for timing differences between incurred costs to settle legal asset retirement obligations and the 
recognition of such obligations under the standards set forth by the FASB. Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries 
include this item, excluding the cost component related to the recognition of our legal asset retirement obligations 
under the standards set forth by the FASB, as a reduction to accumulated depreciation for rate-making purposes, 
when determining rate base.

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Regulatory Liabilities

The following table summarizes the regulatory liability balances at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

(In millions)
Regulatory Liabilities:

Current:

2017

2016

Revenue deferrals (including accrued interest of $2 and less than $1 as of

$

38 $

December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively) (a)

Refund related to the formula rate template modifications (including accrued

interest of $1 as of December 31, 2016) (b)

Estimated refund related to return on equity complaints (including accrued interest

of $11 and $9 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.) (c)

Total current

Non-current:

Revenue deferrals (including accrued interest of $1 and $1 as of December 31,

2017 and 2016, respectively) (a)

Accrued asset removal costs
Estimated refund related to return on equity complaint (including accrued interest

of $6 as of December 31, 2016) (c)

Excess state income tax deductions (d)
Income taxes refundable related to implementation of the TCJA (d)

Total non-current

Total

____________________________

—

145

183

26

72
—

7
514
619

$

802 $

9

2

118

129

32

68
140

9
—
249

378

(a)  Refer to discussion of revenue deferrals in Note 5 under “Cost-Based Formula Rates with True-Up Mechanism.” 
Our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries accrue interest on the true-up amounts which will be refunded through 
rates along with the principal amount of revenue deferrals in future periods.

(b)  Refer to discussion of the refund in Note 5 under “MISO Formula Rate Template Modifications Filing.” 

(c)  Refer to discussion of the refund and estimated refund in Note 17 under “Rate of Return on Equity Complaints.”

(d)  In 2017, net non-current regulatory liabilities of $512 million were recorded related to the implementation of 
the  TCJA. A  regulatory  liability  of  $514  million  was  recorded  for  income  taxes  refundable  related  to  the 
implementation, while the regulatory liability for excess state income tax deductions was reduced by $2 million. 
Refer to discussion of the TCJA in Note 10.

Accrued Asset Removal Costs

The carrying amount of the accrued asset removal costs represents the difference between incurred costs to 
remove property, plant and equipment and the estimated removal costs included and collected in rates. The portion 
of depreciation expense included in our depreciation rates related to asset removal costs is added to this regulatory 
liability  and  removal  expenditures  incurred  are  charged  to  this  regulatory  liability.  Our  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries  include  this  item  within  accumulated  depreciation  for  rate-making  purposes  and  determining  rate 
base.

Excess State Income Tax Deductions

We have taken state income tax deductions associated with property additions that exceed the tax basis of 
property, and the unrealized income tax benefits resulting from these deductions are expected to be refunded to 
customers through future rates when the income tax benefits are realized. This regulatory liability is included within 
deferred taxes for rate-making purposes when determining rate base.

Income Taxes Refundable Related to Implementation of the TCJA

In December 2017, the President of the United States signed into law the TCJA, which enacted significant 
changes to the Internal Revenue Code including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 

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35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after 2017. The Company was required to revalue its deferred tax 
assets and liabilities at the new federal corporate income tax rate as of the date of the enactment of the TCJA, 
which resulted in lower net deferred tax liabilities and the establishment of a regulatory liability for excess deferred 
taxes at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. The excess deferred taxes are generally the result of accelerated 
federal tax deductions realized by our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries in periods when the U.S. federal corporate 
income tax rate was 35% and now would be returned to customers in a period where the U.S. federal corporate 
income tax rate is 21%. As the excess deferred taxes must be returned to customers this regulatory liability is 
recognized. For our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, our deferred taxes are subject to a normalization method 
of accounting for the excess tax reserves resulting from the change in the federal statutory tax rate which involves 
the use of the average rate assumption method (ARAM) for the determination of the timing of the return of the 
excess deferred taxes to customers associated with public utility property. A portion of our excess deferred taxes 
at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries are associated with other types of deferred taxes that are not related to 
public  utility  property  and  the  timing  of  the  settlement  with  customers  has  not  yet  been  determined.  This  net 
regulatory liability is included within deferred taxes for rate-making purposes when determining rate base.

7.  GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, we had goodwill balances  recorded at ITCTransmission, METC and ITC 
Midwest of $173 million, $454 million and $323 million, respectively, which resulted from the ITCTransmission and 
METC acquisitions and ITC Midwest’s acquisition of the IP&L transmission assets, respectively.

Intangible Assets

Pursuant to the METC acquisition in October 2006, we have identified intangible assets with finite lives derived 
from  the  portion  of  regulatory  assets  recorded  on  METC’s  historical  FERC  financial  statements  that  were  not 
recorded on METC’s historical GAAP financial statements associated with the METC Regulatory Deferrals and 
the  METC ADIT  Deferral  as  described  in  Note  6. The  carrying  amounts  of  the  intangible  asset  for  the  METC 
Regulatory Deferrals and the METC ADIT Deferral were $18 million and $8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 
2017, and $20 million and $8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2016. The amortization periods for the 
METC  Regulatory  Deferrals  and  the  METC ADIT  Deferral  are  20  years  and  18  years,  respectively,  beginning 
January 1, 2007. METC earns an equity return on the remaining unamortized balance of both intangible assets 
and recovers the amortization expense through METC’s cost-based formula rate template. 

ITC Great Plains has recorded intangible assets for payments made by and obligations of ITC Great Plains to 
certain TOs to acquire rights, which are required under the SPP tariff to designate ITC Great Plains to build, own 
and operate projects within the SPP region, including three regional cost sharing projects in Kansas. The carrying 
amount of these intangible assets was $14 million and $15 million (net of accumulated amortization of $2 million
and $1 million, respectively) as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The amortization period for these 
intangible assets is 50 years.

We recorded $1 million of other intangible assets as of December 31, 2017. There were no other intangible 

assets recorded as of December 31, 2016.

During each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we recognized $3 million of amortization 
expense  of  our  intangible  assets.  We  expect  the  annual  amortization  of  our  intangible  assets  that  have  been 
recorded as of December 31, 2017 to be as follows:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 and thereafter

Total

67

$

$

3
3
3
3
3
25
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8.  PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Property, plant and equipment — net consisted of the following at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

(In millions)
Property, plant and equipment

Regulated Operating Subsidiaries:

Property, plant and equipment in service
Construction work in progress
Capital equipment inventory
Other

ITC Holdings and other

Total

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization

Property, plant and equipment — net

2017

2016

$

$

8,334 $
546
74
16
14
8,984
(1,675)
7,309 $

7,715
455
74
15
14
8,273
(1,575)
6,698

Additions to property, plant and equipment in service and construction work in progress during 2017 and 2016 
were due primarily for projects to upgrade or replace existing transmission plant to improve the reliability of our 
transmission systems as well as transmission infrastructure to support generator interconnections and investments 
that provide regional benefits such as our Multi-Value Projects.

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9. DEBT

The following amounts were outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

(In millions)

2017

2016

ITC Holdings 6.23% Senior Notes, Series B, due September 20, 2017 (a)

$

— $

ITC Holdings 6.375% Senior Notes, due September 30, 2036

ITC Holdings 6.05% Senior Notes, due January 31, 2018 (b)

ITC Holdings 5.50% Senior Notes, due January 15, 2020

ITC Holdings 4.05% Senior Notes, due July 1, 2023

ITC Holdings 3.65% Senior Notes, due June 15, 2024

ITC Holdings 5.30% Senior Notes, due July 1, 2043

ITC Holdings 3.25% Notes, due June 30, 2026

ITC Holdings 2.70% Senior Notes, due November 15, 2022

ITC Holdings 3.35% Senior Notes, due November 15, 2027

ITC Holdings Revolving Credit Agreement, due October 21, 2022 (c)

ITC Holdings Commercial Paper Program (a)

ITCTransmission 6.125% First Mortgage Bonds, Series C, due March 31, 2036

ITCTransmission 5.75% First Mortgage Bonds, Series D, due April 1, 2018 (a)

ITCTransmission 4.625% First Mortgage Bonds, Series E, due August 15, 2043

ITCTransmission 4.27% First Mortgage Bonds, Series F, due June 10, 2044

ITCTransmission Term Loan Credit Agreement, due March 23, 2019

ITCTransmission Revolving Credit Agreement, due October 21, 2022 (c)

METC 5.64% Senior Secured Notes, due May 6, 2040

METC 3.98% Senior Secured Notes, due October 26, 2042

METC 4.19% Senior Secured Notes, due December 15, 2044

METC 3.90% Senior Secured Notes, due April 26, 2046

METC Revolving Credit Agreement, due October 21, 2022 (c)

ITC Midwest 6.15% First Mortgage Bonds, Series A, due January 31, 2038

ITC Midwest 7.12% First Mortgage Bonds, Series B, due December 22, 2017 (a)

ITC Midwest 7.27% First Mortgage Bonds, Series C, due December 22, 2020

ITC Midwest 4.60% First Mortgage Bonds, Series D, due December 17, 2024

ITC Midwest 3.50% First Mortgage Bonds, Series E, due January 19, 2027

ITC Midwest 4.09% First Mortgage Bonds, Series F, due April 30, 2043

ITC Midwest 3.83% First Mortgage Bonds, Series G, due April 7, 2055

ITC Midwest 4.16% First Mortgage Bonds, Series H, due April 18, 2047

ITC Midwest Revolving Credit Agreement, due October 21, 2022 (c)

ITC Great Plains 4.16% First Mortgage Bonds, Series A, due November 26, 2044

ITC Great Plains Revolving Credit Agreement, due October 21, 2022 (c)

Total principal

Unamortized deferred financing fees and discount

Total debt

____________________________

200

—

200

250

400

300

400

500

500

—

—

100

100

285

100

50

36

50

75

150

200

48

175

—

35

75

100

100

225

200

88

150

49

50

200

385

200

250

400

300

400

—

—

73

145

100

100

285

100

—

44

50

75

150

200

31

175

40

35

75

100

100

225

—

127

150

59

5,141

(40)

4,624

(34)

$

5,101

$

4,590

(a)  As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, there was $100 million and $235 million, respectively, of debt included 
within debt maturing within one year that is classified as a current liability in the consolidated statements of 
financial position.

(b)  On December 14, 2017, we redeemed the full $385 million balance of ITC Holdings Senior Notes due January 
31, 2018. We recorded a $2 million loss on extinguishment of the debt at the time of the redemption, which is 
included in Interest expense - net in the consolidated statements of operations.

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(c)  On October 23, 2017, ITC Holdings, ITCTransmission, METC, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains entered into 
new, unsecured, unguaranteed revolving credit agreements, which replaced the previous revolving credit and 
extended the maturity date of the revolving credit agreements from March 2019 to October 2022.

The annual maturities of debt as of December 31, 2017 are as follows:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 and thereafter

Total

ITC Holdings

Senior Unsecured Notes 

$

$

100
50
235
—
721
4,035
5,141

On November 14, 2017, ITC Holdings completed the private offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount 
of  unsecured  2.70%  Senior  Notes,  due  November  15,  2022,  and  $500  million  aggregate  principal  amount  of 
unsecured 3.35% Senior Notes, due November 15, 2027, (collectively, the “2017 Senior Notes”). The 2017 Senior 
Notes are redeemable prior to the due date, in whole or in part and at the option of ITC Holdings, by paying an 
applicable make whole premium. The net proceeds from this offering were used to redeem in full $385 million
aggregate principal amount of ITC Holdings 6.05% Senior Notes due January 31, 2018, and to pay the associated 
call premiums, to repay the amount outstanding under ITC Holdings’ 2017 term loan credit agreement, to repay 
$7 million under ITC Holdings’ revolving credit agreement, and to repay $352 million under ITC Holdings’ commercial 
paper program, with remaining proceeds used for general corporate purposes. The 2017 Senior Notes were issued 
under ITC Holdings’ indenture, dated April 18, 2013.

In connection with the offering of the 2017 Senior Notes, ITC Holdings also entered into a registration rights 
agreement with the representatives of the initial purchasers named therein. Pursuant to this registration rights 
agreement, ITC Holdings agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and cause to 
become effective a registration statement with respect to a registered exchange offer to exchange each series of 
Senior Notes issued in the offering for an issue of notes having terms substantially identical to the applicable series 
of Senior Notes (except for provisions relating to the transfer restrictions and payment of additional interest) as 
part of an offer to exchange such registered notes for the notes (the “Exchange Offer”). ITC Holdings also agreed 
to file a shelf registration statement to cover resales of the notes under certain circumstances. ITC Holdings is 
expected to have the registration statement relating to the Exchange Offer declared effective by the SEC on or 
prior to 365 days after the date of issuance of the 2017 Senior Notes, or, to the extent a shelf registration statement 
is required to be filed, to have such shelf registration statement declared effective by the SEC on or prior to the 
90th day following the date such shelf registration statement was filed. If this obligation is not satisfied, the annual 
interest rate on the notes will increase by 25 basis points for the first 90 days commencing on the day following 
the registration default, and by an additional 25 basis points per annum with respect to each subsequent 90-day 
period, up to a maximum additional rate of 100 basis points per annum thereafter until the earliest of the Exchange 
Offer being completed or the shelf registration statement, if required, becoming effective.

On July 5, 2016, ITC Holdings issued $400 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured 3.25% Notes, due 
June 30,  2026.  The  proceeds  from  the  issuance  were  used  to  repay  the  $161  million  outstanding  under  ITC 
Holdings’ term loan credit agreement and for general corporate purposes, primarily the repayment of indebtedness 
outstanding  under  ITC  Holdings’  commercial  paper  program.  These  Notes  were  issued  under  ITC  Holdings’ 
indenture, dated April 18, 2013. 

Commercial Paper Program 

ITC Holdings has an ongoing commercial paper program for the issuance and sale of unsecured commercial 
paper in an aggregate amount not to exceed $400 million outstanding at any one time. As of December 31, 2017, 
ITC Holdings did not have any commercial paper issued or outstanding. The proceeds from issuances under the 
program during the year ended December 31, 2017 were used to repay and retire the $50 million of ITC Holdings’ 

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6.23% Senior Notes, due September 20, 2017, and for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of 
borrowings under ITC Holdings’ revolving credit agreement. ITC repaid borrowings under the commercial paper 
program of $352 million in November 2017 with proceeds from the ITC Holdings 2017 Senior Notes issued on 
November 14, 2017.

Term Loan Credit Agreement

On March 23, 2017, ITC Holdings entered into an unsecured, unguaranteed term loan credit agreement due 
March 24, 2018, under which ITC Holdings borrowed $200 million. The proceeds were used for general corporate 
purposes, including the repayment of borrowings under ITC Holdings’ revolving credit agreement and commercial 
paper program. This borrowing was repaid in full in November 2017 from the proceeds of the ITC Holdings Senior 
Notes issued on November 14, 2017. The weighted-average interest rate throughout the life of the loan was 2.06%.

METC

On April 26, 2016, METC issued $200 million of 3.90% Senior Secured Notes, due April 26, 2046. The proceeds 
were used to repay the $200 million borrowed under METC’s term loan credit agreement discussed below. The 
METC Senior Secured Notes were issued under its first mortgage indenture and secured by a first mortgage lien 
on substantially all of its real property and tangible personal property.

ITC Midwest

On April 18, 2017, ITC Midwest issued $200 million aggregate principal amount of 4.16% First Mortgage Bonds, 
Series H, due April 18, 2047. The proceeds were used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment 
of borrowings under the ITC Midwest revolving credit agreement. ITC Midwest’s First Mortgage Bonds were issued 
under its First Mortgage and Deed of Trust and secured by a first mortgage lien on substantially all of its real 
property and tangible personal property.

ITCTransmission

On March 23, 2017, ITCTransmission entered into an unsecured, unguaranteed term loan credit agreement 
due March 23, 2019, under which ITCTransmission borrowed $50 million. The proceeds were used for general 
corporate purposes, including the repayment of borrowings under ITCTransmission’s revolving credit agreement. 
The weighted-average interest rate on the borrowing outstanding under this agreement was 2.03% at December 31, 
2017.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We may use derivative financial instruments, including interest rate swap contracts, to manage our exposure 
to fluctuations in interest rates. The use of these financial instruments mitigates exposure to these risks and the 
variability of our operating results. We are not a party to leveraged derivatives and do not enter into derivative 
financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. 

In November 2017, we terminated $375 million of 5-year interest rate swap contracts and $375 million of 10-
year interest rate swap contracts that managed the interest rate risk associated with the 2017 Senior Notes issued 
by ITC Holdings. A summary of the terminated interest rate swaps is provided below:

Interest Rate Swaps
(In millions, except percentages)
5-year interest rate swaps

10-year interest rate swaps

Total

Amount

$

$

375

375

750

Weighted Average 
Fixed Rate of
 Interest Rate Swaps
1.85%

Comparable 
Reference Rate 
of Notes

Gain on 
Derivatives

Settlement 
Date

2.06% $

4 November 2017

2.22%

2.31%

3 November 2017

$

7

The interest rate swaps qualified for cash flow hedge accounting treatment and the pre-tax gain of $7 million
was recognized in November 2017 for the effective portion of the hedges and recorded net of tax in AOCI. This 
amount is being amortized as a component of interest expense over the life of the related debt. At December 31, 
2017, ITC Holdings did not have any interest rate swaps outstanding.

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Revolving Credit Agreements

On October 23, 2017, ITC Holdings, ITCTransmission, METC, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains entered into 
new,  unsecured,  unguaranteed  revolving  credit  agreements,  which  replaced  the  previous  revolving  credit 
agreements then in effect. The new revolving credit agreements (a) extended the maturity date of the revolving 
credit agreements from March 2019 to October 2022 and (b) reduced the total available capacity for the revolving 
credit  agreements  for  ITC  Great  Plains  and  ITC  Midwest  by  $75  million  and  $25  million,  respectively.  At 
December 31, 2017, ITC Holdings and certain of its Regulated Operating Subsidiaries had the following unsecured 
revolving credit facilities available:

(In millions, except percentages)

Total
Available
Capacity

Outstanding
Balance (a)

Unused
Capacity

ITC Holdings
ITCTransmission
METC
ITC Midwest
ITC Great Plains

Total

$

$

400 $
100
100
225
75

900 $

— $
36
48
88
49

221 $

400 (c)

64
52
137
26
679

____________________________

(a)  Included within long-term debt.

Weighted Average
Interest Rate on
Outstanding
Balance
—%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%

(d)

(e)

(e)

(e)
(e)

Commitment
Fee Rate (b)
0.175%
0.10%
0.10%
0.10%
0.10%

(b)  Calculation based on the average daily unused commitments, subject to adjustment based on the borrower’s 

credit rating.

(c)  ITC Holdings’ revolving credit agreement may be used for general corporate purposes, including to repay 
commercial  paper  issued  pursuant  to  the  commercial  paper  program  described  above,  if  necessary.  At 
December 31, 2017 ITC Holdings did not have any commercial paper issued or outstanding.

(d)  Loan bears interest at a rate equal to LIBOR plus an applicable margin of 1.25% or at a base rate, which is 
defined as the higher of the prime rate, 0.50% above the federal funds rate or 1.00% above the one month 
LIBOR, plus an applicable margin of 0.25%, subject to adjustments based on ITC Holdings’ credit rating. 

(e)  Loans bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR plus an applicable margin of 1.00% or at a base rate, which is 
defined as the higher of the prime rate, 0.50% above the federal funds rate or 1.00% above the one month 
LIBOR, subject to adjustments based on the borrower’s credit rating. 

Covenants

Our debt instruments contain numerous financial and operating covenants that place significant restrictions on 
certain transactions, such as incurring additional indebtedness, engaging in sale and lease-back transactions, 
creating liens or other encumbrances, entering into mergers, consolidations, liquidations or dissolutions, creating 
or acquiring subsidiaries, selling or otherwise disposing of all or substantially all of our assets and paying dividends. 
In  addition,  the  covenants  require  us  to  meet  certain  financial  ratios,  such  as  maintaining  certain  net  debt  to 
capitalization ratios and certain funds from operations to net debt levels. As of December 31, 2017, we were not 
in violation of any debt covenant.

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10. 

INCOME TAXES

Our effective tax rate varied from the statutory federal income tax rate due to differences between the book 

and tax treatment of various transactions as follows:

(In millions)
Income tax expense at 35% statutory rate
State income taxes (net of federal benefit) (a)
AFUDC equity
Revaluation of deferred federal income taxes (b)
Excess tax deductions for share-based compensation (c)
Other — net (d)

Total income tax provision

____________________________

2017

2016

2015

$

$

180 $

16
(10)
8
—
2
196 $

120 $
3
(11)
—
(23)
8

97 $

134
14
(8)
—
—
2
142

(a)  Amount  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2017  includes  income  tax  benefits  of  $3  million  related  to  the 

revaluation of state deferred tax assets and liabilities for the net of federal benefit impact of the TCJA.

(b)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2017 represents income tax expense related to the revaluation of 

federal deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of the TCJA.

(c)  Amount relates to a federal income tax benefit for excess tax deductions generated in 2016 as a result of 

adopting the new accounting guidance associated with share-based payments.

(d)  Amount  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2017  includes  income  tax  expense  of  $1  million  related  to  the 
establishment  of  a  valuation  allowance  for  the  portion  of  a  capital  loss  expected  to  not  be  utilized  before 
expiration.

Components of the income tax provision were as follows:

(In millions)
Current income tax expense (benefit) (a)
Deferred income tax expense (b)(c)(d)

Total income tax provision

____________________________

2017

2016

2015

$

$

1 $

195
196 $

(122) $
219

97 $

65
77
142

(a)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily relates to the cash benefit that resulted from the 

election of bonus depreciation as described in Note 5. 

(b)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2017 includes income tax expense of $5 million related to the net 
revaluation of federal and state deferred tax assets and liabilities at ITC Holdings as a result of the TCJA.

(c)  During  the  fourth  quarter  of  2016,  we  recognized  total  income  tax  benefits  of  $27  million  for  excess  tax 
deductions  for  the  year  ended  December  31,  2016  as  a  result  of  adopting  the  new  accounting  guidance 
associated with share-based payments.

(d)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2016 includes utilization of $126 million of net operating losses, 

primarily resulting from the election of bonus depreciation as described in Note 5.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effect of temporary differences 

between the tax basis of assets or liabilities and the reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements.

In December 2017, the President of the United States signed into law the TCJA, which enacted significant 
changes to the Internal Revenue Code including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 
35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after 2017. The revaluation of the deferred tax assets and federal 
income tax net operating losses at ITC Holdings has resulted in additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter 
of 2017 of $5 million. For additional information on the impacts of tax reform, see Note 6.

Due  to  the  complexities  involved  in  accounting  for  the  enactment  of  the  TCJA,  the  SEC  staff  issued  Staff 
Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) to address the application of U.S. GAAP in situations when a registrant 

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does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable 
detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the TCJA. Accordingly, based on information 
available, we have recognized provisional tax impacts in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended 
December 31, 2017. The additional estimated income tax expense recorded as a result of the TCJA represents 
our  best  estimate  based  on  interpretation  of  the TCJA. The  ultimate  impact  may  differ  from  these  provisional 
amounts,  possibly  materially,  due  to,  among  other  things,  additional  analysis,  changes  in  interpretations  and 
assumptions we have made, additional regulatory guidance that may be issued, and actions we may take as a 
result of the TCJA. 

We are still in the process of evaluating the bonus depreciation carve-out for regulated utilities and we anticipate 
further clarification from the IRS, including tax depreciation elections for assets placed in service after September 
27, 2017. We have recorded an estimated provision for bonus depreciation for our fixed assets placed in service 
between September 27, 2017 and December 31, 2017, which impacts our deferred tax liability for property, plant 
and equipment and deferred tax asset for federal income tax NOLs and other credits.

We will continue to analyze the effects of the TCJA on our consolidated financial statements and operations. 
Additional impacts from the enactment of the TCJA will be recorded as they are identified during the measurement 
period as provided for in SAB 118.

Deferred income tax assets (liabilities) consisted of the following at December 31:

(In millions)
Property, plant and equipment
Federal income tax NOLs and other credits
METC regulatory deferral (a)
Acquisition adjustments — ADIT deferrals (a)
Goodwill
ITCTransmission regional cost allocation recovery (b)
Refund liabilities (a)
Regulatory liability gross up - TCJA
Pension and postretirement liabilities
State income tax NOLs (net of federal benefit) (c)
True-up adjustment principal & interest
Other — net

Net deferred tax liabilities (d)

Gross deferred income tax liabilities
Gross deferred income tax assets

Net deferred tax liabilities

____________________________

(a)  Described in Note 6.

2017

2016

(798) $
84
(6)
(10)
(120)
—
38
139
16
50
9
(3)
(601) $
(952) $
351
(601) $

(1,026)
140
(11)
(15)
(163)
(11)
56
—
23
47
1
(5)
(964)
(1,252)
288
(964)

$

$
$

$

(b)  Described in Note 5 under “ITC Transmission Regional Cost Allocation Refund”.

(c)  During the fourth quarter of 2016, we recorded a deferred tax asset of $9 million for state income tax net 
operating losses, related to excess tax benefits generated in periods prior to 2016 that had not been previously 
recognized in the consolidated statements of financial position, upon adoption of the accounting guidance 
associated with share-based payments.

(d)  During the fourth quarter of 2017, we recorded a reduction in the net deferred tax liabilities of $572 million and 
income tax expense of $5 million related to the revaluation of deferred taxes as a result of the reduction in the 
U.S. federal corporate income rate from 35% to 21%. The revaluation was offset by a regulatory liability of 
approximately $512 million and a reduction in regulatory assets of $65 million.

We have federal income tax NOLs and capital losses as of December 31, 2017. We expect to use our NOLs 
prior to their expirations starting in 2036. However, during the fourth quarter of 2017, we established a $1 million 
valuation allowance for our federal capital loss we expect to not be utilized before its expiration at the end of 2018. 

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We also have state income tax NOLs as of December 31, 2017, all of which we expect to use prior to their expiration 
starting in 2022.

11.  RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND ASSETS HELD IN TRUST

Pension Plan Benefits

We  have  a  qualified  defined  benefit  pension  plan  (“retirement  plan”)  for  eligible  employees,  comprised  of  a 
traditional final average pay plan and a cash balance plan. The traditional final average pay plan is noncontributory, 
covers  select  employees,  and  provides  retirement  benefits  based  on  years  of  benefit  service,  average  final 
compensation  and  age  at  retirement.  The  cash  balance  plan  is  also  noncontributory,  covers  substantially  all 
employees and provides retirement benefits based on eligible compensation and interest credits. Our funding practice 
for the retirement plan is to contribute amounts necessary to meet the minimum funding requirements of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, plus additional amounts as we determine appropriate. We made contributions 
of $4 million, $3 million and $4 million to the retirement plan in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We expect to 
contribute $4 million to the retirement plan in 2018.

We  also  have  two  supplemental  nonqualified,  noncontributory,  defined  benefit  pension  plans  for  selected 
management employees (the “supplemental benefit plans” and collectively with the retirement plan, the “pension 
plans”). The supplemental benefit plans provide for benefits that supplement those provided by the retirement plan. 
The obligations under these supplemental benefit plans are included in the pension benefit obligation calculations 
below. The investments held in trust for the supplemental benefit plans of $53 million and $42 million at December 31, 
2017 and 2016, respectively, are not included in the plan asset amounts presented below, but are included in other 
assets on our consolidated statements of financial position. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 
2015, we contributed $14 million, $5 million and $9 million, respectively, to these supplemental benefit plans.

Our investments held for the supplemental benefit plans are classified as available-for-sale securities and the 
life-to-date net unrealized loss of less than $1 million as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was recognized 
in AOCI.

The plan assets of the retirement plan consisted of the following assets by category:

Asset Category
Fixed income securities
Equity securities

Total

2017

50.2%
49.8%
100.0%

2016

50.3%
49.7%
100.0%

Net periodic benefit cost for the pension plans during 2017, 2016 and 2015 was as follows by component:

(In millions)
Service cost
Interest cost
Expected return on plan assets
Amortization of unrecognized loss

Net pension cost

2017

2016

2015

6 $
4
(4)
1
7 $

6 $
4
(4)
4

10 $

6
4
(3)
4
11

$

$

Prior to 2016, we measured service and interest costs for all pension plans utilizing a single weighted-average 
discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the plan obligations. Beginning in 2016, we adopted a 
spot rate approach for measuring service and interest costs for all our pension plans whereby specific spot rates 
along the yield curve used to determine the benefit obligations are applied to the relevant projected cash flows. We 
believe the new approach provides a more precise measurement of our service and interest costs; therefore, we 
have accounted for this change prospectively as a change in accounting estimate. This change does not affect the 
measurement of our total benefit obligation and it did not have a material impact on 2016 net pension cost.

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The  following  table  reconciles  the  obligations,  assets  and  funded  status  of  the  pension  plans  as  well  as  the 
presentation of the funded status of the pension plans in the consolidated statements of financial position as of 
December 31, 2017 and 2016:

(In millions)
Change in Benefit Obligation:

Beginning projected benefit obligation
Service cost
Interest cost
Actuarial net loss
Benefits paid

Ending projected benefit obligation

Change in Plan Assets:

Beginning plan assets at fair value
Actual return on plan assets
Employer contributions
Benefits paid

Ending plan assets at fair value

Funded status, underfunded
Accumulated benefit obligation:

Retirement plan
Supplemental benefit plans

Total accumulated benefit obligation

Amounts recorded as:

Funded Status:

Accrued pension liabilities
Other non-current assets
Other current liabilities

Total
Unrecognized Amounts in Non-current Regulatory Assets:

Net actuarial loss

Total

2017

2016

$

$

$

$

$

$

$
$

(116)
(6)
(4)
(7)
6
(127)

64
9
4
(2)
75
(52)

(67)
(56)
(123)

(54)
6
(4)
(52)

26
26

$

$

$

$

$

$

$
$

(97)
(6)
(4)
(11)
2
(116)

58
5
3
(2)
64
(52)

(56)
(55)
(111)

(52)
4
(4)
(52)

25
25

The unrecognized amounts that otherwise would have been charged and/or credited to AOCI in accordance with 
the FASB guidance on accounting for retirement benefits are recorded as a regulatory asset on our consolidated 
statements of financial position as discussed in Note 6. The amounts recorded as a regulatory asset represent a net 
periodic benefit cost to be recognized in our operating income in future periods. 

Actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation for the pension plans at December 31, 2017, 2016

and 2015 are as follows:

Weighted average discount rate (a)
Annual rate of salary increases

____________________________

2017
3.57%

4.00%

2016
4.00%

4.00%

2015
4.26%

4.00%

(a)  The 2015 discount rate assumption has been presented to conform to weighted average presentation.

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Actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit cost for the pension plans for the years ended December 31, 

2017, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:

Weighted average discount rate — service cost (a)
Weighted average discount rate — interest cost (a)
Annual rate of salary increases
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets

____________________________

2017
4.20%

3.45%

4.00%

6.20%

2016
4.46%

3.62%

4.00%

6.40%

2015
3.95%

3.95%

4.00%

6.70%

(a)  The 2015 discount rate assumptions have been presented to conform to weighted average presentation.

At  December 31,  2017,  the  projected  benefit  payments  for  the  pension  plans  calculated  using  the  same 

assumptions as those used to calculate the benefit obligation described above are as follows:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 through 2027

$

6
6
7
7
7
47

Investment Objectives and Fair Value Measurement

The general investment objectives of the retirement plan include maximizing the return within reasonable and 
prudent levels of risk and controlling administrative and management costs. The targeted asset allocation is weighted 
equally between equity and fixed income investments. Investment decisions are made by our retirement benefits 
board as delegated by our board of directors. Equity investments may include various types of U.S. and international 
equity securities, such as large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks. Fixed income investments may include cash 
and  short-term  instruments,  U.S.  Government  securities,  corporate  bonds,  mortgages  and  other  fixed  income 
investments. No investments are prohibited for use in the retirement plan, including derivatives, but our exposure to 
derivatives currently is not material. We intend that the long-term capital growth of the retirement plan, together with 
employer contributions, will provide for the payment of the benefit obligations.

We determine our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets based on the current and expected target 
allocations of the retirement plan investments and considering historical and expected long-term rates of returns on 
comparable fixed income investments and equity investments.

The measurement of fair value is based on a three-tier hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring 
fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 
2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and 
Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop 
its own assumptions. Changes in economic conditions or model-based valuation techniques may require the transfer 
of financial instruments from one fair value level to another. In such instances, the transfer is reported at the beginning 
of the reporting period. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, there were no transfers between levels.

The fair value measurement of the retirement plan assets as of December 31, 2017, was as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Mutual funds — U.S. equity securities

Mutual funds — international equity securities

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Significant

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for Other Observable

Identical Assets
(Level 1)

Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)

30 $

7
38
75 $

— $
—
—
— $

—
—
—
—

$

$

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The fair value measurement of the retirement plan assets as of December 31, 2016, was as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Mutual funds — U.S. equity securities

Mutual funds — international equity securities

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Significant

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for Other Observable

Identical Assets
(Level 1)

Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)

$

$

25 $

7
32
64 $

— $
—
—
— $

—
—
—
—

The  mutual  funds  consist  primarily  of  publicly  traded  mutual  funds  and  are  recorded  at  fair  value  based  on 

observable trades for identical securities in an active market. 

Other Postretirement Benefits

We  provide  certain  postretirement  health  care,  dental  and  life  insurance  benefits  for  eligible  employees.  We 
contributed $8 million, $7 million and $9 million to the postretirement benefit plan in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. 
We expect to contribute $10 million to the postretirement benefit plan in 2018.

The plan assets of the postretirement benefit plan consisted of the following assets by category:

Asset Category
Fixed income securities
Equity securities

Total

2017

50.1%
49.9%
100.0%

2016

50.3%
49.7%
100.0%

Net postretirement benefit plan cost for the postretirement benefit plan for 2017, 2016 and 2015 was as follows 

by component:

(In millions)
Service cost
Interest cost
Expected return on plan assets
Amortization of unrecognized loss

Net postretirement cost

2017

2016

2015

$

$

8 $
3
(2)
—
9 $

7 $
3
(2)
—
8 $

8
3
(2)
1
10

Prior to 2016, we measured service and interest costs for the postretirement benefit plan utilizing a single weighted-
average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the plan obligation. Beginning in 2016, we 
adopted a spot rate approach for measuring service and interest costs for the postretirement benefit plan whereby 
specific spot rates along the yield curve used to determine the benefit obligation are applied to the relevant projected 
cash flows. We believe the new approach provides a more precise measurement of our service and interest costs; 
therefore, we have accounted for this change prospectively as a change in accounting estimate. This change does 
not  affect  the  measurement  of  our  total  benefit  obligation  and  it  did  not  have  a  material  impact  on  2016  net 
postretirement benefit cost.

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The  following  table  reconciles  the  obligations,  assets  and  funded  status  of  the  plan  as  well  as  the  amounts 
recognized as accrued postretirement liability in the consolidated statements of financial position as of December 31, 
2017 and 2016:

(In millions)
Change in Benefit Obligation:

Beginning accumulated postretirement obligation
Service cost
Interest cost
Actuarial net loss
Benefits paid

Ending accumulated postretirement obligation
Change in Plan Assets:

Beginning plan assets at fair value
Actual return on plan assets
Employer contributions
Benefits paid

Ending plan assets at fair value

Funded status, underfunded
Amounts recorded as:

Funded Status:

Accrued postretirement liabilities

Total
Unrecognized Amounts in Non-current Regulatory Assets:

Net actuarial loss

Total

2017

2016

(68)
(8)
(3)
(8)
1
(86)

52
7
8
(1)
66
(20)

(20)
(20)

4
4

$

$

$
$

$
$

(58)
(7)
(3)
(1)
1
(68)

42
4
7
(1)
52
(16)

(16)
(16)

—
—

$

$

$
$

$
$

The unrecognized amounts that otherwise would have been charged and/or credited to AOCI in accordance with 
the FASB guidance on accounting for retirement benefits are recorded as a regulatory asset on our consolidated 
statements of financial position as discussed in Note 6. The amounts recorded as a regulatory asset represent a net 
periodic benefit cost to be recognized in our operating income in future periods. Our measurement of the accumulated 
postretirement benefit obligation as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 does not reflect the potential receipt of any 
subsidies under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.

The increase in the net actuarial loss as of December 31, 2017, as compared with December 31, 2016, is primarily 
the result of the decrease in the discount rate, partially offset by higher than expected actual returns on plan assets.

Actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation for the postretirement benefit plan at December 31, 

2017, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:

Discount rate
Annual rate of salary increases
Health care cost trend rate
Ultimate health care cost trend rate
Year that the ultimate trend rate is reached
Annual rate of increase in dental benefit costs

2017
3.75%
4.00%
6.75%
5.00%
2025
4.50%

2016
4.28%
4.00%
7.00%
5.00%
2022
5.00%

2015
4.62%
4.00%
7.15%
5.00%
2022
5.00%

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Actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit cost for the postretirement benefit plan for the years ended 

December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:

Discount rate — service cost
Discount rate — interest cost
Annual rate of salary increases
Health care cost trend rate
Ultimate health care cost trend rate
Year that the ultimate trend rate is reached
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets

2017
4.35%
3.98%
4.00%
7.00%
5.00%
2022
4.70%

2016
4.72%
4.21%
4.00%
7.15%
5.00%
2022
4.80%

2015
4.20%
4.20%
4.00%
7.25%
5.00%
2022
5.20%

At December 31, 2017, the projected benefit payments for the postretirement benefit plan calculated using the 

same assumptions as those used to calculate the benefit obligations described above are as follows:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 through 2027

$

1
1
2
2
2
16

Assumed health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the health care plans. 
A one-percentage-point increase or decrease in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the following 
effects on service and interest cost for 2017 and the postretirement benefit obligation at December 31, 2017:

(In millions)
Effect on total of service and interest cost
Effect on postretirement benefit obligation

Investment Objectives and Fair Value Measurement

One-Percentage- One-Percentage-
Point Decrease
(2)
$
(15)

Point Increase
3
21

$

The  general  investment  objectives  of  the  postretirement  benefit  plan  include  maximizing  the  return  within 
reasonable and prudent levels of risk and controlling administrative and management costs. The targeted asset 
allocation is weighted equally between equity and fixed income investments. Investment decisions are made by our 
retirement benefits board as delegated by our board of directors. Equity investments may include various types of 
U.S. and international equity securities, such as large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks. Fixed income investments 
may include cash and short-term instruments, U.S. Government securities, corporate bonds, mortgages and other 
fixed income investments. No investments are prohibited for use in the other postretirement benefit plan, including 
derivatives, but our exposure to derivatives currently is not material. We intend that the long-term capital growth of 
the postretirement benefit plan, together with employer contributions, will provide for the payment of the benefit 
obligations.

We determine our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets based on the current target allocations of the 
postretirement benefit plan investments as well as consider historical returns on comparable fixed income investments 
and equity investments.

The measurement of fair value is based on a three-tier hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring 
fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 
2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and 
Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop 
its own assumptions. Changes in economic conditions or model-based valuation techniques may require the transfer 
of financial instruments from one fair value level to another. In such instances, the transfer is reported at the beginning 
of the reporting period. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, there were no transfers between levels.

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The fair value measurement of the postretirement benefit plan assets as of December 31, 2017, was as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Mutual funds — U.S. equity securities

Mutual funds — international equity securities

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Significant

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for Other Observable

Identical Assets
(Level 1)

Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)

$

$

31 $

2
33
66 $

— $
—
—
— $

—
—
—
—

The fair value measurement of the postretirement benefit plan assets as of December 31, 2016, was as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Mutual funds — U.S. equity securities

Mutual funds — international equity securities

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Significant

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for Other Observable

Identical Assets
(Level 1)

Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)

$

$

25 $

1
26
52 $

— $
—
—
— $

—
—
—
—

Our mutual fund investments consist primarily of publicly traded mutual funds and are recorded at fair value based 

on observable trades for identical securities in an active market.

Defined Contribution Plan

We  also  sponsor  a  defined  contribution  retirement  savings  plan.  Participation  in  this  plan  is  available  to 
substantially all employees. We match employee contributions up to certain predefined limits based upon eligible 
compensation and the employee’s contribution rate. The cost of this plan was $5 million, $7 million and $5 million 
in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

12.  FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The measurement of fair value is based on a three-tier hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring 
fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 
2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and 
Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to 
develop its own assumptions. Changes in economic conditions or model-based valuation techniques may require 
the transfer of financial instruments from one fair value level to another. In such instances, the transfer is reported 
at the beginning of the reporting period. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, there were no transfers 
between levels.

Our assets measured at fair value subject to the three-tier hierarchy at December 31, 2017, were as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Cash equivalents

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Mutual funds — equity securities

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets

Significant
Other Observable
Inputs

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs

(Level 1)

(Level 2)

(Level 3)

$

$

1 $

52
1

54 $

— $
—
—
— $

—
—
—
—

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Our assets measured at fair value subject to the three-tier hierarchy at December 31, 2016, were as follows:

(In millions)
Financial assets measured on a recurring basis:

Mutual funds — fixed income securities

Mutual funds — equity securities

Interest rate swap derivatives

Total

Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using

Quoted Prices in
Active Markets for
Identical Assets

Significant
Other Observable
Inputs

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs

(Level 1)

(Level 2)

(Level 3)

$

$

42 $

1
—
43 $

— $
—
8
8 $

—
—
—
—

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we held certain assets that are required to be measured at fair value on 
a recurring basis. The assets included in the table consist of investments recorded within other long-term assets, 
including investments held in a trust associated with our supplemental nonqualified, noncontributory, retirement 
benefit plans for selected management employees. Our mutual funds consist of publicly traded mutual funds and 
are recorded at fair value based on observable trades for identical securities in an active market. Changes in the 
observed trading prices and liquidity of money market funds are monitored as additional support for determining 
fair value. Gain and losses are recorded in earnings for investments classified as trading securities and AOCI for 
investments classified as available-for-sale.

The asset related to derivatives consists of interest rate swaps as discussed in Note 9. The fair value of our 
interest rate swap derivatives is determined based on a DCF method using LIBOR swap rates, which are observable 
at commonly quoted intervals.

We also held non-financial assets that are required to be measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis. These 
consist of goodwill and intangible assets. We did not record any impairment charges on long-lived assets and no 
other  significant  events  occurred  requiring  non-financial  assets  and  liabilities  to  be  measured  at  fair  value 
(subsequent to initial recognition) during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities

Fixed Rate Debt

Based on the borrowing rates obtained from third party lending institutions currently available for bank loans 
with similar terms and average maturities from active markets, the fair value of our consolidated long-term debt 
and debt maturing within one year, excluding revolving and term loan credit agreements and commercial paper, 
was $5,192 million and $4,306 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. These fair values represent 
Level 2 under the three-tier hierarchy described above. The total book value of our consolidated long-term debt 
and debt maturing within one year, net of discount and deferred financing fees and excluding revolving and term 
loan credit agreements and commercial paper, was $4,830 million and $4,112 million at December 31, 2017 and 
2016, respectively.

Revolving and Term Loan Credit Agreements

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, we had a consolidated total of $271 million and $334 million, respectively, 
outstanding under our revolving and term loan credit agreements, which are variable rate loans. The fair value of 
these  loans  approximates  book  value  based  on  the  borrowing  rates  currently  available  for  variable  rate  loans 
obtained from third party lending institutions. These fair values represent Level 2 under the three-tier hierarchy 
described above.

Other Financial Instruments

The carrying value of other financial instruments included in current assets and current liabilities, including cash 
and cash equivalents, special deposits and commercial paper, approximates their fair value due to the short-term 
nature of these instruments.

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13.  STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The following table provides the components of changes in AOCI for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016

and 2015:

(In millions)
Balance at the beginning of period

Derivative instruments

Reclassification of net loss relating to interest rate cash flow hedges from 
AOCI to earnings (net of tax of $1 for the years ended December 31, 
2017 and 2016) (a)

Loss on interest rate swaps relating to interest rate cash flow hedges 
(net of tax of $1, $2 and $1 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 
2016 and 2015, respectively)

Total other comprehensive loss, net of tax

Balance at the end of period (b)
____________________________

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

2 $

4 $

5

1

1

(1)
—
2 $

(3)
(2)
2 $

$

—

(1)
(1)
4

(a)  The reclassification of the net loss relating to interest rate cash flow hedges is reported in interest expense on 

a pre-tax basis.

(b)  Includes unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities, net of tax, of less than $1 million for the 

years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

The amount of net loss relating to interest rate cash flow hedges to be reclassified from AOCI to interest expense 
for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018 is expected to be approximately $1 million (net of tax of less 
than $1 million). The reclassification is reported in interest expense on a pre-tax basis. 

14.  SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYEE SHARE PURCHASE PLAN 

We recorded share-based compensation in 2017, 2016 and 2015 as follows:

(In millions)
Operation and maintenance expenses
General and administrative expenses (b)
Amounts capitalized to property, plant and equipment

Total share-based compensation
Total tax benefit recognized in the consolidated statements of

operations

____________________________

2017 (a)

2016

2015

$

$

$

1 $
3
1
5 $

1 $

2 $

52
5

59 $

49 $

2
11
5
18

5

(a)  All amounts for the year ended December 31, 2017 relate to the 2017 Omnibus Plan; see below for further 

discussion on the 2017 Omnibus Plan.

(b)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2016 includes the expense recognized due to the accelerated vesting 

of the share-based awards upon completion of the Merger as described below. 

2017 Omnibus Plan

On February 27, 2017, the ITC Holdings board of directors adopted the 2017 Omnibus Plan, which was amended 
by the ITC Holdings board of directors on July 10, 2017 (as amended, the “2017 Omnibus Plan”). Under the 2017 
Omnibus Plan, we may grant long-term incentive awards of PBUs and SBUs to employees, including executive 
officers, of ITC Holdings and its subsidiaries. Each PBU and SBU granted will be valued based on one share of 
Fortis common stock traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, converted to U.S. dollars and settled only in cash. The 
awards vest on the date specified in a particular grant agreement, provided the service and performance criteria, as 
applicable, are satisfied.

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Performance-Based Units

The PBUs are classified as liability awards based on the cash settlement feature. The PBUs are measured at fair 
value at the end of each reporting period, which will fluctuate based on the price of Fortis common stock and the 
level of achievement of the financial performance criteria, including a market condition and a performance condition. 
The  payout  may  range  from  0%  -  200%  of  the  target  award,  depending  on  actual  performance  relative  to  the 
performance criteria. The PBUs earn dividend equivalents which are also re-measured consistent with the target 
award and settled in cash at the end of the vesting period. The granted awards and related dividend equivalents 
have no shareholder rights. PBUs that were granted in 2017 pursuant to the 2017 Omnibus Plan vest on December 
31, 2019 provided the service and performance criteria are satisfied and vested awards will be settled during the 
first quarter of 2020.

The following table shows the changes in PBUs during the year ended December 31, 2017:

PBUs at December 31, 2016

Granted
Vested
Forfeited

PBUs at December 31, 2017

Number of
Performance
Based Units
—
344,900
—
(10,514)
334,386

The aggregate fair value of PBUs as of December 31, 2017 was $6 million. At December 31, 2017, the total 
unrecognized compensation cost related to the PBUs is $4 million and the weighted average period over which that 
cost is expected to be recognized is 2 years.

Service-Based Units

The SBUs are classified as liability awards based on the cash settlement feature. The SBUs are measured at fair 
value at the end of each reporting period, which will fluctuate based on the price of Fortis common stock. The SBUs 
earn dividend equivalents which are also re-measured based on the price of Fortis common stock and settled in 
cash at the end of the vesting period. The granted awards and related dividend equivalents have no shareholder 
rights. SBUs that were granted in 2017 pursuant to the 2017 Omnibus Plan vest on December 31, 2019 provided 
the service criterion is satisfied and vested awards will be settled during the first quarter of 2020.

The following table shows the changes in SBUs during the year ended December 31, 2017:

SBUs at December 31, 2016

Granted
Vested
Forfeited

SBUs at December 31, 2017

Number of
Service
Based Units
—
267,118
(457)
(8,892)
257,769

The  aggregate  fair  value  of  SBUs  as  of  December  31,  2017  is  $9  million. At  December  31,  2017,  the  total 
unrecognized compensation cost related to the SBUs is $6 million and the weighted average period over which that 
cost is expected to be recognized is 2 years.

2015 Long-Term Incentive Plan and Second Amended and Restated 2006 Long-Term Incentive Plan

Under the Merger Agreement, outstanding options to acquire common stock of ITC Holdings vested immediately 
prior to closing and were converted into the right to receive the difference between the Merger consideration and 
the exercise price of each option in cash, restricted stock vested immediately prior to closing and was converted into 
the right to receive the Merger consideration in cash and performance shares vested immediately prior to closing at 
the higher of target or actual performance through the effective time of the Merger and were converted into the right 
to receive the Merger consideration in cash. The per share amount of Merger consideration determined in accordance 
with the Merger Agreement and used for purposes of settling the share-based awards was $45.72. For the year 
ended December 31, 2016, we recognized approximately $41 million of expense due to the accelerated vesting of 

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the share-based awards that occurred at the completion of the Merger. Refer to Note 2 for additional discussion 
regarding  the  Merger. As  of  December  31,  2017  and  December  31,  2016,  there  were  no  share-based  payment 
awards outstanding under the plans that were in effect at or before the Merger. 

Employee Share Purchase Plan

Effective May 4, 2017, Fortis adopted the ESPP, which enables ITC employees to purchase common shares of 
Fortis stock. A total of 600,000 shares of Fortis common stock are available for purchase from Fortis’ treasury under 
the ESPP. The ESPP allows eligible employees to contribute during any investment period between 1% and 10%
of their annual base pay, with an employee’s aggregate contribution for the calendar year not to exceed 10% of 
annual base pay for the year. Employee contributions are made at the beginning of each quarterly investment period 
in  either a  lump sum  or by means  of a  loan  from ITC  Holdings,  which  is repayable  over  52  weeks from  payroll 
deductions (or earlier upon certain events) and secured by a pledge on the related purchased shares. ITC Holdings 
contributes as additional compensation an amount equal to 10% of an employee’s contribution up to a maximum 
annual contribution of 1% of an employee’s annual base pay and an amount equal to 10% of all dividends payable 
by Fortis on the Fortis shares allocated to an employee’s ESPP account. All amounts contributed to the ESPP by 
employees and ITC Holdings are used to purchase Fortis common shares from Fortis or in the market concurrent 
with  the  quarterly  dividend  payment  dates  of  March  1,  June  1,  September  1  and  December  1.  ITC  Holdings 
implemented the ESPP during the second quarter of 2017. The cost of ITC Holdings’ contribution for the year ended 
December 31, 2017 was less than $1 million.

The ITC Holdings Employee Stock Purchase Plan in place prior to the Merger was a compensatory plan accounted 
for under the expense recognition provisions of the share-based payment accounting standards. Compensation cost 
was recorded based on the fair market value of the purchase options at the grant date, which corresponded to the 
first day of each purchase period, and was recognized over the purchase period. During 2016 and 2015, employees 
purchased 40,219 and 76,041 shares, respectively, resulting in proceeds from the sale of our common stock of $1 
million and $2 million, respectively. The total share-based compensation cost for the Employee Stock Purchase Plan 
was less than $1 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

15.  JOINTLY OWNED UTILITY PLANT/COORDINATED SERVICES

Certain of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries have agreements with other utilities for the joint ownership of 
substation assets and transmission lines. We account for these jointly owned assets by recording property, plant 
and equipment for our percentage of ownership interest. Various agreements provide the authority for construction 
of capital improvements and the operating costs associated with the substations and lines. Generally, each party 
is responsible for the capital, operation and maintenance and other costs of these jointly owned facilities based 
upon each participant’s undivided ownership interest, and each participant is responsible for providing its own 
financing. Our participating share of expenses associated with these jointly held assets are primarily recorded 
within operation and maintenance expenses on our consolidated statements of operations.

We have investments in jointly owned utility assets as shown in the table below as of December 31, 2017:

(In millions)
ITCTransmission (b)
METC (c)
ITC Midwest (d)
ITC Great Plains (e)

Total

____________________________

Substations

Net Investments (a)
Lines

Other

$

$

— $
14
27
10
51 $

29 $
41
36
23

129 $

—
—
7
—
7

(a)  Amount represents our investment in jointly held plant, which has been reduced by the ownership interest 

amounts of other parties.

(b)  ITCTransmission has joint ownership in two 345 kV transmission lines with a municipal power agency that has 
a  50.4%  ownership  interest  in  the  transmission  lines. An  Ownership  and  Operating Agreement  with  the 
municipal power agency provides ITCTransmission with authority for construction of capital improvements and 
for the operation and management of the transmission lines. The municipal power agency is responsible for 
the capital and operation and maintenance costs allocable to their ownership interest.

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(c)  METC has joint sharing of several assets within various substations with Consumers Energy, other municipal 
distribution systems and other generators. The rights, responsibilities and obligations for these jointly owned 
assets are documented in the Amended and Restated Distribution — Transmission Interconnection Agreement 
with Consumers Energy and in numerous interconnection facilities agreements with various municipalities and 
other generators. In addition, other municipal power agencies and cooperatives have an ownership interest 
in  several  METC  345  kV  transmission  lines. This  ownership  entitles  these  municipal  power  agencies  and 
cooperatives to approximately 608 MW of network transmission service from the METC transmission system. 
As of December 31, 2017, METC’s ownership percentages for jointly owned substation facilities and lines 
ranged from 6.3% to 92.0% and 1.0% to 41.9%, respectively.

(d)  ITC  Midwest  has  joint  sharing  of  several  substations  and  transmission  lines  with  various  parties. As  of 
December 31, 2017, ITC Midwest had net investments in jointly owned substation assets under construction 
of $7 million. ITC Midwest’s ownership percentages for jointly owned substation facilities and lines ranged 
from 28.0% to 80.0% and 11.0% to 80.0%, respectively, as of December 31, 2017.

(e)  In 2014, ITC Great Plains entered into a joint ownership agreement with an electric cooperative that has a 
49.0% ownership interest in a transmission project. ITC Great Plains will construct and operate the project 
and the electric cooperative will be responsible for their ownership percentage of capital and operation and 
maintenance costs. As of December 31, 2017, ITC Great Plains’ ownership percentage in the project was 
51.0%.

16. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS 

Intercompany Receivables and Payables

ITC  Holdings  may  incur  charges  from  Fortis  and  other  subsidiaries  of  Fortis  that  are  not  subsidiaries  of  ITC 
Holdings for general corporate expenses incurred. In addition, ITC Holdings may perform additional services for, or 
receive additional services from, Fortis and such subsidiaries. These transactions are in the normal course of business 
and payments for these services are settled through accounts receivable and accounts payable, as necessary. We 
had intercompany receivables from Fortis and such subsidiaries of less than $1 million at December 31, 2017 and 
December 31, 2016 and intercompany payables to Fortis and such subsidiaries of less than $1 million at December 31, 
2017 and no intercompany payables to Fortis and such subsidiaries at December 31, 2016. 

Related party charges for corporate expenses from Fortis and other subsidiaries of Fortis recorded in general 
and administrative expense for ITC Holdings were $8 million and less than $1 million for the years ended December 
31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Related party billings for services to Fortis and other subsidiaries recorded as an 
offset to general and administrative expenses for ITC Holdings were $1 million and less than $1 million for the years 
ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Dividends

During the year ended December 31, 2017 we paid dividends of $300 million to Investment Holdings. ITC Holdings 

also paid dividends of $50 million to Investment Holdings in January of 2018.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, we received $137 million from Investment Holdings for the cash settlement of 
the share-based awards that vested at the consummation of the Merger as described above. Additionally, we paid 
dividends of $33 million to Investment Holdings during the fourth quarter of 2016.

17.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Environmental Matters

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, which impose limitations on the 
discharge  of  pollutants  into  the  environment,  establish  standards  for  the  management,  treatment,  storage, 
transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and hazardous materials, and impose obligations to 
investigate  and  remediate  contamination  in  certain  circumstances.  Liabilities  relating  to  investigation  and 
remediation of contamination, as well as other liabilities concerning hazardous materials or contamination, such 
as claims for personal injury or property damage, may arise at many locations, including formerly owned or operated 

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properties and sites where wastes have been treated or disposed of, as well as properties currently owned or 
operated by us. Such liabilities may arise even where the contamination does not result from noncompliance with 
applicable environmental laws. Under some environmental laws, such liabilities may also be joint and several, 
meaning that a party can be held responsible for more than its share of the liability involved, or even the entire 
share. Although environmental requirements generally have become more stringent and compliance with those 
requirements more expensive, we are not aware of any specific developments that would increase our costs for 
such compliance in a manner that would be expected to have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, 
financial position or liquidity. 

Our  assets  and  operations  also  involve  the  use  of  materials  classified  as  hazardous,  toxic  or  otherwise 
dangerous. Many of the properties that we own or operate have been used for many years, and include older 
facilities and equipment that may be more likely than newer ones to contain or be made from such materials. Some 
of these properties include aboveground or underground storage tanks and associated piping. Some of them also 
include large electrical equipment filled with mineral oil, which may contain or previously have contained PCBs. 
Our facilities and equipment are often situated on or near property owned by others so that, if they are the source 
of contamination, others’ property may be affected. For example, aboveground and underground transmission 
lines  sometimes  traverse  properties  that  we  do  not  own  and  transmission  assets  that  we  own  or  operate  are 
sometimes commingled at our transmission stations with distribution assets owned or operated by our transmission 
customers. 

Some properties in which we have an ownership interest or at which we operate are, or are suspected of being, 
affected by environmental contamination. We are not aware of any pending or threatened claims against us with 
respect  to  environmental  contamination  relating  to  these  properties,  or  of  any  investigation  or  remediation  of 
contamination at these properties, that entail costs likely to materially affect us. Some facilities and properties are 
located near environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands. 

Litigation

We  are  involved  in  certain  legal  proceedings  before  various  courts,  governmental  agencies  and  mediation 
panels concerning matters arising in the ordinary course of business. These proceedings include certain contract 
disputes, eminent domain and vegetation management activities, regulatory matters and pending judicial matters. 
We cannot predict the final disposition of such proceedings. We regularly review legal matters and record provisions 
for claims that are considered probable of loss. 

Michigan Sales and Use Tax Audit

The Michigan Department of Treasury has conducted sales and use tax audits of ITCTransmission for the audit 
periods April 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008 and October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2013. The Michigan 
Department of Treasury has denied ITCTransmission’s claims of the industrial processing exemption from use tax 
that it has taken beginning January 1, 2007. The exemption claim denials resulted in use tax assessments against 
ITCTransmission. ITCTransmission filed administrative appeals to contest these use tax assessments. 

In a separate, but related case involving a Michigan-based public utility that made similar industrial processing 
exemption claims, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in July 2015 that the electric system, which involves altering 
voltage, constitutes an exempt, industrial processing activity. However, the ruling further held the electric system 
is also used for other functions that would not be exempt, and remanded the case to the Michigan Court of Claims 
to determine how the exemption applies to assets that are used in electric distribution activities. On March 30, 
2016, ITCTransmission withdrew its administrative appeals, and subsequently filed a civil action in the Michigan 
Court of Claims seeking to have the use tax assessments at issue canceled. On November 2, 2016, the Michigan 
Court of Claims denied a motion filed by the Michigan Department of Treasury for partial summary disposition of 
the ITCTransmission civil action. The Michigan Department of Treasury appealed this denial with the Michigan 
Court of Appeals. The Court of Claims consolidated our civil action with similar, pending litigation involving another 
company, and ordered both cases to mediation.

On  March  23,  2017,  following  the  facilitated  court  ordered  mediation,  the  parties  entered  into  a  settlement 
agreement. Pursuant to that agreement, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal filed by the Michigan Department 
of  Treasury  on  March  30,  2017.  On  April  3,  2017,  the  Court  of  Claims  dismissed  the  civil  action  filed  by 
ITCTransmission. 

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The amount of use tax and interest associated with the settlement agreement has been paid and recorded 
primarily as an increase to property, plant and equipment, which is a component of revenue requirement in our 
cost-based formula rate. 

METC has also taken the industrial processing exemption. We believe it is probable that METC will be required 
to remit use tax associated with this exemption. As of December 31, 2017, METC had recorded an estimated 
current liability of $4 million for open periods. The additional use tax liability has been recorded primarily as an 
increase to the cost of property, plant and equipment, as the majority of purchases for which the exemption was 
taken relate to purchases associated with capital projects.

Rate of Return on Equity Complaints

On November 12, 2013, the Association of Businesses Advocating Tariff Equity, Coalition of MISO Transmission 
Customers, Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers, Indiana Industrial Energy Consumers, Inc., Minnesota Large 
Industrial Group and Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group (collectively, the “complainants”) filed the Initial Complaint  
with the FERC under Section 206 of the FPA requesting that the FERC find the then current 12.38% MISO regional 
base ROE rate (the “base ROE”) for all MISO TOs, including ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest, to no 
longer be just and reasonable. The complainants sought a FERC order reducing the base ROE used in the formula 
transmission rates for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to 9.15%, reducing the equity component of 
our capital structure and terminating the ROE adders approved for certain Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. The 
FERC  set  the  base  ROE  for  hearing  and  settlement  procedures,  while  denying  all  other  aspects  of  the  Initial 
Complaint. The FERC set the refund effective date for the Initial Complaint as November 12, 2013.

On June 19, 2014, in a separate Section 206 complaint against the regional base ROE rate for ISO New England 
TOs, the FERC adopted a new methodology for establishing base ROE rates for electric transmission utilities. The 
new methodology is based on a two-step DCF analysis that uses both short-term and long-term growth projections 
in calculating ROE rates for a proxy group of electric utilities. The FERC also reiterated that it can apply discretion 
in determining how ROE rates are established within a zone of reasonableness and reiterated its policy for limiting 
the overall ROE rate for any company, including the base and all applicable adders, at the high end of the zone 
of reasonableness set by the two-step DCF methodology. The new method presented in the ISO New England 
ROE case, including any revisions made in response to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia Circuit in Emera Maine v. FERC, discussed below, will be used in resolving the MISO ROE cases.

On December 22, 2015, the presiding administrative law judge issued an initial decision on the Initial Complaint, 
consistent with the new methodology adopted in the ISO New England decision in June 2014. On September 28, 
2016, the FERC issued the September 2016 Order affirming the presiding administrative law judge’s initial decision 
and setting the base ROE at 10.32%, with a maximum ROE of 11.35%, effective for the period from November 
12,  2013  through  February  11,  2015  (the  “Initial  Refund  Period”).  Additionally,  the  rates  established  by  the 
September 2016 Order will be used prospectively from the date of that order until a new approved rate is established 
by the FERC in ruling on the Second Complaint described below. The September 2016 Order resulted in an ROE 
used currently by ITCTransmission, METC and ITC Midwest of 11.35%, 11.35% and 11.32%, respectively. 

The September 2016 Order required all MISO TOs, including our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, to 
provide refunds for the Initial Refund Period. The total estimated refund for the Initial Complaint resulting from this 
FERC order, including interest, was $118 million for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries as of December 
31, 2016, recorded in current liabilities on the consolidated statements of financial position. During the year ended 
December 31, 2017, we provided net refunds with interest, which were substantially finalized during the second 
quarter of 2017. The total amount of the net refunds, including interest and the associated true-up, for the Initial 
Complaint were not materially different from the estimated amount recorded as of December 31, 2016. 

On October 28, 2016, the MISO TOs, including our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries, filed a request 
with the FERC for rehearing of the September 2016 Order regarding the short-term growth projections in the two-
step DCF analysis used by FERC to determine the cost of equity of public utilities. The complainants also filed a 
request for rehearing, citing that FERC erred in several material respects in the September 2016 Order. The FERC 
issued a tolling order on November 28, 2016 to allow for additional time to address the rehearing requests. 

On February 12, 2015, the Second Complaint was filed with the FERC under Section 206 of the FPA by Arkansas 
Electric Cooperative Corporation, Mississippi Delta Energy Agency, Clarksdale Public Utilities Commission, Public 
Service Commission of Yazoo City and Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc., seeking a FERC order to 

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reduce the base ROE used in the formula transmission rates of our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries to 
8.67%, with an effective date of February 12, 2015. The FERC set the Second Complaint for hearing and settlement 
procedures and set the refund effective date for the Second Complaint as February 12, 2015. 

On June 30, 2016, the presiding administrative law judge issued an initial decision on the Second Complaint, 
which recommended a base ROE of 9.70% for February 12, 2015 through May 11, 2016 (the “Second Refund 
Period”), with a maximum ROE of 10.68%. The initial decision is a non-binding recommendation to the FERC on 
the  Second  Complaint,  and  all  parties  have  filed  briefs  contesting  various  parts  of  the  proposed  findings  and 
recommendations. FERC has not yet issued an order on the initial decision on the Second Complaint.

On April 14, 2017, in Emera Maine v. FERC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated 
the precedent-setting FERC orders that revised the regional base ROE rate for the ISO New England TOs and 
established and applied the two-step DCF methodology for the determination of ROE. The court remanded the 
orders to the FERC for further justification of its establishment of the new base ROE for the New England TOs.

On  September  29,  2017,  certain  MISO  transmission  owners,  including  our  MISO  Regulated  Operating 
Subsidiaries,  filed  a  motion  for  the  FERC  to  dismiss  the  Second  Complaint,  on  the  grounds  that  the  Second 
Complaint fails as a matter of law to make the showings required by the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Emera Maine to 
demonstrate that the currently effective base ROE of 10.32% is unjust and unreasonable. Pending a determination 
by  FERC  on  the  merits  of  the  motion,  the  estimated  current  regulatory  liability  that  has  been  recorded  in  the 
consolidated statements of financial position for the Second Complaint has not been modified.

If the Second Complaint is not dismissed, we expect the FERC to establish a new base ROE and zone of 
reasonableness that will be used, along with any ROE adders, to calculate the refund liability for the Second Refund 
Period and future ROEs for our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2017, the estimated 
range of refunds for the related refund period is from $106 million to $145 million on a pre-tax basis. Our MISO 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries have recorded an estimated current regulatory liability for the Second Complaint 
of $145 million as of December 31, 2017. An estimated liability for the Second Refund Period of $140 million was 
recorded as a non-current regulatory liability as of December 31, 2016. The recognition of the obligations associated 
with the complaints resulted in a reduction of revenues and net income and additional interest expense as set forth 
in the table below for the periods indicated.

(In millions)

Revenue reduction
Interest expense increase
Estimated net income reduction (a)

____________________________

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2017

2015

$

— $
6
3

80 $
10
55

115
5
73

(a)  Includes an effect on net income of $27 million and $28 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 

2015, respectively, for revenue initially recognized in 2015, 2014 and 2013.

It is possible that the outcome of these matters could differ from the estimated range of losses and materially 
affect our consolidated results of operations due to the uncertainty of the calculation of an authorized base ROE 
along with the zone of reasonableness, which is subject to significant discretion by the FERC. Further uncertainty 
regarding the outcome of the Initial Complaint and the Second Complaint and the timing of completion of these 
matters has been introduced due to the Emera Maine v. FERC decision. 

As of December 31, 2017, our MISO Regulated Operating Subsidiaries had a total of approximately $3 billion
of equity in their collective capital structures for ratemaking purposes. Based on this level of aggregate equity, we 
estimate that each 10 basis point reduction in the authorized ROE would reduce annual consolidated net income 
by approximately $3 million.

In a separate but related matter, in November 2014, METC, ITC Midwest and other MISO TOs filed a request 
with the FERC, under FPA Section 205, for authority to include a 50 basis point incentive adder for RTO participation 
in each of the TOs’ formula rates. On January 5, 2015, the FERC approved the use of this incentive adder, effective 
January 6, 2015. Additionally, ITC Midwest filed a request with the FERC, under FPA Section 205, in January 2015 
for authority to include a 100 basis point incentive adder for independent transmission ownership, which is currently 
authorized for ITCTransmission and METC. On March 31, 2015, the FERC approved the use of a 50 basis point 
incentive adder for independence, effective April 1, 2015. On April 30, 2015, ITC Midwest and an intervenor, RPGI, 

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filed separate requests with the FERC for rehearing on the approved incentive adder for independence, and both 
requests were subsequently denied by the FERC on January 6, 2016. RPGI has filed an appeal of the FERC’s 
decisions, which remains pending. Beginning September 28, 2016, these incentive adders have been applied to 
METC’s and ITC Midwest’s base ROEs in establishing their total authorized ROE rates, subject to the maximum 
ROE limitation in the September 2016 Order of 11.35%. 

Development Projects

We are pursuing strategic development projects that may result in payments to developers that are contingent 
on  the  projects  reaching  certain  milestones  indicating  that  the  projects  are  financially  viable.  We  believe  it  is 
reasonably possible that we will be required to make these contingent development payments up to a maximum 
amount of $125 million for the period from 2018 through 2021. In the event it becomes probable that we will make 
these payments, we would recognize the liability and the corresponding intangible asset or expense as appropriate.

Purchase Obligations and Leases

At December 31, 2017, we had purchase obligations of $72 million representing commitments for materials, 
services  and  equipment  that  had  not  been  received  as  of  December 31,  2017,  primarily  for  construction  and 
maintenance  projects  for  which  we  have  an  executed  contract.  Of  these  purchase  obligations,  $71  million  is 
expected to be paid in 2018, with the majority of the items related to materials and equipment that have long 
production lead times.

We have operating leases for office space, equipment and storage facilities. We recognize expenses relating 
to our operating lease obligations on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We recognized rent expense 
of $1 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 recorded in general and administrative 
expenses as well as operation and maintenance expenses. These amounts and the amounts in the table below 
do not include any expense or payments to be made under the METC Easement Agreement described below 
under “Other Commitments — METC — Amended and Restated Easement Agreement with Consumers Energy.”

Future minimum lease payments under the leases at December 31, 2017 were:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022 and thereafter

Total minimum lease payments

Other Commitments

METC

$

$

1
1
1
—
1
4

Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement for Ancillary Services. Since METC does not own any 
generating  facilities,  it  must  procure  ancillary  services  from  third  party  suppliers,  such  as  Consumers  Energy. 
Currently, under the Ancillary Services Agreement, METC pays Consumers Energy for providing certain generation 
based services necessary to support the reliable operation of the bulk power grid, such as voltage support and 
generation capability and capacity to balance loads and generation.

Amended and Restated Easement Agreement. Under the Easement Agreement, Consumers Energy provides 
METC with an easement to the land on which a majority of METC’s transmission towers, poles, lines and other 
transmission  facilities  used  to  transmit  electricity  for  Consumers  Energy  and  others  are  located.  METC  pays 
Consumers Energy $10 million per year for the easement and also pays for any rentals, property, taxes, and other 
fees related to the property covered by the Easement Agreement. Payments to Consumers Energy under the 
Easement Agreement are charged to operation and maintenance expenses. 

ITC Midwest

Operations Services Agreement For 34.5 kV Transmission Facilities. ITC Midwest and IP&L entered into the 
OSA under which IP&L performs certain operations functions for ITC Midwest’s 34.5 kV transmission system on 

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behalf of ITC Midwest. The OSA provides that when ITC Midwest upgrades 34.5 kV facilities to higher operating 
voltages it may notify IP&L of the change and the OSA is no longer applicable to those facilities. 

ITC Great Plains

Amended and Restated Maintenance Agreement. Mid-Kansas and ITC Great Plains have entered into the Mid-
Kansas Agreement pursuant to which Mid-Kansas has agreed to perform various field operations and maintenance 
services related to certain ITC Great Plains assets. 

Concentration of Credit Risk

Our  credit  risk  is  primarily  with  DTE  Electric,  Consumers  Energy  and  IP&L,  which  were  responsible  for 
approximately 22.1%, 21.3% and 25.7%, respectively, or $280 million, $269 million and $325 million, respectively, 
of our consolidated billed revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017. These percentages and amounts of 
total billed revenues of DTE Electric, Consumers Energy and IP&L include the collection of 2015 revenue accruals 
and deferrals and exclude any amounts for the 2017 revenue accruals and deferrals that were included in our 
2017 operating revenues, but will not be billed to our customers until 2019. Under DTE Electric’s and Consumers 
Energy’s current rate structure, DTE Electric and Consumers Energy include in their retail rates the actual cost of 
transmission services provided by ITCTransmission and METC, respectively, in their billings to their customers, 
effectively passing through to end-use consumers the total cost of transmission service. IP&L currently includes 
in their retail rates an allowance for transmission services provided by ITC Midwest in their billings to their customers. 
However, any financial difficulties experienced by DTE Electric, Consumers Energy or IP&L may affect their ability 
to make payments for transmission service to ITCTransmission, METC, and ITC Midwest, which could negatively 
impact  our  business.  MISO,  as  our  MISO  Regulated  Operating  Subsidiaries’  billing  agent,  bills  DTE  Electric, 
Consumers  Energy,  IP&L  and  other  customers  on  a  monthly  basis  and  collects  fees  for  the  use  of  the  MISO 
Regulated Operating Subsidiaries’ transmission systems. SPP is the billing agent for ITC Great Plains and bills 
transmission customers for the use of ITC Great Plains transmission systems. MISO and SPP have implemented 
strict  credit  policies  for  its  members’  customers,  which  include  customers  using  our  transmission  systems. 
Specifically, MISO and SPP require a letter of credit or cash deposit equal to the credit exposure, which is determined 
by a credit scoring model and other factors, from any customer using a member’s transmission system. 

The financial results of ITC Interconnection are currently not material to our consolidated financial statements, 

including billed revenues. 

18.  SEGMENT INFORMATION

We  identify  reportable  segments  based  on  the  criteria  set  forth  by  the  FASB  regarding  disclosures  about 
segments of an enterprise, including the regulatory environment of our subsidiaries and the business activities 
performed to earn revenues and incur expenses. During the second quarter of 2016, ITC Interconnection became 
a  transmission  owner  in  the  FERC-approved  RTO,  PJM  Interconnection.  As  a  result,  the  newly  regulated 
transmission business at ITC Interconnection is included in the Regulated Operating Subsidiaries segment as of 
June 1, 2016. 

Regulated Operating Subsidiaries

We  aggregate  ITCTransmission,  METC,  ITC  Midwest,  ITC  Great  Plains  and  ITC  Interconnection  into  one 
reportable operating segment based on their similar regulatory environment and economic characteristics, among 
other factors. They are engaged in the transmission of electricity within the United States, earn revenues from the 
same types of customers and are regulated by the FERC. 

ITC Holdings and Other

Information below for ITC Holdings and Other consists of a holding company whose activities include debt 
financings and general corporate activities and all of ITC Holdings’ other subsidiaries, excluding the Regulated 
Operating Subsidiaries, which are focused primarily on business development activities.

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2017
(In millions)
Operating revenues
Depreciation and amortization
Interest expense — net
Income (loss) before income taxes
Income tax provision (benefit)
Net income
Property, plant and equipment — net
Goodwill
Total assets (a)
Capital expenditures

2016
(In millions)
Operating revenues
Depreciation and amortization
Interest expense — net
Income (loss) before income taxes
Income tax provision (benefit)
Net income
Property, plant and equipment — net
Goodwill
Total assets (a)
Capital expenditures

Regulated
Operating
Subsidiaries

ITC Holdings
and Other

Reconciliations/
Eliminations

Total

$

1,241 $
168
104
664
207
457
7,299
950
8,688
761

— $
1
120
(149)
(11)
319
10
—
4,799
—

(30) $
—
—
—
—
(457)
—
—
(4,664)
(6)

1,211
169
224
515
196
319
7,309
950
8,823
755

Regulated
Operating
Subsidiaries (b)

ITC Holdings
and Other

Reconciliations/
Eliminations

Total

$

1,140 $
157
99
597
227
371
6,687
950
8,162
758

1 $
1
112
(254)
(130)
246
11
—
4,503
—

(16) $
—
—
—
—
(371)
—
—
(4,442)
(8)

1,125
158
211
343
97
246
6,698
950
8,223
750

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2015
(In millions)
Operating revenues
Depreciation and amortization
Interest expense — net
Income (loss) before income taxes
Income tax provision (benefit)
Net income
Property, plant and equipment — net
Goodwill
Total assets (a) (c)
Capital expenditures

____________________________

Regulated
Operating
Subsidiaries

ITC Holdings
and Other

Reconciliations/
Eliminations

Total

$

1,044 $
144
97
530
201
329
6,094
950
7,463
705

1 $
1
107
(146)
(59)
242
16
—
4,148
3

— $
—
—
—
—
(329)
—
—
(4,056)
(7)

1,045
145
204
384
142
242
6,110
950
7,555
701

(a)  Reconciliation of total assets results primarily from differences in the netting of deferred tax assets and liabilities 
at our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries as compared to the classification in our consolidated statements of 
financial position.

(b)  Amounts include the results of operations and capital expenditures from ITC Interconnection for the period 

June 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

(c)  All amounts presented reflect the change in authoritative guidance on the presentation of debt issuance costs 

on the balance sheet. This change was adopted retrospectively by us in 2016.

19.  SUPPLEMENTARY QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

(In millions)
2017
Operating revenues (a)
Operating income (a)
Net income (a)
2016
Operating revenues (a)
Operating income (a)
Net income (a)

First
Quarter

Second
Quarter

Third
Quarter

Fourth
Quarter

Year

$

$

298 $
173
80

280 $
147
65

303 $
176
81

298 $
161
74

299 $
175
82

254 $
125
51

311 $
184
76

293 $

89
56

1,211
708
319

1,125
522
246

____________________________

(a)  During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we recognized an aggregate estimated regulatory 
liability for the refund and estimated refunds relating to the ROE complaints as described in Note 17, which 
resulted in a reduction in operating revenues and operating income of $80 million for the year ended December 
31, 2016 and an estimated $3 million and $55 million reduction to net income for the years ended December 
31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

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ITEM 9.   CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL 

DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A.   CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting is included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K. 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that material 
information required to be disclosed in our reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act, is recorded, 
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such 
information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief 
Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required financial disclosure. In designing and 
evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that a control system, no matter how 
well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control 
system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide 
absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, with a company have been detected.

As of the end of the period covered by this report, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with 
the  participation  of  our  management,  including  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  Chief  Financial  Officer,  of  the 
effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of 
the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded 
that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective, at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There  have  been  no  changes  in  our  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  during  the  quarter  ended 
December 31, 2017 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control 
over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B.   OTHER INFORMATION.

None.

PART III

ITEM 10.   DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

DIRECTORS

Our Bylaws provide for the election of directors at each annual meeting of shareholders. Each director 
serves until the next annual meeting and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her 
resignation or removal. 

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement and the Shareholders Agreement, the Board must consist of the Chief 
Executive Officer of the Company (Ms. Apsey), a representative of Eiffel, the GIC subsidiary that is a minority 
investor in Investment Holdings (Mr. Evenden), a minority of representatives of Fortis (Messrs. Perry and Laurito) 
and  a  majority  of  directors  who  are  independent  of  Fortis. All  directors  must  be  independent  of  any  “market 
participant” in MISO and SPP and a majority of the directors must be “independent” as defined in the Shareholders 
Agreement. See “Item 13. Certain Relationships And Related Transactions, And Director Independence — Director 
Independence.”

Linda H. Apsey, 48. Ms. Apsey became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in November 
2016 and was elected a director of the Company in January 2017. From May 2016 through January 2017, Ms. 
Apsey  served  as  the  Company’s  Executive  Vice  President  and  Chief  Business  Unit  Officer,  where  she  was 
responsible for leading all aspects of the financial and operational performance of our five Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries  and  the  Company’s  development.  She  had  previously  served  as  the  Company’s  Executive  Vice 
President, Chief Business Unit Officer and President, ITC Michigan since February 2015 where she was responsible 
for leading all aspects of the financial and operational performance of the Company’s five Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries and acting as the business unit head and president of the ITCTransmission and METC operating 

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companies. Ms. Apsey served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of the Company from June 
2007 until February 2015. In this role, Ms. Apsey was responsible for managing each of our Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries  and  the  necessary  business  support  functions,  including  regulatory  strategy,  federal  and  state 
legislative affairs, community government affairs, human resources, and marketing and communications. Prior to 
this appointment, Ms. Apsey served as our Senior Vice President - Business Strategy and was responsible for 
managing regulatory affairs, policy development, internal and external communications, community affairs and 
human resource functions. Ms. Apsey was Vice President - Business Strategy from March 2003 until she was 
named Senior Vice President in February 2006. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Apsey was the Manager of 
Transmission Policy and Business Planning at ITCTransmission for two years when it was a subsidiary of DTE 
Energy and was a supervisor in the regulatory affairs department of DTE Energy’s Detroit Edison subsidiary for 
two years. Ms. Apsey currently serves as a director of the Fortis utility subsidiary, FortisAlberta Inc.

Robert A. Elliott, 62. Mr. Elliott became a director of the Company in January 2017. Mr. Elliott has served 
as  President  and  Owner  of  Elliott Accounting,  an  accounting,  income  tax  and  management  advisory  services 
organization in Tucson, Arizona, since 1983. He also serves as an Investment Advisor Representative for Greenberg 
Financial Group, a brokerage firm, a position in which he has served since 2001. Mr. Elliott is currently the Chairman 
of the Board of UNS Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Fortis, and has been a board member of that company 
since 2014. Mr. Elliott is currently the Chair of the board of directors of AAA Mountain West Group and has been 
a board member of that company since 2016. He also served on the board of directors of AAA Arizona Inc. from 
2007 to 2016 and as Lead Director of Unisource Energy Inc. from 2010 to 2014. The Board selected Mr. Elliott to 
serve as a director because of his accounting experience, his familiarity with Fortis subsidiary operations and his 
experience serving as a leader on other boards of directors.

Albert Ernst, 68. Mr. Ernst became a director of the Company in January 2017. Mr. Ernst was also a 
member of the ITC Holdings Board of Directors from August 2014 through the closing of the Merger in October 
2016. Mr. Ernst is a retired member of the law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC, where he also served as director of 
Dykema’s  Energy  Industry  Group.  His  experience  with  companies  in  the  public  utility,  energy,  transmission, 
telecommunications and rural electric cooperative fields spans more than three decades. With Dykema, Mr. Ernst 
worked with leading energy clients including our subsidiaries, International Transmission Company and Michigan 
Electric Transmission Company. He also served as a consultant on utility-related matters to the U.S. Department 
of Defense, the Department of Energy and the General Services Administration. Mr. Ernst currently serves on the 
board of the Sarasota Jewish Housing Council and Foundation, the board of the Sarasota Jewish Federation and 
is the Chairman of the Sarasota Life and Legacy Project. The Board selected Mr. Ernst to serve as a director due 
to his lifelong career in the energy industry, as well as his invaluable experience with public utility and energy 
matters and decades of experience in the practice of law.

Rhys D. Evenden, 44. Mr. Evenden became a director of the Company in October 2016. Mr. Evenden is 
the Head of Infrastructure — North America, GIC Private Ltd and has served in this position since January 2014. 
In  this  role  he  heads  the  North American  infrastructure  team,  which  is  responsible  for  acquisitions  and  asset 
management for a portfolio of power, utility, midstream and transportation assets. Prior to rejoining GIC in January 
2014, Mr. Evenden was a Principal at QIC Global Infrastructure. From March 2007 until December 2011, he served 
as a Senior Vice President at GIC Special Investments (GICSI) in London. Mr. Evenden joined GICSI from BAA 
Limited, where he served as Head of Business Development for outside terminal businesses across BAA Limited’s 
airports.  Mr.  Evenden  currently  serves  on  the  board  of  directors  of  Oncor  Electric  Delivery  Company,  Texas 
Transmission  Holdings  Company  and  Bronco  Holdings  LLC.  He  previously  served  on  the  board  of  Starwest 
Generation, Yorkshire Water and its parent Kelda Holdings and as an alternate director on the board of Thames 
Water. Mr. Evenden was appointed as a member of our Board of Directors by Eiffel. 

James P. Laurito, 61. Mr. Laurito became a director of the Company in October 2016. Mr. Laurito has 
served as Fortis’ Executive Vice President, Business Development since April 2016. Previously, Mr. Laurito served 
as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis’ Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation subsidiary from 
January 2010 to November 2014. Prior to joining Central Hudson, Mr. Laurito served as the President and Chief 
Executive Officer of both New York State Electric and Gas Corporation and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation, 
subsidiaries  of Avangrid,  Inc.  Mr.  Laurito  has  been  Chairman  of  the  Hudson  Valley  Economic  Development 
Corporation since January 1, 2015 and currently serves on the board of Fortis’ UNS Energy Corporation subsidiary. 

Barry V. Perry, 53. Mr. Perry became a director of the Company in October 2016. Mr. Perry is President 
and Chief Executive Officer of Fortis and has served as such since January 2015. Prior to his current position at 

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Fortis, Mr. Perry served as President from June 30, 2014 to December 31, 2014 and prior to that served as Vice 
President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer since 2004. Mr. Perry joined the Fortis organization in 2000 as Vice 
President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Newfoundland Power Inc. Mr. Perry currently serves as a director 
of the Fortis utility subsidiaries, FortisBC and UNS Energy Corporation.

Sandra E. Pierce, 59. Ms. Pierce became a director of the Company in January 2017. Ms. Pierce is Senior 
Executive Vice President, Private Client Group & Regional Banking Director and Chair of Michigan for Huntington 
National Bank. Ms. Pierce joined Huntington in 2016 after its merger with FirstMerit Corporation in 2016. While at 
FirstMerit, Ms. Pierce served as Vice Chairman of FirstMerit Corporation and Chairman and CEO of FirstMerit 
Michigan, from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining FirstMerit, Ms. Pierce served as Midwest Regional Executive, President 
and CEO for Charter One Bank, Michigan, a division of RBS Citizens, N.A. from 2004 to 2012. Ms. Pierce currently 
serves as a board member of Barton Malow Enterprises and Penske Automotive Group. She also serves as the 
current chair of the Detroit Financial Advisory Board and the chair of the Henry Ford Health System. The Board 
selected Ms. Pierce to serve as a director due to her leadership experience and familiarity with the geographic 
region in which the Company operates and conducts business.

Kevin L. Prust, 62. Mr. Prust became a director of the Company in January 2017. Mr. Prust retired in 
2014 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Weitz Company, LLC, a large national and 
international construction firm, a position he held since joining the company in 2009. Prior to that, Mr. Prust was 
with  McGladrey  &  Pullen  LLP,  a  national  CPA  firm,  from  1978  through  2008  serving  in  various  positions  and 
becoming partner in 1985. Mr. Prust currently serves on the board of Mercy Medical Center, in Des Moines, Iowa. 
In 2015 Mr. Prust served on the board of Stock Building Supply Holdings, Inc. until the company was acquired, 
and from 2009 to 2013 served on the board of Stark Bank Group and First American Bank. The Board selected 
Mr. Prust to serve as a director because of the expansive financial and accounting experience he obtained as a 
chief financial officer as well as his familiarity with the geographic region in which the Company operates and 
conducts business. The Board has determined that Mr. Prust is an “audit committee financial expert”, as that term 
is defined under SEC rules.

A. Douglas Rothwell, 61. Mr. Rothwell became a Director of the Company in October 2017. Since 2005 
Mr. Rothwell has served as President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan - a business roundtable of the 
state’s top 75 CEOs. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Rothwell was the Executive Director of Worldwide Real Estate for 
General Motors where he managed their 400 million square foot global real estate portfolio. From 1993 to 2002, 
Mr. Rothwell was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 
an organization he founded and directed to manage the state’s business development, innovation, tourism and 
community development programs. Mr. Rothwell currently chairs the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 
chairs the American Center for Mobility, is chair-elect of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Board of 
Visitors, and serves on the Board of Advisors for UNC athletics, and the management board of the Renaissance 
Venture Capital Fund. The Board selected Mr. Rothwell to serve as a director because of his vast experience 
working with business leaders in various industries to foster business development and growth and his familiarity 
and business contacts within the geographic region in which the Company operates and conducts business.

Thomas G. Stephens, 69. Mr. Stephens became a director of the Company in January 2017. Mr. Stephens 
was also a member of the Board of Directors from November 2012 through the closing of the Merger in October 
2016. Mr. Stephens retired in April 2012 from General Motors Company, a designer, manufacturer and marketer 
of vehicles and automobile parts, after 43 years with the company. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Stephens served as 
Vice Chairman and Chief Technology Officer from February 2011 to April 2012, Vice Chairman, Global Product 
Operations from 2009 to 2011, Vice Chairman, Global Product Development in 2009, Executive Vice President, 
Global Powertrain and Global Quality from 2008 to 2009, Group Vice President, Global Powertrain and Global 
Quality from 2007 to 2008, Group Vice President, General Motors Powertrain from 2001 to 2007 and has served 
in a variety of other engineering and operations positions. Mr. Stephens currently is Vice Chairman of the board 
of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology in Michigan Robotics), Chairman of the 
Board of the Michigan Science Center and sits on the Board of Managers of Warehouse Technologies LLC and 
board of directors of xF Technologies Inc. The Board selected Mr. Stephens to serve as a director because of his 
strong technical and engineering background as well as his experience and proven leadership capabilities assisting 
a large organization to achieve its business objectives.

Joseph L. Welch, 69. Mr. Welch has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since 
May 2008 and as a director since 2003. He served as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer from 

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2003 until November 2016 and also served as the Company’s Treasurer from 2003 until 2009. As the founder of 
ITCTransmission, Mr. Welch has had overall responsibility for the Company’s vision, foundation and transformation 
into the first independently owned and operated electricity transmission company in the United States. Mr. Welch 
worked for Detroit Edison Company and other subsidiaries of DTE Energy from 1971 to 2003. During that time, 
he  held  positions  of  increasing  responsibility  in  the  electricity  transmission,  distribution,  rates,  load  research, 
marketing and pricing areas, as well as regulatory affairs that included the development and implementation of 
regulatory strategies. The Board selected Mr. Welch to serve as a director because he previously served as the 
Company’s  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  he  possesses  unparalleled  expertise  in  the  electric 
transmission business.

Executive Officers

Set forth below are the names, ages and titles of our current executive officers and a description of their 
business experience. Our executive officers serve as executive officers at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. 

Linda H. Apsey, 48. Ms. Apsey’s background is described above under “Directors.”

Gretchen L. Holloway, 43. Ms. Holloway was named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 
in July 2017. Prior to this role, Ms. Holloway served as Vice President, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, 
a position in which she served since October 2016. In her role, Ms. Holloway is responsible for the Company’s 
accounting, internal audit, treasury, financial planning and analysis, management reporting, risk management and 
tax functions. From May 2016 to October 2016, Ms. Holloway was Vice President and Treasurer and from November 
2015 until May 2016, Ms. Holloway served as Vice President, Finance and Treasurer of the Company. In this role 
and her immediate past role, she was responsible for all treasury and corporate planning activities including cash 
management  and  as  the  Company’s  liaison  with  the  investment  banking  community  and  rating  agencies.  Ms. 
Holloway served from February 2015 to November 2015 as Vice President, Finance of the Company, where she 
was responsible for corporate finance activities including oversight of the budget and forecast processes and other 
financial analysis. Prior to that, Ms. Holloway served from June 2010 until February 2015 as Director, Special 
Projects & Investor Relations of the Company, where she was responsible for supporting the sourcing, evaluation 
and execution of mergers and acquisitions and implementing investor relations strategies and objectives. Prior to 
joining the Company in 2004, Ms. Holloway held various finance positions at CMS Energy Corporation for five 
years and before that, served as a financial consultant at Arthur Andersen for three years. Ms. Holloway currently 
serves as a member of the Audit Committee for the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation.

Jon E. Jipping, 51. Jon E. Jipping has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer 
since June 2007. In this position, Mr. Jipping is responsible for leading the Company’s five Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries. Mr. Jipping is also responsible for transmission system planning, system operations, engineering, 
supply chain, field construction and maintenance, and information technology. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Jipping 
served as our Senior Vice President - Engineering and was responsible for transmission system design, project 
engineering and asset management. Mr. Jipping joined us as Director of Engineering in March 2003, was appointed 
Vice President - Engineering in 2005 and was named Senior Vice President in February 2006. Prior to joining the 
Company, Mr. Jipping was with DTE Energy for thirteen years. He was Manager of Business Systems & Applications 
in  DTE  Energy’s  Service  Center  Organization,  responsible  for  implementation  and  management  of  business 
applications across the distribution business unit, and held positions of increasing responsibility in DTE Energy’s 
Transmission Operations and Transmission Planning department. Mr. Jipping currently serves as the Chair of the 
Advisory Board of the Michigan Technological University College of Engineering, and as a board member of the 
North American Transmission Forum.

Christine Mason Soneral, 45. Christine Mason Soneral was named Senior Vice President and General 
Counsel  in April  2015  and  served  as  Vice  President  and  General  Counsel  from  February  2015  through  this 
appointment. As General Counsel, she is responsible for all corporate legal affairs and the leadership of our legal 
department. Prior to this role, Ms. Mason Soneral was Vice President and General Counsel-Utility Operations since 
2007 and was responsible for legal matters connected with the operations, capital projects, contract, regulatory, 
property and litigation matters of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. Ms. Mason Soneral joined us in September 
2007 from Dykema Gossett PLLC, a national law firm where she was a member. While in private practice at Dykema 
from 1998 through 2007, Ms. Mason Soneral represented clients before state and federal trial courts, appellate 
courts and regulatory agencies. In 2014, Ms. Mason Soneral was appointed to the board of Citizens Research 
Council, a privately funded, not-for-profit public affairs research organization. Ms. Mason Soneral also currently 

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serves as a member of the Michigan State University College of Social Science's External Advisory Board and 
Women’s Leadership Institute.

Daniel J. Oginsky, 44. Mr. Oginsky has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative 
Officer since May 2016. In this role, he has responsibility for the company’s regulatory, federal affairs, marketing 
and communications, human resources, strategic planning and enterprise planning process, state government 
affairs, and local community and government affairs functions. Mr. Oginsky served as Executive Vice President, 
U.S. Regulated Grid Development from February 2015 to May 2016. He was responsible for leading the Company’s 
growth and expansion through new investments in regulated electric transmission infrastructure across the United 
States. Mr. Oginsky joined us as our Vice President and General Counsel in November 2004, served as Senior 
Vice  President  and  General  Counsel  since  May  2009  and  was  named  Executive  Vice  President  and  General 
Counsel in May 2014. In these roles, Mr. Oginsky was responsible for the legal affairs of the Company and oversaw 
the  legal  department,  which  included  the  legal,  corporate  secretary,  real  estate,  contract  administration  and 
corporate compliance functions. Mr. Oginsky also served as the Company’s Secretary from November 2004 until 
June 2007. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Oginsky was an attorney in private practice for five years with various 
firms, where his practice focused primarily on representing ITCTransmission and other energy clients on regulatory, 
administrative  litigation,  transactional,  property  tax  and  legislative  matters.  Mr.  Oginsky  currently  serves  as  a 
member of the Advisory Board of Belle Tire, Inc., President of North Manitou Light Keepers, Inc. and a member 
of the Board of Visitors for James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Code of Conduct and Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our directors, employees and executive 
officers, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and principal accounting officer. The Code of 
Conduct and Ethics, as currently in effect (together with any amendments that may be adopted from time to time), 
is available on our website at www.itc-holdings.com. To the extent required by the Code or by applicable law, we 
will post any amendments to the Code of Conduct and Ethics and any waivers that are required to be disclosed 
by the rules of the SEC on our website, within the required periods.

ITEM 11.   EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

COMPENSATION OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

The following Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes the elements of compensation for our Chief 
Executive Officer (or “CEO”), our Chief Financial Officer and the three other most highly compensated executive 
officers who were serving as such at December 31, 2017. We refer to these individuals collectively as the named 
executive officers or NEOs.

The Company’s named executive officers for 2017 were:

Name
Linda H. Apsey
Gretchen L. Holloway
Jon E. Jipping
Daniel J. Oginsky
Christine Mason Soneral Senior Vice President and General Counsel

President and Chief Executive Officer
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Position

Executive Summary

The Governance and Human Resources Committee (the “Committee”) is responsible for determining the 
compensation of our NEOs and administering the plans in which the NEOs participate. The goals of our compensation 
system are to attract first-class executive talent in a competitive environment and to motivate and retain key employees 
who  are  crucial  to  our  success  by  rewarding  Company  and  individual  performance  that  promotes  long-term 
sustainable growth and increases shareholder value. The key components of our NEOs' compensation package 
include base salary, annual cash incentive bonuses, long-term incentives, as well as certain perquisites and other 
benefits. In determining the amount of NEO compensation, we consider competitive compensation practices of other 

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utilities and similarly sized organizations, the executive's individual performance against objectives, the executive's 
responsibilities and expertise, and our performance in relation to annual goals that are designed to strengthen and 
enhance our value.

The Committee made the following decisions with regard to executive compensation in 2017:

•  Base salary increases. Ms. Apsey’s base salary was adjusted in late 2016 upon her appointment to 
President and CEO and, therefore, she did not receive a salary increase in 2017. Base salary increases 
were provided to the other four NEOs in 2017 to reward individual performance and to remain competitive 
and aligned with market. Ms. Holloway received an increase in March 2017 and another in July 2017 
upon her promotion to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. 

•  Annual cash incentive bonuses. The NEOs earned cash incentive bonuses for 2017 performance of 
approximately 166.3% of target. This was based on achieving 95% of the performance targets established 
under  the  annual  corporate  performance  bonus  plan  in  early  2017  and  achievement  of  certain 
performance factors which resulted in a bonus multiplier of 1.75. See “Compensation Discussion and 
Analysis  -  Key  Components  of  Our  NEO  Compensation  Program  - Annual  Corporate  Performance 
Bonus.”

•  Long-term equity incentives. We granted long-term equity incentive awards to our NEOs in March 
2017. Total award opportunities were set as a percentage of base salary and delivered one-third in the 
form of service-based units and two-thirds in the form of performance-based units. 

Overview and Philosophy

The  objectives  of  our  compensation  program  are  to  attract  first-class  executive  talent  in  a  competitive 
environment and to motivate and retain key employees who are crucial to our success by rewarding Company and 
individual performance that promotes long-term sustainable growth and increases shareholder value by:

•  Performing best-in-class utility operations;

• 

Improving reliability, reducing congestion, and facilitating access to generation resources; and

•  Utilizing our experience and skills to seek and identify opportunities to invest in needed transmission 

and to optimize the value of those investments.

Our compensation program is designed to motivate and reward individual and corporate performance. Our 

compensation philosophy is to:

•  Provide for flexibility in pay practices to recognize our unique position and growth proposition;

•  Use a market-based pay program aligned with pay-for-performance objectives;

• 

Leverage incentives, where possible, and align long-term incentive awards with improvements in our 
financial performance and shareholder value;

•  Provide  benefits  through  flexible,  cost-effective  plans  while  taking  into  account  business  needs  and 

affordability; and

•  Provide other non-monetary awards to recognize and incentivize performance.

Risk and Reward Balance

When reviewing the compensation program, the Committee considers the impact of the program on the 
Company’s  risk  profile.  The  Committee  believes  that  the  compensation  program  has  been  structured  with  the 
appropriate  mix  and  design  of  elements  to  provide  strong  incentives  for  executives  to  balance  risk  and  reward, 
without excessive risk taking.

In early July 2017, the Committee engaged Pay Governance, its independent compensation consultant, to 
conduct a comprehensive compensation program risk assessment. Pay Governance reviewed the attributes and 
structure of our executive compensation programs for the purpose of identifying potential sources of risk within the 
program design. The review covered plan design and administration/governance risk, corporate governance and 
investor relations risk and talent risk.

Based on a report from Pay Governance concluding that the Company’s compensation programs do not 
create risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse impact on the Company, the Committee concluded 
that none of our compensation programs and features contain elements that create material risk to the Company. 
Risk mitigating factors with respect to the Company’s compensation programs included a market competitive pay 

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mix, the linking of pay to performance through annual and long-term incentive plans, caps on annual bonus and 
long-term incentive plan payouts, various performance measures that are both financially and operationally focused, 
a compensation recoupment policy, oversight by an independent committee of directors, regular review of NEO tally 
sheets and engagement of an independent compensation consultant.

Benchmarking and Relationship of Compensation Elements

Benchmarking. We reviewed market competitive target pay levels from two distinct market samples, utility 
and  general  industry  data,  as  reflected  in  published  surveys.  Pay  Governance  compiled  data  for  the  following 
components of compensation — base salary, target annual incentive and target long-term incentive, as well as target 
total cash compensation and target total direct compensation. Position-specific market target pay levels are reviewed 
for utility-specific data from the Willis Towers Watson Energy Services Executive Compensation Survey and general 
industry  data  from  the  Willis  Towers  Watson  General  Industry  Executive  Compensation  Survey.  For  staff  jobs, 
competitive rates were developed for each of the two distinct market reference points, as well as an average of the 
two market reference points. For utility operations jobs, we only used the utility-specific data due to the industry-
specific nature of the roles. The market data were aged and size-adjusted using regression analysis to correspond 
to our adjusted revenue scope. The adjusted revenue scope accounts for our unique business model and reflects 
the competitive incremental revenue that would normally be embedded in rates to reflect a typical cost of goods sold 
factor.

Our  compensation  strategy  is  to  target  compensation  to  be  in  the  range  between  the  median  and  75th
percentile of the market data, based on consideration of individual characteristics (performance, experience, etc.), 
internal equity and other factors. In February 2017, the Committee reviewed the benchmarking study conducted by 
its independent consultant comparing NEO target total direct compensation, which is the sum of base salary, target 
annual incentives and target long-term incentives, to the 50th, 65th and 75th percentile survey data to assess the 
market competitiveness of our compensation opportunities. Overall, the study found target total direct compensation 
provided to our NEOs is within the targeted range. This is generally achieved by having base salaries at the lower 
end of the targeted market range with higher target incentive opportunities that combine to provide competitive target 
total direct compensation.

Use of Tally Sheets. The Committee reviews tally sheets as prepared by management and the Committee’s 
independent advisor, to facilitate its assessment of the total annual compensation of our NEOs. The tally sheets 
contained annual cash compensation (salary and bonuses), long-term equity incentives, benefit contributions and 
perquisites. In addition, the tally sheets included retirement program balances, outstanding vested and unvested 
equity values and potential severance and termination scenario values. 

Pay Review Process. In addition to the Committee’s benchmarking analysis and review of tally sheets, our 
CEO reviewed and examined market survey compensation levels and practices, as well as individual responsibilities 
and performance, our compensation philosophy and other related information to develop proposed compensation 
for  each  of  our  NEOs.  Ms.  Apsey  evaluated  the  performance  of  the  NEOs,  other  than  herself,  and  made 
recommendations on their salaries, target bonus levels and long-term incentive awards. The Committee considered 
these recommendations in its decision making and conferred with its compensation consultant to understand the 
impact and result of any such recommendations. The Committee uses market data and recommendations from the 
Committee’s consultant and makes recommendations on Ms. Apsey’s salary, bonus targets and long-term incentive 
awards to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors (other than Ms. Apsey) evaluates Ms. Apsey’s performance 
and considers the Committee’s recommendations in its decision making.

The Committee reviewed and considered each element of compensation and the resulting target total direct 
compensation, along with the objectives of our compensation program, the input of the CEO and the market data to 
set the 2017 target pay levels. The Committee did not determine the mix of compensation elements using a pre-set 
formula. In setting executive compensation levels, the Committee retained full discretion to consider or disregard 
data collected through benchmarking studies. Compensation decisions also considered individual and Company 
performance, retention concerns, the importance of the position, internal equity and other factors.

Key Components of Our NEO Compensation Program

The key components of our executive compensation program are discussed below.

•  Base Salary — provides sufficient competitive pay to attract and retain experienced and successful 

executives.

•  Bonus Compensation — encourages and rewards contributions to our annual corporate performance 

goals.

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• 

Long Term Incentives — encourages a multi-year focus on performance, rewards building long-term 
shareholder value and helps retain NEOs.

The other elements of our executive compensation program are discussed below under the heading 

“Other Components of Our Executive Compensation Program” which summarize the benefit programs that are 
available to our NEOs.

In aggregate, the NEOs’ target total direct compensation value (salary, annual target bonus and long-term 
incentive opportunities) of our NEOs was generally within the targeted range when compared to the blended average 
of the utility and general industry surveys. Base salaries are generally at the lower end of the targeted market range 
with target incentive opportunities set higher within the market range, which combine to provide competitive target 
total direct compensation within the target range of the market 50th and the 75th percentile. The Committee continues 
to monitor and balance competitive practice, talent needs and cost considerations when setting compensation.

Base Salary

The Committee annually reviews and approves the base salaries, and any adjustments thereto, of the NEOs. 
In making these determinations, the Committee considers the executive’s job responsibilities, individual performance, 
leadership and years of experience, the performance of the Company, the recommendation of the CEO (except for 
the base salary of the CEO) and the target total direct compensation package as well as the benchmarking analysis 
conducted by its advisor.

The 2017 base salaries for the NEOs, including any year-over-year change, were:

NEO

Linda H. Apsey

Gretchen L. Holloway

Jon E. Jipping

Daniel J. Oginsky

Christine Mason Soneral

2017 Base Salary
725,000
$

350,000

535,000

450,000

365,000

Percent Increase

—%

62.8%

6.6%

6.4%

4.3%

In July 2017, in connection with her appointment to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, the 
Committee approved an increase to Ms. Holloway’s salary from $215,000 to $350,000. The increase was based on 
various factors, including market data and internal equity. 

Annual Corporate Performance Bonus

Early each year, the Committee has approved our annual corporate performance bonus plan goals and 
targets,  which  are  based  on  key  Company  objectives  relating  to  operational  excellence  and  superior  financial 
performance.  The  corporate  performance  goals  and  targets  were  designed  to  align  the  interests  of  customers, 
shareholders  and  management,  and  encourage  teamwork  and  coordination  among  all  of  our  executives  and 
employees  with  a  common  focus  on  the  growth  and  success  of  the  Company.  Target  levels  for  the  corporate 
performance goals were determined based on long-term strategic plans, historical performance, expectations for 
future growth and desired improvement over time.

The annual bonus plan performance goals were individually weighted. Weights were assigned to each goal 
based on areas of focus during the year and difficulty in achieving target performance. Weights were also assigned 
so that there was a balance between operational and financial goals. Each goal operated independently, and, for 
most goals, there was not a range of acceptable performance; if a goal was not achieved, there was no payout for 
that goal. The plan would not pay for achieving below-target performance on any goal, but would pay for achievement 
of  target  performance  on  those  goals  that  were  achieved  even  though  other  goals  were  not  achieved.  Where 
performance goals were stated in a range, the threshold goals were generally expected to be achieved while the 
maximum goals were considered “stretch” goals with lower expectation of achievement. The bonus goal targets 
were established to motivate NEOs toward operational excellence and superior financial performance and were 
designed to be challenging to meet, while remaining achievable.

For 2017, financial measures plus the capital project plan determined 50% of the target bonus opportunity, 
while operational performance measures determined the remaining 50% of the target bonus opportunity. This reflected 
the inherent importance of driving operational performance, reliability and needed investment in our transmission 
system for the benefit of our customers.

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The  annual  corporate  performance  bonus  plan  consisted  of  three  primary  measurement  categories: 
Financial, Safety & Compliance, and System Performance. Our safety, operations and security goals were established 
to deliver high performance in core company operations. Benchmarks and metrics were used in connection with 
these  goals  to  establish  a  level  of  performance  in  the  top  decile  or  quartile  within  our  industry.  Likewise,  our 
infrastructure protection goals led to the deployment of industry leading practices resulting in a generally enhanced 
security posture.

Corporate performance goal criteria approved by the Committee for 2017, the rationale for the target goal 

(in some cases in relation to the prior year target) and actual bonus results, were as set forth below.

Financial goals represented 20% of the total maximum annual bonus target and included specific measures 

for Non-Field Operation and Maintenance Expense and Net Income.

Category

Goal

Non-field Operation and
Maintenance Expense and
General and Administrative
Expenses

Net Income (1)

Financial

20%
Maximum
Potential
Payout

Rationale for Goal

Controlling
general and
administrative
expenses is an
important part of
controlling rates
charged to
transmission
customers.

Represents the
Company’s
financial
performance as it
reflects a true
measure of
earnings
contributions
from the
operating
companies.

Rationale for Target Goal
Target is consistent
with the approach
used in 2016 and
based on the 2017
Board-approved
budget.

Non-Field O&M and
G&A expense at or
under budget of $147
million.

Target based on the
2017 Board-approved
budget.

Net Income from our
Regulated Operating
Subsidiaries
(excluding ITC
Interconnection) at or
above $414 million to
achieve 10%;
Net Income at or
above $393 million to
achieve 5%.

Potential
Payout

2017
Results
10% $137.1
million

Actual
Payout

10%

5% - 10% $406.1
million

5%

Total

20 %

15%

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Safety & Compliance goals represented 20% of the total maximum annual bonus target and included specific 

measures for Lost Time, Recordable Incidents and Infrastructure Protection.

Potential
Payout

5%

2017 Results
2

Actual
Payout

5%

5%

5

5%

Category

Goal
Safety as
measured by
lost time

Rationale for Goal
Maintaining the
safety of our
employees and
contractors is a
core value and
is at the
foundation of
our success.

Safety as
measured by
recordable
incidents

Maintaining the
safety of our
employees and
contractors is a
core value and
is at the
foundation of
our success.

Safety &
Compliance

20% Maximum
Potential Payout

Rationale for Target

Target number of
incidents remained the
same as prior years
and was based on
industry top decile
performance, which
reflects an aggressive
view and philosophy
on the importance of
safety.

2 or fewer lost work
day cases

Target number of
incidents remained the
same as prior year
and was based on
industry top decile
performance, which
reflects an aggressive
view and philosophy
on the importance of
safety.

9 or fewer recordable
incidents.

Infrastructure
Protection

Maintaining
cyber and
physical
security is
critical to
ensuring system
reliability and
ongoing
operations.

Goal focused on
implementing updated
cyber-security and
physical security
plans. Emphasized
securing our
information systems
and our most
important assets.

10% Completed

10%

Implementation of the
2017 Cyber Security
and CIP (critical
infrastructure
protection) Plan and
the Physical Security
Plan, as presented to
and approved by the
Board of Directors,
each plan worth 5%.

Total

20 %

20%

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System Performance goals represented 60% of the total maximum annual bonus target and included specific 

measures for System Outages, Maintenance Plans and System Development.

Potential
Payout

2017 Results
15% ITCTransmis
sion - 10

Actual
Payout

15%

METC - 18

ITC Midwest
- 58/ 49

15% All high
priority
initiatives
completed

15%

15 - 30% $777.6
million

30%

Category

Goal

Outage
frequency

Rationale for
Goal
Reducing and
limiting
system
outages are
critical to
ensuring
system
reliability.

System
Performance
and Capital
Project Plan

60%
Maximum
Potential
Payout

Field
Operation
and
Maintenance
Plan

Performing
necessary
preventive
maintenance
is critical to
ensuring
system
reliability.

Capital
Project Plan

Performing
necessary
system
upgrades is
critical to
ensuring
system
reliability,
providing a
robust
transmission
grid and
delivering
financial
performance.

Rationale for Target

Target unchanged from prior 
year. Number of Forced, 
Sustained Line Outages, 
excluding the "External" cause 
classification, for:

ITCTransmission (16 or fewer, 
representing top decile 
performance); METC (31 or 
fewer, representing top decile 
performance);

ITC Midwest (70 or fewer, 
representing second quartile 
performance, no more than 59 
of which can cause end-use 
customer sustained outages); 

Each target worth 5%.

Target is reflective of goal to
complete the normal
maintenance schedule of high
priority maintenance activities.
Complete high priority 2017
Field O&M Initiatives for:

ITCTransmission (15)
METC (13)
ITC Midwest (10)

Each subsidiary target worth
5%.

Target is based on accrued 
capital expenditures. 

The maximum payout 
represents the risk-adjusted 
capital investment plan for 2017, 
with a threshold level also 
established.

Complete $710M of the 2017 
Capital Expenditure budget to 
achieve 30%; Complete $674M 
to achieve 15%.

Total Bonus (as a percent of target bonus level)

____________________________

60%

100%

60%

95%

(1)  Net  Income  was  risk-adjusted.   Targets  were  adjusted  for  amounts  recognized  for  rate  refund  impacts 
associated with the Initial Complaint and the Second Complaint associated with the MISO regional base 
ROE and the impacts of the TCJA. 

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Additionally, our executives, including the NEOs, are eligible for an executive bonus multiplier. To further 
motivate management to provide value to shareholders, we include a performance factor under which their annual 
corporate  performance bonus  awards may be  increased  by  as much  as 100%  based on  multiple  measures, as 
follows:

Measure
Capital Project Plan
Consolidated Net Income
Cash Flow Available for
Distribution
Bonus Multiplier

Threshold
$710M
$331M

Achievement
$777.6M
$323.8M

Multiplier
2.00x
1.00x

Weight
50%
25%

$266M

$300M

2.00x

25%

Result
1.00x
0.25x

0.50x
1.75x

Each measure has an established scale, which includes a threshold level and below equating to a 1.00x 
multiplier, having no impact on the bonus award, to a maximum of 2.00x, which would increase the bonus by 100%. 
Achievement against performance scales related to each of the above metrics produced an executive bonus multiplier 
of 1.75x. This performance factor was applied to each executive’s annual corporate performance bonus to produce 
a final payment of approximately 166.3% of target.

Bonuses are based on a target bonus, which for each executive is a percentage of his or her base salary. 
The Committee considers each individual’s job responsibilities and the results of its benchmarking analysis when 
determining the base bonus percentage for the executive officers, including the NEOs, which we refer to as the 
“target bonus levels”. Target bonus levels for 2017 were as follows:

NEO
Linda H. Apsey
Gretchen Holloway
Jon E. Jipping
Daniel J. Oginsky
Christine Mason Soneral

% of Base Salary
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Ms. Apsey and Ms. Holloway’s total target cash compensation is near the market median. Total target cash 
compensation for the other NEOs is within the target range of the market 50th and 75th percentile, purposely weighted 
more towards performance-based compensation, which is consistent with our compensation philosophy. 

In February 2017, to recognize Ms. Holloway for assuming the interim Chief Financial Officer role in November 
2016  and  her  expanded  responsibilities,  the  Committee  approved  a  lump  sum  cash  payment  in  the  amount  of 
$125,000. The Committee also approved a lump sum cash payment in the amount of $11,000 for Mr. Jipping to 
recognize his expanded responsibilities with assuming leadership of the grid development initiatives.

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Long-Term Incentives

The Committee provides and maintains a long-term incentive program under the 2017 Omnibus Plan, as 
amended July 10, 2017 (the “2017 Omnibus Plan”). In February 2017, the Committee approved grants of service-
based units and performance-based units to employees, including the NEOs, based on our CEO’s recommendation 
(except for grants to the CEO), and also on the Committee’s assessment of the performance of the Company and 
the executive. Award opportunities for the NEOs were provided in a mix of performance-based units (weighted 67%) 
and service-based units (weighted 33%). The performance-based units can be earned for results in two equally-
weighted measures, Total Shareholder Return (relative to a peer group) and cumulative consolidated net income, 
over the three-year performance period. Each unit is generally equivalent to one share of Fortis stock (as traded on 
the Toronto Stock Exchange) and earned units are payable in cash. Awards to the CEO were also presented to the 
Board of Directors by the Committee and ratified by the Board of Directors. The amounts and more detailed terms 
of the 2017 service-based unit and performance-based unit grants made under the 2017 Omnibus Plan are described 
in the narrative following the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table. The awards were designed to reward, motivate 
and encourage long-term performance, act as a retention mechanism, and further align the interests of the NEOs 
with the interests of the shareholder. Total value for the award for each grantee was determined based on a percentage 
of salary. For the NEOs, when the 2017 awards were made, the award values were targeted to be:

NEO

Ms. Apsey
Ms. Holloway
Mr. Jipping
Ms. Mason Soneral
Mr. Oginsky

Grant Value
Percent of
Salary

250%
175%
175%
175%
175%

In determining the size of grants under the long-term incentive program and the award mix, the Committee 
considered market practice, the recommendation of the CEO (with respect to grants other than to the CEO) in light 
of comparisons to benchmarking data, expense to the Company and the practice of other U.S. Fortis subsidiary 
companies. 

Other Components of Our Executive Compensation Program

Pension  Benefits.  As  is  common  in  our  industry  and  as  established  pursuant  to  our  initial  formation 
requirements included in the acquisition agreement with DTE Energy for ITCTransmission, we maintain a tax-qualified 
defined benefit retirement plan for eligible employees, comprised of a traditional pension component and a cash 
balance component. All employees, including the NEOs, participate in either the traditional component or the cash 
balance component. We have also established a supplemental nonqualified, noncontributory retirement benefit plan 
for selected management employees: the Executive Supplemental Retirement Plan, or ESRP, in which all of the 
NEOs participate. This plan provides for benefits that supplement those provided by our qualified defined benefit 
retirement plan. Benefits payable to the NEOs pursuant to the retirement plans are set by the terms of that plan. The 
Committee exercises no regular discretionary authority in the determination of benefits. The retirement plans may 
be modified, amended or terminated at any time, although no such action may reduce a NEO’s earned benefits. See 
“Pension Benefits” for information regarding participation by the NEOs in our retirement plans as well as a description 
of the terms of the plans.

Benefits and Perquisites. The NEOs participate in a variety of benefit programs, which are designed to 
enable us to attract and retain our workforce in a competitive marketplace. These programs include our Savings and 
Investment  Plan,  which  consists  of  an  employee  deferral  contribution  component  and  an  employer  safe-harbor 
matching contribution component.

Our NEOs are provided a limited number of perquisites in addition to benefits provided to our other employees. 
The purpose of these perquisites is to minimize distractions from the NEOs’ attention to important Company initiatives, 
to facilitate their access to work functions and personnel, and to encourage interactions among NEOs and others 
within professional, business and local communities. NEOs are provided perquisites such as auto allowance, financial, 
estate and legal planning, income tax return preparation, annual physical, club memberships, and personal liability 
insurance. Additionally,  we  own  aircraft  to  facilitate  the  business  travel  schedules  of  our  executives  and  other 
employees, particularly to locations that do not provide efficient commercial flight schedules. Ms. Apsey and guests 
who travel with her are permitted to travel for personal business on our aircraft, with an annual maximum of 50 flight 

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hours for such personal travel. Ms. Apsey incurs imputed income for all guests and herself for personal travel in the 
amount of the incremental cost to the Company of such travel. 

We purchase tickets to various sporting, civic, cultural, charity and entertainment events. We use these 
tickets for business development, partnership building, charitable donations and community involvement. If not used 
for  business  purposes,  we  may  make  these  tickets  available  to  employees,  including  the  NEOs,  as  a  form  of 
recognition and reward for their efforts. Because such tickets have already been purchased, we do not believe that 
there is any aggregate incremental cost to the Company, if a NEO uses a ticket for personal purposes.

None  of  the  NEOs  are  reimbursed  for  income  taxes  associated  with  the  value  of  the  perquisites.  Our 
employment  agreements  provide  for  limited  tax  gross-ups  following  termination  in  some  circumstances.  The 
Committee continues to monitor and review the Company’s perquisite program. Perquisites are further discussed 
in footnote 5 to the Summary Compensation Table.

Potential Severance Compensation. Pursuant to their employment agreements, each NEO is entitled to 
certain benefits and payments upon a termination of his or her employment. Benefits and payments to be provided 
vary based on the circumstances of the termination. We believe it is important to provide these protections in order 
to ensure our NEOs will remain engaged and committed to us during an acquisition of the Company or other transition 
in management. See “Employment Agreements and Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” 
for further detail on these employment agreements, including a discussion of the compensation to be provided upon 
termination or a change in control.

Recoupment Policy

Our Recoupment Policy provides that in the event of any restatement of financial results, our NEOs will be 

required to reimburse the Company for an amount equal to the sum of: 

•  Any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation received, earned or recognized by 
the officer from the Company during the 12-month period following the first public issuance or filing with 
the SEC of the financial document embodying such financial reporting requirement in excess of the 
amount that would have been received, earned or recognized if the restated financial results had been 
released instead; and

•  Any profits realized by the officer from the sale of securities of the Company during that 12-month period.

The  Board  of  Directors  or  the  Committee  will  determine,  in  its  reasonable  discretion,  based  on  the 
circumstances, the amount, form and timing of recovery. The Recoupment Policy applies to any equity-based grants 
and incentive cash compensation awards.

Retention Program 

In May 2016, as contemplated by the Merger Agreement, we adopted a retention program for the retention 
of key talent for the period commencing on the date of the Merger Agreement through the one-year anniversary of 
the effective time of the Merger, pursuant to which our executive officers were granted the opportunity to earn a 
retention bonus. Under the terms of the retention award letters, recipients received 30% of the retention award as 
long as they were employed by the Company on the effective date, and received the remaining 70% if they remained 
employed by the Company through the first anniversary of the effective date, October 2017. The amount of each 
named executive officer’s total retention bonus amount, which were fully paid as of October 2017, is listed below:

NEO

Retention Award

Linda Apsey
Gretchen Holloway
Jon Jipping
Daniel Oginsky
Christine Mason Soneral

$

921,000
200,000
753,000
634,500
525,000

Employment Agreement Amendment — Mason Soneral 

In October 2016, to address cutback language in her employment agreement that could have caused her 
to be treated differently than other NEOs, the employment agreement of Ms. Mason Soneral was amended to (1) 
have the annual bonus (with the exception of the total shareholder return component which was paid out pursuant 
to the terms of the Merger Agreement) payable in the ordinary course in accordance with her respective employment 
agreement and the Company’s past practices based on actual 2016 performance; (2) have a portion of her Company 

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performance shares canceled; and (3) provide for payment of additional cash compensation in a comparable amount 
over  five  installments  following  the  Merger,  contingent  on  continued  employment  with  the  Company  on  each 
installment date. Ms. Mason Soneral received total retention payments of $162,399 payable in five equal installments 
paid on the first payroll date following the first day of each fiscal quarter beginning January 1, 2017.

Governance and Human Resources Committee Report

The  Governance  and  Human  Resources  Committee  has  reviewed  and  discussed  this  Compensation 
Discussion  and Analysis  with  management  and,  based  on  the  review  and  discussions  with  management,  has 
recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this report.

RHYS D. EVENDEN 
A. DOUGLAS ROTHWELL 

BARRY V. PERRY 
THOMAS G. STEPHENS  

SANDRA E. PIERCE

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Summary Compensation

The following table provides a summary of compensation paid or accrued by the Company and its subsidiaries 
to or on behalf of the NEOs for services rendered by them during each of the last three calendar years, as required 
by SEC rules and regulations. The material terms of plans and agreements pursuant to which certain items set forth 
below were paid are discussed elsewhere in Compensation of Executive Officers and Directors.

Summary Compensation Table

Salary ($)

(c)

Bonus
($) (1)

(d)

Stock Awards
($) (2)

(e)

Option
Awards
($) (2)

(f)

Change in
Pension
Value &
Non-
qualified
Deferred
Compensati
on Earnings
($)(4)

Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensatio
n ($) (3)

All Other
Compensat
ion ($) (5)

(g)

(h)

(i)

Total ($)

(j)

$

725,000

$

644,700

$

1,760,834

$

— $

1,205,313

$

232,747

$

57,751

$ 4,626,345

635,146

616,362

317,981
210,116

529,289

503,931

503,931

445,327

424,627

424,627

659,662

222,164

265,000
60,000

538,100

539,333

207,775

444,150

454,458

153,055

362,404

529,899

351,346

524,557

1,074,490

—

1,244,401

744,344

342,146

598,650

552,539
139,761

909,553

878,517

608,587

765,053

740,250

512,812

620,551

612,487

—
—

—

—

279,734

—

—

235,714

—

—

291,249

41,875

80,454
71,163

345,722

365,553

82,651

177,356

213,915

13,883

41,301

37,990

33,126
31,312

37,694

37,269

36,010

35,972

35,497

26,869

3,946,249

2,603,531

1,830,975
680,689

3,249,796

3,307,218

2,208,138

2,615,983

2,696,727

1,779,385

581,875
168,337

889,438

982,615

489,450

748,125

827,980

412,425

606,813

146,625

36,378

2,302,670

695,590

135,364

35,675

2,355,019

Name

(a)

Linda H. Apsey,
President &
CEO

Gretchen L.
Holloway
SVP & CFO (6)

Jon E. Jipping,
EVP & COO

Daniel J.
Oginsky,
EVP & CAO

Christine
Mason Soneral,
SVP & General
Counsel

Year

(b)

2017

2016

2015

2017
2016

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

$

328,777

$

38,861

$

775,093

$ 195,034

$

341,250

$

112,077

$

13,950

$ 1,805,042

____________________________

(1) 

The compensation amounts reported in this column include, (a) awards under the Special Bonus Plan, (b) 
bonuses paid in connection with project milestones and (c) retention bonuses. Bonuses paid in connection 
with our annual corporate performance plan are reported in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” 
column of the Summary Compensation Table. Bonuses under the Special Bonus Plan, were awarded at the 
sole  discretion  of  the  Committee  and  were  equal  to  per  share  dividend  amounts  paid  by  the  Company 
multiplied by the number of options granted in 2003 and 2005. These options were exercised and the Special 
Bonus  Plan  expired  in  2015.  In  2015  and  2016,  the  NEOs,  received  certain  project-related  bonuses  in 
recognition  of  the  successful  completion  of  various  transmission  development  milestones.  In  2016,  Ms. 
Mason Soneral received $300,000 since the Merger was closed before December 31, 2016. In 2016, all of 
the NEOs received 30% of their retention award due to the closing of the Merger and, in October 2017, they 
received the remaining 70% of their retention award. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Retention 
Program”. In 2017, Ms. Mason Soneral earned $162,399 in accordance with the retention payments related 
to her employment agreement amendment. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Employment 
Agreement Amendment - Mason Soneral”. In 2017, Ms. Holloway received a lump sum payment of $125,000 
and Mr. Jipping received a lump sum payment of $11,000 due to their expanding responsibilities. These 
bonuses are set forth in the following table. 

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Table of Contents

Name

Year

Special
Bonus ($)

Retention
Bonus ($)

Merger
Completion
($)

Other
Bonuses ($)

Total Bonus
($)

Linda H. 
Apsey

Gretchen L.
Holloway

Jon E.
Jipping

Daniel J.
Oginsky

Christine
Mason
Soneral

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

$

— $

644,700

$

— $

— $

644,700

—

—

—

—

—

—

26,136

—

—

—

—

—

276,300

—

140,000

60,000

527,100

225,900

—

444,150

190,350

—

529,899

157,500

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

300,000

383,362

222,164

125,000

—

11,000

313,433

181,639

—

264,108

153,055

—

67,057

659,662

222,164

265,000

60,000

538,100

539,333

207,775

444,150

454,458

153,055

529,899

524,557

$

— $

— $

— $

38,861

$

38,861

(2) 

The amounts reported in these columns represent the fair value, of stock option, performance share, restricted 
shares,  performance-based  units  and  service-based  unit  awards  granted  to  the  NEOs  under  the  2017 
Omnibus Plan, 2015 LTIP, and the 2006 LTIP in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board 
Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or ASC 718.

The grant date fair value of the service-based unit awards is based on the applicable share price on the 
grant date. The grant date fair value of the performance-based units is based on the applicable share price 
on  the  grant  date  and  the  expected  payout  of  the  performance  and  market  conditions,  with  the  market 
condition fair value determined using a Monte Carlo simulation valuation model. The service-based unit 
awards  and  performance-based  unit  awards  are  liability  awards,  subject  to  remeasurement  through  the 
vesting  date,  and  settled  in  cash,  see  “Grants  of  Plan-Based Awards”.  The  2016  awards  only  included 
restricted shares; performance shares and restricted shares were awarded in 2015. 

The grant date fair value of the stock options was determined in accordance with ASC 718 using a Black-
Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions; options have not been granted since 2015:

Remaining
Future Life of
Option

Expected
Volatility

Risk Free
Interest Rate

Expected
Life (Years)

Expected
Dividend
Yield

Share Price at
Grant Date

—

—

7.3

—%

—%

18.6%

—%

—%

1.81%

—

—

6

—% $

—% $

—

—

1.59% $

35.91

Year

2017

2016

2015

(3) 

(4) 

The  amounts  reported  in  this  column  include  cash  awards  tied  to  the  achievement  of  annual  Company 
performance goals under our bonus plan in effect for each of 2017, 2016 and 2015. For information regarding 
the corporate goals for 2017, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Key Components of Our NEO 
Compensation Program - Annual Corporate Performance Bonus".

All  amounts  reported  in  this  column  pertain  to  the  tax-qualified  defined  benefit  pension  plan  and  the 
supplemental nonqualified, noncontributory retirement plan maintained by the Company. None of the income 
on nonqualified deferred compensation was above-market or preferential. Variations in the amounts from 
year to year reflect an additional year of service and pay changes used in the accrued benefit, as well as 
changes in assumptions on which the benefits are calculated, for which the formula has not been materially 
revised. The discount rate used for the present value of accumulated benefits was 4.44% in 2015, 4.15% 
in 2016 and 3.67% in 2017.

(5) 

All Other Compensation includes amounts for auto allowance, financial, estate and legal planning, income 
tax  return  preparation,  annual  physical,  club  memberships,  event  tickets,  personal  liability  insurance,  

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personal use of company aircraft and for other benefits such as Company contributions on behalf of the 
NEOs pursuant to the matching component of the Savings and Investment Plan. Perquisites have been 
valued for purposes of these tables on the basis of the aggregate incremental cost to the Company. The 
incremental cost of the personal use of the Company aircraft was determined based upon the Company’s 
expenses incurred in connection with the actual costs of maintenance, landing, parking, crew and catering 
and estimated fuel costs relating to Ms. Apsey’s hours of use of the plane. Fuel expense was determined 
by calculating the average fuel cost for the month and the average amount of fuel used per hour. These 
benefits and perquisites for 2017, 2016 and 2015 are itemized in the table below as required by applicable 
SEC rules.

Name

Linda H.
Apsey

Gretchen L.
Holloway

Jon E.
Jipping

Daniel J.
Oginsky

Christine
Mason
Soneral

Year

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

2017

2016

2015

401(k)
Match

Tax
Reimbursements

Personal
Use of
Company
Aircraft

Other
Benefits

Total

$ 14,400

$

— $ 12,752

$

30,599

$

57,751

14,300

14,300

14,400

14,300

16,200

15,900

14,300

14,400

14,300

14,300

14,400

14,300

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

27,001

23,690

18,726

17,012

21,494

21,369

21,710

21,572

21,197

12,569

21,978

21,375

41,301

37,990

33,126

31,312

37,694

37,269

36,010

35,972

35,497

26,869

36,378

35,675

$ 13,950

$

— $

— $

— $

13,950

We purchase tickets to various sporting, civic, cultural, charity and entertainment events. We use these 
tickets for business development, partnership building, charitable donations and community involvement. If 
not used for business purposes, we may make these tickets available to employees, including the NEOs, 
as a form of recognition and reward for their efforts. Because such tickets have already been purchased, 
we do not believe that there is any aggregate incremental cost to the Company, if a NEO uses a ticket for 
personal purposes.

(6) 

Ms. Holloway became Vice President, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in October 2016 and 
was appointed to Senior Vice Present and Chief Financial Officer in July 2017. In accordance with SEC 
rules, we have excluded Ms. Holloway’s compensation for 2015 as she was not an executive officer during 
that year.

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Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth information concerning each grant of an award made to a NEO during 2017. 
In this table, a service-based unit is referred to as an “SBU”, a performance-based unit is referred to as a 
“PBU” and an award under the annual corporate performance bonus plan is referred to as an “ACPB”.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table

Estimated Future Payouts Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards

Estimated Future Payouts Under
Equity Incentive Plan Awards

Award
Type

Threshold
($)

Target ($)
(1)

Maximum
($)(1)

Threshold
(#)

Target (#)
(2)

Maximum
(#)(2)

All Other
Stock
Awards:
Number
of Shares
of Stock
or Units
(#)

Grant
Date Fair
Value of
Stock and
Option
Awards
($)(3)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

Name

(a)

Grant
Date

(b)

3/8/2017

SBU

$

— $

— $

—

—

—

—

—

19,590

$ 617,826

19,590

39,181

78,362

— 1,143,008

—

Linda H.
Apsey

3/8/2017

PBU

ACPB

3/8/2017

SBU

3/8/2017

PBU

ACPB

3/8/2017

SBU

3/8/2017

PBU

ACPB

3/8/2017

SBU

3/8/2017

PBU

ACPB

3/8/2017

SBU

3/8/2017

PBU

Gretchen L.
Holloway

Jon E.
Jipping

Daniel J.
Oginsky

Christine
Mason
Soneral

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

725,000

1,450,000

—

—

—

—

350,000

700,000

—

—

—

—

535,000

1,070,000

—

—

—

—

450,000

900,000

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

6,147

193,863

6,147

12,295

24,590

—

—

—

—

—

—

10,119

20,239

40,478

—

—

—

—

—

—

8,511

17,023

34,046

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

358,676

—

10,119

319,131

—

—

590,422

—

8,512

268,450

—

—

496,603

—

6,904

217,737

6,904

13,808

27,616

—

402,814

ACPB

$

— $ 365,000

$ 730,000

—

—

—

— $

—

____________________________

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The amount shown in Column (d) represents the potential payout for the annual corporate performance 
bonus based on “target bonus levels”. The amount payable assuming maximum achievement of all bonus 
goals  is  set  forth  in  column  (e). Actual  dollar  amounts  paid  are  disclosed  and  reported  in  the  Summary 
Compensation Table as Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation. For more information regarding the annual 
corporate performance bonuses, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Key Components of Our 
NEO Compensation Program — Annual Corporate Performance Bonus.”

Payment of each performance-based unit award is contingent on meeting performance targets based on 
(1) Fortis Total Shareholder Return in comparison to the Total Shareholder Return during the performance 
period for each of the companies that comprise the 2017 Fortis peer group and (2) cumulative consolidated 
net income for each fiscal year during the performance period. The performance measures are independent 
of each other. If threshold, target or maximum performance goals are attained in the performance period, 
50%, 100% or 200% of the target amount, respectively, may be earned. If actual performance falls between 
threshold,  target  and  maximum,  the  awards  would  be  prorated  between  levels  based  on  performance 
outcome. For more information regarding performance share awards, see “Grant of Plan-Based Awards - 
Performance-Based Unit Award Agreement.”

Grant Date Fair Value consists of service-based units and performance-based units awarded under the 2017 
Omnibus Plan with a grant date of March 8, 2017. The performance-based units reflected here are recorded 
at fair value at the date of grant, which was $29.17 per share. The service-based units reflected here are 
recorded at fair value at the date of grant, which was $31.53 per share. Share fair values were converted 
from Canadian Dollars to US Dollars using the “Award Conversion Rate” defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan.

The Committee has established long-term incentive targets as a percentage of the base salary for each 
NEO in consideration of benchmarking data on total direct compensation, the importance of the NEO’s position to 
the success of the Company, our need to create meaningful incentives to enhance performance and the culture of 

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teamwork that makes our company successful. The Committee did not have a pre-established targeted allocation 
of total direct compensation.

The Committee had the power to award service-based units and performance-based units in the form of 
equity or cash under the 2017 Omnibus Plan with the terms of each award set forth in a written agreement with the 
recipient. Grants made in 2017 to the NEOs were made under the 2017 Omnibus Plan pursuant to terms stated in 
the service-based unit and performance-based unit award agreements.

Performance-Based Unit Award Agreements

The  performance-based  unit  award  agreements  entered  into  with  each  NEO  in  2017  (each  a  “PBU 
Agreement”) provide generally that the award will vest on December 31, 2019 (the “Vesting Date”) to the extent one 
or more of the performance goals are met and if the grantee continues to be employed by the Company through the 
Vesting Date. One-half of the Target Number of units shall be related to the Fortis Total Shareholder Return goal 
(the “TSR goal”) and one-half of the Target Number of shares shall be related to the Cumulative Consolidated Net 
Income goal (the “CCNI goal”). The PBUs will become earned as set forth in the following table:

  Measurement Category

Goal at
Threshold

Shares at
Threshold

Goal at
Target

Shares at
Target

Goal at
Maximum

Shares at
Maximum

Fortis Total Shareholder
Return

30th 
percentile

Cumulative Consolidated
Net Income

99% of
Target

50% of TSR
Target Units
50% of
CCNI Target
Units

50th 
percentile

100% of
Target

100% of
TSR Target
Units
100% of
CCNI Target
Units

85th
percentile

102% of
Target

200% of
TSR Target
Units
200% of
CCNI Target
Units

The performance period for the award is January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019 (the “Payment Criteria 
Period”). The performance measures are independent of each other; that is, if the threshold level of one performance 
measure is attained, units relating to that measure will be “earned” (subject to vesting as otherwise provided in the 
PBU Agreement)  even  if  the  threshold  level  of  the  other  performance  measure  is  not  attained.  The  number  of 
performance-based units that are “earned” with respect to each performance measure will be prorated between 
levels based on performance. The Committee will have discretion to reduce the number of units earned under certain 
circumstances.

Total Shareholder Return of Fortis will be compared to each of the companies (the “Peer Companies”) listed 
in the Fortis Peer Group 2017 Report excluding any company that is no longer traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange 
or a “national securities exchange” at the end of the Payment Criteria Period. The Peer Companies currently consist 
of the following 25 U.S. and Canadian public utility companies:

Alliant Energy
Ameren Corp.
Atmos Energy Corp.
Canadian Utilities Ltd.
CenterPoint Energy Inc.
CMS Energy Corp.
Consolidated Edison Inc.
DTE Energy Co.
Edison International

Emera Inc.
Energy Corp.
Eversource Energy
FirstEnergy Corp.
Great Plains Energy Inc.
Hydro One Ltd.
NiSource Inc.
OGE Energy Corp.

Pinnacle West Capital
PPL Corp.
Public Svc Enterprise Group
SCANA Corp.
Sempre Energy
UGI Corp.
WEC Energy Group
Xcel Energy

The Total Shareholder Return of Fortis and the Peer Companies shall be computed in U.S. dollars as follows:

A:    Calculate  the  Market  Price  as  of  the  first  day  of  the  Payment  Criteria  Period  (if  necessary, 

converted into U.S. dollars based on the Award Conversion Rate as defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan)

B:    Calculate  the  Market  Price  as  of  the  last  day  of  the  Payment  Criteria  Period  (if  necessary, 

converted into U.S. dollars based on the Award Conversion Rate)

C:  Calculate the total dividends paid per share of its common stock (or equivalent security) during 
the Payment Criteria Period (if necessary, converted into U.S. dollars based on the Award Conversion Rate)

Total Shareholder Return = ((B - A) + C)/A

Consolidated Net Income for the Company for each calendar year in the Payment Criteria Period shall be 
equal to net income as set forth in the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements contained in its annual 

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report on Form 10-K for such year, as adjusted for extraordinary items and changes in Return on Equity, in each 
case  in  the  Committee’s  discretion.  Cumulative  Consolidated  Net  Income  for  the  Company  during  the  Payment 
Criteria Period shall be the sum of the Consolidated Net Income for each of the three years in the Payment Criteria 
Period.

If the grantee ceases to be employed before the Vesting Date due to death or disability, the grantee will 
receive, following the Vesting Date, the number of units to which the grantee would have otherwise been entitled if 
the grantee had remained employed through the Vesting Date. If the grantee ceases to be employed before the 
Vesting Date due to “Retirement” or “Involuntary Termination Without Cause,” and the grantee has been in service 
of the Company for one year or more after the grant date, the grantee will receive, following the Vesting Date, a pro 
rata portion (based on the period served from the grant date to termination) of the number of units to which the 
grantee would have otherwise been entitled. If termination occurs prior to the Vesting Date other than as a result of 
death, disability, Retirement or Involuntary Termination Without Cause, grantee will forfeit the award. “Involuntary 
Termination Without Cause” means a termination of the grantee’s employment by the Company other than due to 
the grantee’s death, disability, Retirement, voluntary resignation or for “Cause” (as defined in the PBU Agreement). 
“Retirement”  is  defined  to  mean  termination  of  grantee’s  employment  with  the  Company  upon  or  after  attaining 
“normal retirement age” (as defined in the International Transmission Company Retirement Plan”). 

Upon a “Change of Control”, as defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan, all outstanding performance-based 

units become redeemable on the trading day that is immediately prior to the effective date of the consummation of 
the event resulting in the Change of Control (the “Change of Control Redemption Date”). In the event of a Change 
of Control, the payout percentage for outstanding performance-based units is the product of (i) the higher of (A) 
100% of the target number of performance-based units in the award or (B) the actual payout percentage based 
on the Committee’s assessment of performance of the payment criteria from the beginning of the Payment 
Criteria Period for the award through the date of the Change of Control, multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator 
of which is the number of days elapsed in the Payment Criteria Period for the award through the date on which 
the Change of Control occurred and the denominator of which is the total number of days in the payment criteria 
period for the award. 

Grantees are entitled to receive additional units equal to the “dividend equivalent” when a cash dividend is 
paid on common shares of Fortis stock (each a “Common Share”). Such “dividend equivalent” shall be equal to a 
fraction where the numerator is the product of (a) the number of performance-based units in the grantee’s account 
on  the  date  that  the  dividends  are  paid,  including  performance-based  units  previously  credited  as  “dividend 
equivalents,” multiplied by (b) the dividend paid per Common Share and the denominator of which is the “Market 
Price” of one Common Share calculated on the date that dividends are paid, converted to U.S. dollars based on the 
Award Conversion Rate. All “dividend equivalent” performance-based units shall have a Vesting Date which is the 
same as the Vesting Date for the performance-based units in respect of which such additional performance-based 
units are credited. 

Service-Based Unit Award Agreements

The  service-based  unit  award  agreements  entered  into  with  each  of  our  NEOs  in  2017  (each  a  “SBU 
Agreement”) provide generally that, so long as the grantee remains employed by the Company, the service-based 
units fully vest upon the earlier of (i) December 31, 2019 (the “Vesting Date”) or (ii) the grantee's death or disability. 
If the grantee ceases to be employed before the Vesting Date due to “Retirement” or “Involuntary Termination Without 
Cause” and the grantee has been in service of the Company for one year or more after the grant date, the grantee 
will receive a pro rata portion (based on the period served from the grant date to termination) of the number of service-
based units to which the grantee would have otherwise been entitled. If termination occurs prior to the Vesting Date 
other than as a result of death, disability, Retirement or Involuntary Termination Without Cause, grantee will forfeit 
the award. Upon a Change of Control, all unvested service-based units are deemed to be fully vested and redeemable 
on the Change of Control Redemption Date. “Retirement”, “Involuntary Termination Without Cause” and “Change of 
Control”  are  defined  in  the  same  manner  as  defined  in  the  description  of  the  PBU Agreement  disclosed  above. 
Grantees are entitled to receive additional dividend equivalent service-based units in the same manner as defined 
in the description of the PBU Agreement disclosed above.

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table provides information with respect to service-based units and performance-based units 

that have not vested as of the end of 2017 held by the NEOs.

Number of Shares or
Units of Stock That
Have Not Vested (#)
(SBUs) (2)

Market Value of
Shares or Units of
Stock That Have Not
Vested ($) (SBUs) (1)

Equity Incentive Plan
Awards: Number of
Unearned Shares,
Units or Other Rights
That Have Not Vested
(#) (PBUs) (3)

Equity Incentive Plan
Awards: Market or
Payout Value of
Unearned Shares,
Units or Other Rights
That Have Not Vested
($) (PBUs) (1)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

20,117 $

6,313

10,391

8,741

7,090 $

737,707

231,479

381,054

320,539

259,986

40,236 $

1,475,451

12,626

20,784

17,481

14,180 $

462,997

762,146

641,040

519,972

Name

(a)

Linda H. Apsey

Gretchen L. Holloway

Jon E. Jipping

Daniel J. Oginsky

Christine Mason Soneral

(1) Value was determined by multiplying the number of units that have not vested by the closing price of 

Fortis common stock as of December 29, 2017 ($36.67).

(2) The unvested service-based units generally vest on December 31, 2019.

(3)  The  unvested  performance-based  units  generally  vest  on  December  31,  2019.  The  award  contains 
performance conditions established by the Committee. In order for performance-based units to vest such performance 
conditions must be achieved. Amounts reported reflect performance-based unit payouts as if the target performance 
goals have been achieved.

Equity grants made to NEOs in 2017 were made pursuant to the 2017 Omnibus Plan. The terms of the  

grants are described above in the narrative discussion accompanying the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The NEOs did not have any option exercises or equity awards that vested in 2017.

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Pension Benefits

The following table provides information with respect to each pension benefit plan that provides for payments 
or  other  benefits  at,  following  or  in  connection  with  retirement.  Those  plans  are  the  International  Transmission 
Company Retirement Plan (the “Qualified Plan”) and the ESRP.

Pension Benefits Table

Name

(a)

Plan Name

(b)

Cash Balance Component

Linda H. Apsey

ESRP Shift

        Total Qualified Plan

ESRP

Cash Balance Component

Gretchen Holloway

        Total Qualified Plan

ESRP

Traditional Component

Jon E. Jipping

        Total Qualified Plan

ESRP

Cash Balance Component

Daniel J. Oginsky

        Total Qualified Plan

ESRP

Cash Balance Component

        Total Qualified Plan

Christine Mason
Soneral

Number of Years
Credited Service (#)
(1)

Present Value of
Accumulated
Benefit ($)(2)

Payments During
Last Fiscal Year
($)

(c)

(d)

(e)

23.58

$

N/A

14.83

13.95

2.91

27.03

12.92

13.20

13.20

10.29

373,576

36,447

410,023

1,422,819

235,678

235,678

100,652

1,410,494

1,410,494

1,203,671

298,264

298,264

957,202

231,647

231,647

475,595

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

ESRP

10.29

$

____________________________

(1)  Credited  service  is  estimated  as  of  December  31,  2017  and  represents  the  service  reflected  in  the 
determination of benefits. For determining vesting, service with DTE Energy is counted for the Qualified 
Plan only.

For Ms. Apsey and Mr. Jipping, the credited service for the cash balance and traditional components of the 
Qualified Plan, respectively, includes service with DTE Energy. The Company began operations on February 
28, 2003, following its acquisition of ITCTransmission from DTE Energy. As of that date, the benefits from 
DTE Energy’s qualified plan that had accrued, as well as the associated assets from DTE Energy’s pension 
trust, were transferred to the Qualified Plan. Therefore, even though DTE Energy service is included in 
determining  the  benefits  under  the  traditional  and  cash  balance  components  of  the  Qualified  Plan,  the 
benefits associated with this additional service do not represent a benefit augmentation, but rather a transfer 
of benefit liability and associated assets from DTE Energy’s qualified plan to the Qualified Plan. With respect 
to the ESRP, credited service includes Company service only for the period during which the NEO was an 
ESRP participant.

(2)  The “Present Value of Accumulated Benefit” is the estimated lump-sum equivalent value measured as of 
December 31, 2017 (the “measurement date” used for financial accounting purposes) of the benefit that 
was earned as of that date. Certain benefits are payable as an annuity only, not as a lump sum, and/or may 
not be payable for several years in the future. The values reflected are based on several assumptions. The 
date at which the present values were estimated was December 31, 2017. The rate at which future expected 
benefit payments were discounted in calculating present values was 3.67%, the same rate used for fiscal 
year-end 2017 financial accounting disclosure of the Qualified Plan. The future annual earnings rate on 
account balances under the cash balance and ESRP shift components of the Qualified Plan, and for ESRP 
benefits, was assumed to be 2.78% for 2018 and 4.5% thereafter.

We assumed no NEOs would die or become disabled prior to retirement, or terminate employment with us 
prior to becoming eligible for benefits unreduced for early retirement. The assumed retirement age for each 

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executive was generally the earliest age at which benefits unreduced for early retirement were available 
under the respective plans. For the traditional component of the defined benefit plan, that age is the earlier 
of (1) age 58 with 30 years of service (including service with DTE Energy), or (2) age 60 with 15 years of 
service. For consistency, we generally use the same assumed retirement commencement age for other 
benefits, including benefits expressed as an account value where the concept of benefit reductions for early 
retirement is not meaningful. The assumed retirement benefit commencement ages for the respective NEOs 
were as follows:

  Ms. Apsey:   

  Ms. Holloway 

  Mr. Jipping:  

  Mr. Oginsky  

Age 58

Age 58

Age 58

Age 58

  Ms. Mason Soneral  Age 58

Post-retirement mortality was assumed to be in accordance with the Adjusted RP-2014 table projected for 
future mortality improvements with MP-2017 generational scale. Benefits under the traditional component 
of the Qualified Plan were assumed to be paid as a monthly annuity payable for the lifetime of the employee. 
For all other benefits, payment was assumed to be as a single lump sum, although other actuarially equivalent 
forms are available.

We  maintain  one  tax-qualified  noncontributory  defined  benefit  pension  plan  and  one  supplemental 
nonqualified, noncontributory defined benefit retirement plan. First, we maintain the Qualified Plan, which provides 
funded,  tax-qualified  benefits  up  to  the  limits  on  compensation  and  benefits  under  the  Internal  Revenue  Code. 
Generally, all of our salaried employees, including the NEOs, are eligible to participate.

We maintain the ESRP, in which all of our NEOs participate. The ESRP provides additional retirement benefits 

which are not tax qualified.

The following describes the Qualified Plan and the ESRP, and pension benefits provided to the NEOs under 

those plans.

Qualified Plan

There are two primary retirement benefit components of the Qualified Plan. Each NEO earns benefits from 

the Company under only one of these primary components.

Because our first operating utility subsidiary was acquired from DTE Energy, a component of the Qualified 
Plan bears relation to the DTE Energy Corporation Retirement Plan (the “DTE Plan”). Generally, persons who were 
participants in the “traditional component” of the DTE Plan as of February 28, 2003 (the date ITCTransmission was 
acquired from DTE Energy) earn benefits under the traditional component of our Qualified Plan. All other participants 
earn benefits under the cash balance component. Ms. Apsey also has benefits under the ESRP shift described 
below.

Benefits under the Qualified Plan are funded by an irrevocable tax-exempt trust. A NEO’s benefit under the 

Qualified Plan is payable from the assets held by the tax-exempt trust.

NEOs  become  fully  vested  in  their  normal  retirement  benefits  described  below  with  3  years  of  service, 
including service with DTE Energy, or upon attainment of the plan’s normal retirement age of 65. If a NEO terminates 
employment with less than 3 years of service, the NEO is not vested in any portion of his or her benefit.

Traditional Component of Qualified Plan

Mr. Jipping participates in the traditional component of the Qualified Plan. The benefits are determined under 
the following formula, stated as an annual single life annuity payable in equal monthly installments at the normal 
retirement age of 65: 1.5% times average final compensation times credited service up to 30 years, plus 1.4% times 
average final compensation times credited service in excess of 30 years. Credited service includes service with DTE 
Energy. Although benefits under the formula are defined in terms of a single life annuity, other annuity forms (e.g., 
joint and survivor benefits) are available that have the same actuarial value as the single life annuity benefit. The 
benefits are not payable in the form of a lump sum.

Average final compensation is equal to one-fifth of the NEO’s salary (excluding any bonuses or special pay) 
during the 260 weeks of credited service, not necessarily consecutive, at any time during the NEO’s employment 
that results in the highest average.

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Benefits provided under the Qualified Plan are based on compensation up to a compensation limit under 
the  Internal  Revenue  Code  (which  was  $270,000  in  2017,  and  is  indexed  in  future  years).  In  addition,  benefits 
provided  under  the Qualified  Plan  may not  exceed  a  benefit  limit  under  the Internal  Revenue  Code  (which  was 
$215,000 payable as a single life annuity beginning at normal retirement age in 2017).

NEOs may retire with a reduced benefit as early as age 45 after 15 years of credited service. If a NEO has 
30 years of credited service at retirement, the benefit that would be payable at normal retirement age is reduced for 
commencement ages below 58. The percentage of the normal retirement benefit payable at sample commencement 
ages is as follows:

Age 58 and older: 

100%

Age 55:  

Age 50:  

85%

40%

If a NEO has less than 30 years of credited service at retirement, the benefit that would be payable at normal 
retirement age is reduced for commencement ages below age 60. The percentage of the normal retirement benefit 
payable at sample commencement ages is as follows:

Age 60 and older: 

100%

Age 55:  

Age 50:  

71%

40%

If a NEO terminates employment prior to earning 15 years of credited service, the annuity benefit may not 
commence prior to attaining age 65. If the NEO terminates employment after earning 15 years of credited service 
but below age 45, the benefit may commence as early as age 45. The percentage of the normal retirement benefit 
payable at sample commencement ages is as follows:

Age 65 and older: 

100%

Age 60:  

Age 55:  

Age 50:  

58%

36%

23%

Mr. Jipping’s annual accrued benefit payable monthly as an annuity for his lifetime, beginning at age 65, is 

approximately $106,700. He is fully vested. 

Cash Balance Component of Qualified Plan

Mses. Apsey, Holloway and Mason Soneral and Mr. Oginsky participate in the cash balance component of 

the Qualified Plan. The benefits are stated as a notional account value.

Each year, a NEO’s account is increased by a “contribution credit” equal to 7% of pay. For this purpose, pay 
is equal to base salary plus bonuses and overtime up to the same compensation limit as applies under the traditional 
component of the Qualified Plan ($270,000 in 2017). Each year, a NEO’s account is also increased by an “interest 
credit” based on 30-year Treasury rates.

Upon termination of employment, a vested NEO may elect full payment of his or her account. Alternate forms 
of benefit (e.g., various forms of annuities) are available as well that have the same actuarial value as the account.

Mses. Apsey, Holloway and Mason Soneral and Mr. Oginsky are entitled to immediate payment of their 
account value on termination of employment, even if before normal retirement age. Ms. Apsey’s estimated account 
value  as  of  year-end  2017  is  approximately  $351,000,  Ms.  Holloway’s  is  approximately  $213,000,  Ms.  Mason 
Soneral’s is approximately $212,000, and Mr. Oginsky’s is approximately $272,000. 

ESRP Shift Benefit in Qualified Plan

The ESRP provides notional account accruals similar to the cash balance component of the Qualified Plan. 
The “compensation credit” to the NEO’s notional account, analogous to the contribution credit in the cash balance 
component of the Qualified Plan, is equal to 9% of base salary plus actual bonus earned under the Company’s 
annual bonus plan. The “investment credit,” analogous to the interest credit in the cash balance component of the 
Qualified Plan, is similarly based on 30-year Treasury rates.

The ESRP shift benefit is an amount that would otherwise be payable from the ESRP, but is instead being 
paid from the Qualified Plan, subject to applicable qualified plan legal limits on the ability to discriminate in favor of 

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highly paid employees. The NEO’s cash balance account is increased by any amounts shifted from the ESRP. The 
purpose of the benefit is to provide the NEO and the Company the tax advantages of providing benefits through a 
tax qualified plan.

Ms. Apsey has received ESRP shift additions to her Qualified Plan cash balance account. There was no 
shift of compensation credits for 2017, although previous shifts have continued to earn interest credits. As of year-
end 2017, her ESRP shift balance was approximately $34,000.

Executive Supplemental Retirement Plan

The ESRP is a nonqualified retirement plan. Only selected executives participate, including all our NEOs. 
The purpose of the ESRP is to promote the success of the Company and its subsidiaries by providing the ability to 
attract and retain talented executives by providing such designated executives with additional retirement benefits.

The ESRP resembles the cash balance component of the Qualified Plan in that benefits are expressed as 
a notional account value and the vested account balance is payable as a lump sum on termination of employment, 
although an installment option of equivalent value is also available.

Each year, a NEO’s account is increased by a “compensation credit” equal to 9% of pay. For this purpose, 
pay is equal to base salary plus any bonus under the Company’s annual corporate performance bonus plan. There 
is no limit on compensation that may be taken into account as in the Qualified Plan. Each year, a NEO’s account is 
also increased by an “investment credit” equal to the same earnings rate as the interest credit in the cash balance 
component of the Qualified Plan, based on 30-year Treasury rates.

The plan has been in effect since March 1, 2003. Vesting occurs at 20% for each year of participation. All 
of our NEOs are fully vested. Pursuant to the terms of the plan, Ms. Holloway became fully vested at the time of the 
Merger.

As noted above in the description of the Qualified Plan, a portion of the ESRP account balance may be 
shifted to the cash balance component of the Qualified Plan each year, as permitted under the rules for qualified 
plans. Such a shift allows the NEOs to become immediately vested in the account values shifted, and confers certain 
tax advantages to the NEOs and us. As of December 31, 2017, the ESRP account values, net of the amounts shifted 
to the Qualified Plan, are as follows:

$

Ms. Apsey

Ms. Holloway

Mr. Jipping

Mr. Oginsky

Ms. Mason Soneral

1,335,751

90,920

1,165,089

874,474

435,937

The ESRP is funded with a Rabbi Trust, which we cannot use for any purpose other than to satisfy the benefit 
obligations under the ESRP, except in the event of the Company’s bankruptcy, in which case the assets are available 
to general creditors.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

We maintain the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan under which nonqualified deferred compensation 
is permissible. Only selected officers of the Company, including the NEOs, are eligible to participate in this plan. 
NEOs are allowed to defer up to 100% of their salary and bonus. Investment earnings are based on the various 
investment options available under the plan, and are selected by the individual NEOs. Distributions will generally be 
made at the NEO’s termination of employment for any reason. Currently none of our NEOs participate in this plan.

Employment Agreements and Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

Employment Agreements

As referenced above, we entered into employment agreements with Ms. Apsey and Messrs. Jipping and 
Oginsky in December 2012 which superseded the employment agreements then in effect. In February 2015, we 
entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Mason Soneral which superseded her employment agreement then 
in  effect.  In  July  2017,  we  entered  into  an  employment  agreement  with  Ms.  Holloway,  which  superseded  her 
employment agreement then in effect. Each employment agreement is subject to automatic one-year employment 
term renewals each year beginning on its second anniversary, unless either party provides the other with 30 days’ 
advance written notice of intent not to renew the employment term. Ms. Apsey’s agreement was modified in October 

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2016 in connection with her appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer and the term of the agreement 
is now set to expire December 31, 2018, subject to the automatic one-year renewal provision described above. Ms. 
Mason Soneral’s agreement was modified in October 2016 as described in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis 
— Employment Agreement Amendments — Mason Soneral.”   The following describes the material terms of the 
employment agreements, as amended, with the NEOs who remained employed by the Company on December 31, 
2017.

The employment agreements provide that each NEO will receive an annual base salary equal to their current 
base salary, which is subject to annual review and increase by our Board of Directors in its discretion. The employment 
agreements also provide that NEOs are eligible to receive an annual cash bonus, subject to our achievement of 
certain performance targets established by our Board of Directors, as detailed in “Compensation Discussion and 
Analysis.” The employment agreements also provide the NEOs with the right to participate in equity plans, employee 
benefit plans and retirement plans, including but not limited to welfare plans, retiree welfare benefit plans and defined 
benefit and defined contribution plans.

In  addition,  the  NEOs’  employment  agreements  provide  for  payments  by  us  of  certain  benefits  upon 
termination of employment. The rights available at termination depend on the situation and circumstances surrounding 
the terminating event. The terms “Cause” and “Good Reason” are used in the employment agreements of each NEO 
and an understanding of these terms is necessary to determine the appropriate rights for which a NEO is eligible. 
The terms are defined as follows:

•  Cause means: a NEO’s continued failure substantially to perform his or her duties (other than as a result of 
total or partial incapacity due to physical or mental illness) for a period of 10 days following written notice 
by the Company to the NEO of such failure; dishonesty in the performance of the NEO’s duties; a NEO’s 
conviction of, or plea of nolo contender to, a crime constituting a felony or misdemeanor involving moral 
turpitude; willful malfeasance or willful misconduct in connection with a NEO’s duties; any act or omission 
which is injurious to the financial condition or business reputation of the Company; or violation of the non-
compete or confidentiality provisions of the employment agreement.

•  Good reason means: a greater than 10% reduction in the total value of the NEO’s base salary, target bonus, 

and employee benefits; or if the NEO’s responsibilities and authority are substantially diminished.

If a NEO’s employment is terminated with cause by the Company or by the NEO without good reason, the 
NEO will generally only receive his or her accrued but unpaid compensation and benefits as of the date of his or her 
employment termination. If the NEO terminates due to death or disability (as defined in the employment agreements), 
the NEO (or the NEO’s spouse or estate) would also receive a pro rata portion of his or her current year annual 
target bonus.

If a NEO’s employment is terminated by the Company without cause or by the NEO for good reason, the 
NEO will receive the following, subject to the NEO’s execution of a release agreement and commencing generally 
on the earliest date that is permitted under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code:

• 

any accrued but unpaid compensation and benefits. The benefits include:

  Ms. Apsey: cash balance and ESRP shift under the Qualified Plan and vested portion of ESRP 

balance; 

  Mr. Jipping: annual benefit under the traditional component of the Qualified Plan and vested portion 

of ESRP balance; and

  Mr. Oginsky, Ms. Mason Soneral and Ms. Holloway: cash balance under the Qualified Plan and 

vested portion of ESRP balance

• 

• 

• 

continued payment of the NEO’s then-current base salary for two years;

if the termination is within six months before or two years after a “Change of Control” (as defined in the 
employment agreements), payment of an amount equal to two times the average of the annual bonuses, 
that were payable to the NEO for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year in which his 
or her employment terminates, payable in equal installments over the period in which continued base salary 
payments are made;

a  pro  rata  portion  of  the  annual  bonus  for  the  year  of  termination,  based  upon  the  Company’s  actual 
achievement of the performance targets for such year as determined under the annual bonus plan and paid 
at the time that such bonus would normally be paid;

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• 

• 

• 

eligibility to continue coverage under our active medical, dental and vision plans subject to applicable COBRA 
rules; if such coverage is elected, we will reimburse the NEO for the shorter of 18 months, or until the NEO 
becomes eligible for coverage under another employer-sponsored group plan, in an amount equal to our 
periodic cost of such coverage for other executives, plus a tax gross-up amount; 

outplacement services for up to two years; and

for  Ms. Apsey,  deemed  satisfaction  of  the  eligibility  requirements  of  our  Postretirement  Welfare  Plan  for 
purposes of participation therein; and for Messrs. Jipping and Oginsky, participation in our Postretirement 
Welfare Plan only if, by the end of their specified severance period, they have achieved the necessary age 
and service credit otherwise necessary to meet the eligibility requirements. In addition, if we terminate our 
Postretirement Welfare Plan and, by application of the provisions described in the prior sentence, any of 
these NEOs would otherwise be entitled to retiree welfare benefits, we will establish other coverage for the 
NEO or the NEO will receive a cash payment equal to our cost of providing such benefits, in order to assist 
the NEO in obtaining other retiree welfare benefits.

In addition, while employed by us and for a period of two years after any termination of employment without 
cause by the Company (other than due to their disability) or for good reason by them and for a period of one year 
following any other termination of their employment, the NEOs will be subject to certain covenants not to compete 
with or assist other entities in competing with our business and not to encourage our employees to terminate their 
employment with us. At all times while employed and thereafter, all of the NEOs will also be subject to a covenant 
not to disclose confidential information. 

In the event the NEO becomes subject to excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code 
as a result of payments and benefits received under the employment agreements or any other plan, arrangement 
or agreement with us, we will pay the NEO only that portion of such payments which are in total equal to one dollar 
less than the amount that would subject the NEO to the excise tax.

Payments in the Event of Termination

The benefits to be provided to the NEOs as a result of termination under various scenarios are detailed in 

the tables below. The tables assume that the termination occurred on December 31, 2017. 

Compensation

  Cash Severance

  Target Short-term Bonus

  Pro Rata Short-term

(Annual) Incentive Comp

Retention Awards

  Service-Based Unit

Awards (7)

  Performance-Based Unit

Awards

Benefits and Perquisites

  Retirement Plan

  ESRP

  Perquisites

  Health & Welfare Benefits

  Postretirement Welfare

Plan (5)

Total Payout:

Linda H. Apsey - Termination Scenarios: Value of Potential Payments

Total Value of Severance, Benefits and Unvested Equity Awards(1)(2)

Voluntary
Resignation

Involuntary For
Cause

Involuntary Not-
for-Cause or
Voluntary Good
Reason

Change In
Control (pre-tax)
(3)

Disability

Death (pre-
retirement)(4)

$

— $

— $

1,450,000

$

3,149,345

$

— $

—

—

—

725,000

725,000

1,205,313

1,205,313

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

25,000

28,809

737,690

737,690

737,690

490,918

1,475,451

1,475,451

—

—

25,000

28,809

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

594,085

594,085

$

— $

— $

3,303,207

$

6,231,160

$

2,938,141

$

2,938,141

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Gretchen L. Holloway - Termination Scenarios: Value of Potential Payments

Total Value of Severance, Benefits and Unvested Equity Awards(1)(2)

Voluntary
Resignation

Involuntary For
Cause

Involuntary Not-
for-Cause or
Voluntary Good
Reason

Change In
Control (pre-tax)
(3)

Disability

Death (pre-
retirement)(4)

$

— $

— $

700,000

$

889,435

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

350,000

350,000

581,875

581,875

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

25,000

26,580

231,461

231,461

231,461

154,050

254,204

—

—

25,000

26,580

462,997

462,997

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Compensation

  Cash Severance

  Target Short-term Bonus

  Pro Rata Short-term

(Annual) Incentive Comp

   Service-Based Unit

Awards (7)

   Performance-Based Unit

Awards (8)

   280G Cutback

Benefits and Perquisites

  Retirement Plan

  ESRP

  Perquisites

  Health & Welfare Benefits

Total Payout:

$

— $

— $

1,333,455

$

2,162,605

$

1,044,458

$

1,044,458

Jon E. Jipping - Termination Scenarios: Value of Potential Payments

Total Value of Severance, Benefits and Unvested Equity Awards(1)(2)

Voluntary
Resignation

Involuntary For
Cause

Involuntary Not-
for-Cause or
Voluntary Good
Reason

Change In
Control (pre-tax)
(3)

Disability

Death (pre-
retirement)(4)

$

— $

— $

1,070,000

$

2,436,244

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

535,000

535,000

889,438

889,438

—

—

—

—

—

—

25,000

27,916

381,038

381,038

381,038

253,584

762,146

762,146

—

—

25,000

27,916

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Compensation

  Cash Severance

  Target Short-term Bonus

  Pro Rata Short-term

(Annual) Incentive Comp

  Service-Based Unit

Awards (7)

  Performance-Based Unit

Awards (8)

Benefits and Perquisites

  Retirement Plan (6)

  ESRP

  Perquisites

  Health & Welfare Benefits

Total Payout:

$

— $

— $

2,012,354

$

4,013,220

$

1,678,184

$

1,678,184

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Daniel J. Oginsky - Termination Scenarios: Value of Potential Payments

Total Value of Severance, Benefits and Unvested Equity Awards(1)(2)

Compensation

  Cash Severance

  Target Short-term Bonus

  Pro Rata Short-term

(Annual) Incentive Comp

  Service-Based Unit

Awards (7)

  Performance-Based Unit

Awards (8)

Benefits and Perquisites

  Retirement Plan

  ESRP

  Perquisites

  Health & Welfare Benefits

Voluntary
Resignation

Involuntary For
Cause

Involuntary Not-
for-Cause or
Voluntary Good
Reason

Change In
Control (pre-tax)
(3)

Disability

Death (pre-
retirement)(4)

$

— $

— $

900,000

$

2,051,238

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

450,000

450,000

748,125

748,125

—

—

—

—

—

—

25,000

27,022

320,532

320,532

320,532

213,289

641,040

641,040

—

—

25,000

27,022

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Total Payout:

$

— $

— $

1,700,147

$

3,385,206

$

1,411,572

$

1,411,572

Christine Mason Soneral - Termination Scenarios: Value of Potential Payments

Total Value of Severance, Benefits and Unvested Equity Awards(1)(2)

Voluntary
Resignation

Involuntary For
Cause

Involuntary Not-
for-Cause or
Voluntary Good
Reason

Change In
Control (pre-tax)
(3)

Disability

Death (pre-
retirement)(4)

$

— $

— $

730,000

$

1,296,901

$

— $

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

365,000

365,000

606,813

606,813

—

—

—

—

—

—

25,000

27,796

259,990

259,990

259,990

173,007

519,972

519,972

—

—

25,000

27,796

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Compensation

  Cash Severance

  Target Short-term Bonus

   Pro Rata Short-term

(Annual) Incentive Comp

   Service-Based Unit

Awards (7)

   Performance-Based Unit

Awards (8)

Benefits and Perquisites

  Retirement Plan

  ESRP

  Perquisites

  Health & Welfare Benefits

Total Payout:

$

— $

— $

1,389,609

$

2,389,507

$

1,144,962

$

1,144,962

____________________________

(1)  All scenarios include the value of severance. For Ms. Apsey, the value of the Postretirement Welfare Plan 
is additionally included where applicable. The Pension Benefits Table assumes that none of the executives 
are terminated prior to retirement age and that benefits are paid once retirement commences (age 58 is 
assumed). All other accrued pension benefits, outside of present value reductions outlined in footnote (5), 
and additional pension benefits upon death, have not been included in these termination scenarios but can 
be found in the Pension Benefits Table. 

(2)  Upon any termination of employment, benefits that are accrued but unpaid prior to that event are paid. These 

benefits are assumed to be $0 in the above table.

(3)  Change in control values include severance amounts reflecting cutbacks to the extent employer payments 
exceed the executive respective limits. Ms. Holloway would be subject to an excise tax on the employer 
payments as of the assumed change in control date; therefore, a cutback in the amount of $254,204 has 
been reflected. 

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(4)  In the event of Mr. Jipping’s termination for death (pre-retirement), his spouse would receive half the 50% 
joint and survivor annuity under the traditional component of the Qualified Plan, also reduced to reflect a 
90% early retirement factor that would apply at age 58 since Mr. Jipping does not have 30 years of service 
as of December 31, 2017. Under termination for death (pre-retirement), Ms. Apsey’s, Ms. Mason Soneral’s, 
Ms. Holloway’s, and Mr. Oginsky’s Qualified Plan benefits are payable immediately to the surviving spouse 
(if any) and ESRP benefits are payable to a designated beneficiary. The above termination scenarios do not 
reflect the reduction in present value of death benefits ($112,159 for Ms. Apsey, $819,642 for Mr. Jipping, 
$108,507 for Mr. Oginsky, $58,974 for Ms. Mason Soneral, and $35,520 for Ms. Holloway) compared to 
present value in the Pension Benefits Table. 

(5)  The value of the Postretirement Welfare Plan benefit is included in involuntary termination not for cause and 
change in control scenarios since Ms. Apsey's employment agreement includes a provision for deemed 
satisfaction of the eligibility requirements when terminated under these scenarios. It is assumed she would 
commence her Postretirement Welfare Benefits at age 58. The rate at which future expected benefit payments 
were discounted in calculating the Postretirement Welfare Plan present values was 3.75%, the same rate 
used for fiscal year-end 2017 accounting disclosure of the Postretirement Welfare Plan.

(6)  The Pension Benefits Table assumes that Mr. Jipping would not be terminated before retirement age and 
no early retirement reduction was applied. In all termination scenarios, however, a 90% early retirement 
factor would apply at age 58 because Mr. Jipping has less than 30 years of service as of December 31, 
2017. The above table does not reflect the reduction in the present value ($141,049 except for death) due 
to applying the 90% early retirement factor.

(7)  Under  the  2017  Omnibus  Plan,  outstanding  and  unvested  service-based  units  and  respective  dividend 
equivalents shall be deemed to be vested service-based units and redeemable on the Change of Control 
Redemption Date (as defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan). In the case of Death or Disability (each as defined 
in  the  2017  Omnibus  Plan)  termination,  outstanding  and  unvested  service-based  units  and  respective 
dividend equivalents shall be deemed to be vested service-based units and redeemable the date of the 
death or on the date on which the grantee’s service is terminated due to Disability. In the case of Retirement 
or Involuntary Termination Without Cause (each as defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan) within one year of 
the grant date, outstanding and unvested service-based units and respective dividend equivalents shall be 
deemed to be forfeited. If Retirement or Involuntary Termination Without Cause occurs one year or more 
after the grant date, service-based units and respective dividend equivalents shall be deemed to have vested 
pro-rata based on the period served from the grant date to termination.

(8)  Under the 2017 Omnibus Plan, outstanding and unvested performance-based unit awards and respective 
dividend equivalents accelerate on a prorated basis under a Change in Control (as defined in the 2017 
Omnibus Plan), based on the higher of (A) 100% of the target number of performance-based units in the 
award or (B) the actual payout percentage based on the Committee’s assessment of performance of the 
payment criteria from the beginning of the Payment Criteria Period for the award through the date of the 
Change of Control (as defined in the 2017 Omnibus Plan). In the case of Death or Disability termination, the 
outstanding and unvested performance-based unit awards and respective dividend equivalents will remain 
outstanding and be payable on the payout date of such awards subject to the achievement of the applicable 
payment criteria. Values shown in the tables above are based on target performance as an estimate of 
potential payments. In the case of Retirement or Involuntary Termination Without Cause within one year of 
the award grant date, outstanding and unvested performance-based unit awards and respective dividend 
equivalents shall be deemed to be forfeited. If Retirement or Involuntary Termination Without Cause occurs 
one year or more after the grant date, performance-based unit awards and respective dividend equivalents 
shall be deemed to have vested pro-rata based on the period served from grant date to termination.

Upon death or disability, a NEO (or his or her estate) receives a pro rata portion of his or her current year 
target bonus. All balances under the cash balance and ESRP shift components of the Qualified Plan, and the ESRP 
balance (vested portion only for disability), are immediately payable. If the NEO has 10 years of service after age 
45, then the NEO (and his or her spouse) is eligible for retiree medical benefits.

Pay Ratio

As required by the U.S. Congress under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 
and the SEC under Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, we are providing the following information about the relationship 
of the annual total compensation of our employees and the annual total compensation of Linda H. Apsey our CEO:

For 2017, our last completed fiscal year:

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the  median  of  the  annual  total  compensation  of  all  employees  of  the  Company  (other  than  Ms. 

Apsey), was $142,593; and

the annual total compensation of Ms. Apsey as reported in the Summary Compensation Table was 

$4,626,345.

Based on this information, Ms. Apsey’s 2017 annual total compensation was estimated to be 32 times the 
median annual total compensation for all employees, other than Ms. Apsey. Ms. Apsey received a retention payment 
in October 2017 of $644,700 due to the Merger. This type of payment is not part of her regular compensation and if 
excluded from the calculation, the pay ratio was estimated to be 28 times the median annual total compensation for 
all employees.

We determined that, as of December 31, 2017, our employee population consisted of 669 individuals with 
all of those individuals located in the United States. To identify the “median employee” from our employee population, 
excluding  Ms. Apsey,  we  utilized  a  consistently  applied  compensation  measure  that  included  the  sum  of  each 
employee’s 2017 annualized base salary as of December 31, 2017 as reflected in our payroll records, and target 
2017 awards made under our annual corporate performance plan and 2017 Omnibus Plan that were not paid in 
2017. We arrayed these values to select our “median employee”.

Using our “median employee” and Ms. Apsey, we calculated the 2017 Summary Compensation Table values 

for each according to SEC rules.

Director Compensation

The following table provides information concerning the compensation of each person who served as a non-

employee director of the Company during 2017. 

Non-Employee Director Compensation Table

Name (1)

(a)

Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash ($)
(2)

Stock Awards ($)

Total ($)

(b)

(c)

(h)

Robert A. Elliott

Albert Ernst

Rhys D. Evenden (3)

James P. Laurito

Barry V. Perry

Sandra E. Pierce

Kevin L. Prust

A. Douglas Rothwell

Thomas G. Stephens

Joseph L. Welch

$

125,000

$

— $

125,000

125,000

125,000

125,000

132,500

132,500

24,457

132,500

150,000

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

125,000

125,000

125,000

125,000

125,000

132,500

132,500

24,457

132,500

150,000

____________________________

(1)  Ms. Pierce and Messrs. Elliott, Ernst, Prust and Stephens were appointed to the Board, effective January 
1, 2017. Mr. Rothwell was appointed to the Board on October 20, 2017. Mr. Rothwell’s cash retainer 
was prorated for the length of service rendered in fiscal year 2017.

(2)  Includes annual Board retainer and committee chairmanship retainer, as well as a chairman fee (for Mr. 

Welch only). 

(3)  The fees payable to Mr. Evenden are made directly to Betchworth Investment Pte. Ltd

Directors who are employees of the Company do not receive separate compensation for their services as 
a  director. All  non-employee  directors  are  compensated  under  our  non-employee  director  compensation  policy, 
pursuant to which they are paid an annual cash retainer of $125,000. In addition, we pay an additional cash retainer 
of $7,500 annually to the chair of each Board committee and $25,000 annually to our chairman. We do not pay per-
meeting fees under the policy. Beginning in calendar year 2017, non-employee directors were and will continue to 
be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses.

We maintain a Director Deferred Compensation Plan under which nonqualified deferred compensation is 

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permissible. Only non-employee directors of the Company are eligible to participate in this plan. Directors are allowed 
to defer up to 100% of their annual board compensation. Investment earnings are based on the various investment 
options available under the plan, and are selected by the individual directors. Distributions will be made when the 
director  ceases  to  serve  on  the  Board  and/or  ceases  to  provide  other  non-employee  consulting  services  to  the 
Company or any Fortis entity. 

ITEM 12.   SECURITY  OWNERSHIP  OF  CERTAIN  BENEFICIAL  OWNERS  AND  MANAGEMENT  AND 

RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the ownership of our common stock and Fortis’ 

common stock as of February 1, 2018, except as otherwise indicated, by:

• 

• 

• 

each of our current directors;

each of the persons named in the Summary Compensation Table under Item 11; and

all current directors and executive officers as a group.

The number of shares beneficially owned is determined under rules of the SEC and the information is not 
necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under such rules, beneficial ownership includes 
any shares as to which the individual has sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares 
which the individual has the right to acquire on February 1, 2018 or within 60 days thereafter through the exercise 
of any stock option or other right. Unless otherwise indicated, each holder has sole investment and voting power 
with respect to the shares set forth in the following table:

Name of Beneficial Owner

Linda H. Apsey
Gretchen L. Holloway
Jon E. Jipping
Daniel J. Oginsky
Christine Mason Soneral
Robert A. Elliott
Albert Ernst
Rhys D. Evenden
James P. Laurito
Barry V. Perry
Sandra E. Pierce
Kevin L. Prust
A. Douglas Rothwell
Thomas G. Stephens
Joseph L. Welch
All current directors and executive officers as a
group (15 persons)

____________________________

Number of 
Shares
Beneficially 
Owned

Percent of
Class

Fortis Inc.
Number of
shares
Beneficially
Owned

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—

—%
53,889
—%
4,194
—%
120,000
—%
72,621
—%
—
—%
—
—%
13,073 (2)
—%
—
1,965
—%
—% 787,975 (3)
—
—%
—
—%
—
—%
—%
2,098
—% 1,178,328 (1)

Percent
of Class
*
*
*
*
—
—
*
—
—
*
—
—
—
*
*

—%

2,234,143

*

* Less than one percent

(1)  The amount shown in the table does not include 534,064 shares beneficially owned by 
the spouse of Mr. Welch. Mr. Welch has no voting or dispositive power with respect to, 
and disclaims ownership of such shares.

(2) 

(3) 

Includes 4,234 shares owned by the spouse of Mr. Ernst.

Includes 29,825 shares owned by the spouse and children of Mr. Perry as well as 
546,377 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of options that are currently 
exercisable or become exercisable prior to April 2, 2018.

Investment Holdings, which owns all of our outstanding common stock, is 80.1% owned by FortisUS and 

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19.9% owned by Eiffel. FortisUS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis.

At December 31, 2017, there were no securities authorized for issuance under any compensation plans 

of ITC Holdings Corp.

ITEM 13.   CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.

CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

Pursuant to its charter, the Governance and Human Resources Committee is charged with monitoring and 
reviewing  issues  involving  independence  and  potential  conflicts  of  interest  with  respect  to  our  directors  and 
executive officers. The Governance and Human Resources Committee also determines whether or not a particular 
relationship serves the best interest of the Company and its shareholder and whether the relationship should be 
continued or eliminated. In addition, our Code of Conduct and Ethics generally forbids conflicts of interest unless 
approved by the Board or a designated committee.

Although the Company does not have a written policy with regard to the approval of transactions between 
the Company and its executive officers and directors, each director and officer must annually submit a form to the 
General Counsel disclosing his or her conflicts or potential conflicts of interest or certifying that no such conflicts 
of interest exist. Throughout the year, if any transaction constituting a conflict of interest arises or circumstances 
otherwise change that would cause a director’s or officer’s annual conflict certification to become incorrect, the 
director or officer must inform the General Counsel of such circumstances. The Governance and Human Resources 
Committee reviews existing conflicts as well as potential conflicts of interest and determines whether any further 
action is necessary, such as recommending to the Board whether a director or officer should be requested to offer 
his or her resignation. Where the Board makes a determination regarding a potential conflict of interest, a majority 
of the Board (excluding any interested member or members) shall decide upon an appropriate course of action. 
Additionally, any director or officer who has a question about whether a conflict exists must bring it to the attention 
of the Company’s General Counsel or Chairperson of the Governance and Human Resources Committee.

Clayton Welch, Jennifer Welch, Jessica Uher and Katie Welch (each of whom is a son, daughter or daughter-
in-law of Joseph L. Welch, the Company’s Chairman) were employed by us as a Senior Engineer, Fleet Manager, 
Manager of Corporate and Field Facilities, and Senior Accountant, respectively, during 2017 and continue to be 
employed by us. These individuals are employed on an “at will” basis and compensated on the same basis as our 
other employees of similar function, seniority and responsibility without regard to their relationship with Mr. Welch. 
These four individuals, none of whom resides with or is supported financially by Mr. Welch, received aggregate 
salary, bonus, long-term incentives and taxable perquisites for services rendered in the above capacities totaling 
$507,889 during 2017.

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Based on the absence of any material relationship between them and us, other than their capacities as 
directors, the Board has determined that Ms. Pierce and Messrs. Elliott, Ernst, Prust, Rothwell and Stephens are 
“independent”  as  defined  in  the  Shareholders Agreement.  In  addition,  our  Board  has  determined  that,  as  the 
committees are currently constituted, a majority of the members of the Audit and Risk Committee are “independent” 
as defined in the Shareholders Agreement. None of the directors determined to be independent is or ever has 
been employed by us. The Company has made charitable contributions of less than $1 million each to organizations 
with  which  certain  of  our  directors  have  affiliations. The  Board  determined  that  these  contributions  would  not 
interfere with the exercise of independent judgment by these directors in carrying out their responsibilities.

An independent director under the Shareholders Agreement is a director who meets all of the following 
requirements: (a) is elected by the shareholders of Investment Holdings; (b) is designated as an independent 
director by the Investment Holdings’ board and Company Board, or the shareholders of Investment Holdings; (c) 
is not a director that is nominated by Finn Investment Pte Ltd or any successor or permitted assign thereof and 
appointed as a member of the Investment Holdings’ board and Company Board in accordance with the Shareholders 
Agreement; (d) is not and during the three years prior to being designated as an independent director has not been 
any of the following: (i) a director of FortisUS or any of its affiliates (other than Investment Holdings or the Company); 
or (ii) an officer or employee of Investment Holdings, the Company, FortisUS or any of their affiliates; and (e) would 
meet the definition of “independent director” under the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual if such 
director  were  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  Fortis,  FortisUS,  Investment  Holdings,  or  the  Company 

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(assuming, in the case of FortisUS, Investment Holdings and the Company, that such entities were listed on the 
New York Stock Exchange).

Mr.  Elliott  serves  on  the  board  of  directors  of  UNS  Energy  Corporation,  a  wholly-owned  subsidiary  of 
FortisUS.  When  determining  Mr.  Elliott’s  independence,  the  board  and  shareholders  agreed  to  waive  the 
requirements set forth in the definition of independent director under the Shareholders Agreement which states 
that a director is not and during the three years prior to being designated as a director of the company has not 
served as a director of FortisUS or any of its affiliates.

ITEM 14.   PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

The following table provides a summary of the aggregate fees incurred for Deloitte’s services in 2017 and 2016:

Audit fees (1)
Audit-related fees (2)
Tax fees (3)
All other fees (4)
Total fees

____________________________

2017
1,888,000 $
329,000
187,000
127,000
2,531,000 $

2016
1,866,000
924,000
753,000
10,000
3,553,000

$

$

(1)  Audit fees were for professional services rendered for the audit of our consolidated financial statements 
and internal controls and reviews of the interim consolidated financial statements included in quarterly 
reports and services that are normally provided by Deloitte in connection with statutory and regulatory 
filing engagements.

(2)  Audit-related fees were for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance 
of the audit or review of our consolidated financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” 
These services include due diligence support relating to merger and acquisition activity and the audit of 
our employee benefit plans and accounting consultations. The fees also include amounts for the services 
provided in connection with our securities offerings and accounting consultations and audits in connection 
with acquisitions.

(3)  Tax fees were professional services for federal and state tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning, 

including services to support merger and acquisition activity.

(4)  All  other  fees  were  for  services  other  than  the  services  reported  above.  These  services  included 
subscriptions to the Deloitte Accounting Research Tool, attendance at the Deloitte Power and Utilities 
Seminar and Utility Accounting Workshop, and assessment of our ERM Program.

The Audit and Risk Committee of the Board of Directors does not consider the provision of the services 

described above by Deloitte to be incompatible with the maintenance of Deloitte’s independence.

The Audit  and  Risk  Committee  has  adopted  a  pre-approval  policy  for  all  audit  and  non-audit  services 
pursuant to which it pre-approves all audit and non-audit services provided by the independent registered public 
accounting firm prior to the engagement with respect to such services. To the extent that we need an engagement 
for audit and/or non-audit services between Audit and Risk Committee meetings, the Audit and Risk Committee 
chairman is authorized by the Audit and Risk Committee to approve the required engagement on its behalf.

The Audit and Risk Committee approved all of the services performed by Deloitte in 2017. 

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PART IV

ITEM 15.   EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

(a)

(1) Financial Statements:

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of December 31, 2017 and 2016

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholder's Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 

2015

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

Schedule I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

All other schedules for which provision is made in Regulation S-X either (i) are not required under the related 
instructions or are inapplicable and, therefore, have been omitted, or (ii) the information required is included in 
the consolidated financial statements or the notes thereto that are a part hereof.

(b)

Exhibit Listing

The following exhibits are filed as part of this report or filed previously and incorporated by reference 

to the filing indicated. Our SEC file number is 001-32576.

Exhibit No.

Description of Exhibit

2.1

3.1

3.2

4.3

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.9

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 9, 2016, among FortisUS Inc., Element Acquisition 
Sub Inc., Fortis Inc., and ITC Holdings Corp. (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on February 11, 2016)

Restated Articles of Incorporation of ITC Holdings Corp. (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter 
ended September 30, 2016)

Sixth Amended and Restated Bylaws of ITC Holdings Corp (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 
12, 2016)

Indenture, dated as of July 16, 2003, between ITC Holdings Corp. and BNY Midwest Trust Company, as 
trustee (filed with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, Reg. No. 333-123657)

First Mortgage and Deed of Trust, dated as of July 15, 2003, between International Transmission Company 
and BNY Midwest Trust Company, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, 
as amended, Reg. No. 333-123657)

First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 15, 2003, supplementing the First Mortgage and Deed of 
Trust dated as of July 15, 2003, between International Transmission Company and BNY Midwest Trust 
Company, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, Reg. No. 
333-123657)

Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 15, 2003, supplementing the First Mortgage and Deed 
of Trust dated as of July 15, 2003, between International Transmission Company and BNY Midwest Trust 
Company, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, Reg. No. 
333-123657)

Amendment to Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 19, 2005, between International 
Transmission Company and BNY Midwest Trust Company, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Registration 
Statement on Form S-1, as amended, Reg. No. 333-123657)

Second Amendment to Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 24, 2006, between International 
Transmission Company and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to BNY Midwest 
Trust Company), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 30, 2006)

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Exhibit No.

Description of Exhibit

4.10

4.12

4.14

4.17

4.18

4.19

4.20

4.21

4.23

4.24

4.25

4.26

4.27

4.28

4.29

4.30

4.31

4.32

Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 28, 2006, supplementing the First Mortgage and Deed 
of Trust dated as of July 15, 2003, between International Transmission Company and BNY Midwest Trust 
Company, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 30, 2006)

Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 10, 2006, supplemental to the Indenture dated as 
of July 16, 2003, between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., (as successor 
to BNY Midwest Trust Company, as trustee) (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 10, 2006)

First Mortgage Indenture between Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC and JPMorgan Chase 
Bank, dated as of December 10, 2003 (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 
30, 2006)

ITC Holdings Corp. Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 20, 2007 (filed with Registrant’s 
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007)

Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 24, 2008, supplemental to the Indenture dated as of 
July 16, 2003, between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to 
BNY Midwest Trust Company), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on January 25, 2008)

First Mortgage and Deed of Trust, dated as of January 14, 2008, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank 
of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on February 1, 2008)

First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 14, 2008, supplemental to the First Mortgage Indenture 
between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee, First Mortgage 
and Deed of Trust, dated as of January 14, 2008 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on February 1, 2008)

Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 25, 2008, between International Transmission Company 
and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee, to the First Mortgage and Deed of Trust dated 
as of July 15, 2003 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 27, 2008)

Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 15, 2008, between ITC Midwest LLC and The 
Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, 
N.A.),  as  trustee,  to  the  First  Mortgage  and  Deed  of  Trust,  dated  as  of  January  14,  2008  (filed  with 
Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 23, 2008)

Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 25, 2008, between METC and The Bank of New 
York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), as trustee, to the First 
Mortgage Indenture between Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC and JPMorgan Chase Bank, 
dated as of December 10, 2003 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 23, 2008)

Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 11, 2009, between ITC Holdings Corp. and The 
Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (f.k.a. The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as 
successor to BNY Midwest Trust Company), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 
14, 2009)

Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 10, 2009, between ITC Midwest LLC and The 
Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, 
N.A.), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 17, 2009)

Fifth  Supplemental  Indenture,  dated  as  of  April  20,  2010,  between  Michigan  Electric  Transmission 
Company, LLC and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase 
Bank), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on May 10, 2010)

Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 15, 2008, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank 
of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), as trustee (filed 
with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011)

Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 15, 2011, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank of New 
York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), as trustee 
(filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011)

Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 29, 2011, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank 
of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), 
as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 1, 2011)

Sixth  Supplemental  Indenture,  dated  as  of  October  5,  2012,  between  Michigan  Electric Transmission 
Company, LLC and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase 
Bank), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 29, 2012)

Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 18, 2013, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank 
of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), 
as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 8, 2013)

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Exhibit No.

Description of Exhibit

4.33

4.34

4.35

4.36

4.38

4.39

4.40

4.41

4.42

4.43

4.44

4.45

4.46

4.47

Indenture,  dated  as  of April  18,  2013,  between  ITC  Holdings  Corp.  and  Wells  Fargo  Bank,  National 
Association, as trustee (including form of note) (filed with Registrant’s Form S-3 on April 18, 2013)

First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 3, 2013, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Wells Fargo 
Bank, National Association, as trustee (including forms of notes) (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on July 
3, 2013)

Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 7, 2013, between International Transmission Company 
and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to BNY Midwest Trust Company), 
as trustee (including form of bonds) (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on August 16, 2013)

Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated May 16, 2014, between ITC Holdings Corp. and The Bank of New 
York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (f.k.a. The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as successor to BNY 
Midwest Trust Company), as Trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on May 16, 2014)

Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of June 4, 2014 between ITC Holdings Corp. and Wells Fargo 
Bank,  National Association,  as  trustee,  together  with  form  of  3.65%  Senior  Note  due  2024  (filed  with 
Registrant’s Form 8-K on June 4, 2014)

Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of May 23, 2014, between International Transmission Company 
and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to BNY Midwest Trust Company), 
as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on June 10, 2014)

First Mortgage and Deed of Trust, dated as of November 12, 2014, between ITC Great Plains, LLC and 
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on November 26, 
2014)

First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 12, 2014, between ITC Great Plains, LLC and Wells 
Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on November 26, 2014)

Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of December 5, 2014, between Michigan Electric Transmission 
Company, LLC and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase 
Bank), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 22, 2014)

Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 18, 2015, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank of 
New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), as 
trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 8, 2015)

Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 31, 2016, between Michigan Electric Transmission 
Company, LLC and Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to JPMorgan Chase 
Bank), as trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 26, 2016)

Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2016, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Wells Fargo 
Bank, National Association, as trustee, together with form of 3.25% Note due 2026 (filed with Registrant’s 
Form 8-K on July 5, 2016)

Ninth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 15, 2017, between ITC Midwest LLC and The Bank of 
New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (as successor to The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A.), as 
trustee (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 18, 2017)

Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 14, 2017 between ITC Holdings Corp. and Wells 
Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee (with Form of 2.700% Notes due 2022 and Form of 3.350% 
Notes due 2027) (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on November 15, 2017)

*10.27

10.51

Deferred Compensation Plan (filed with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, 
Reg. No. 333-123657)

Form  of  Amended  and  Restated  Easement  Agreement  between  Consumers  Energy  Company  and 
Michigan  Electric  Transmission  Company  (filed  with  Registrant’s  Form  10-Q  for  the  quarter  ended 
September 30, 2006)

*10.81

Executive Supplemental Retirement Plan (filed with Registrant’s 2008 Form 10-K)

*10.109

*10.110

*10.111

Employment Agreement between ITC Holdings Corp. and Linda H. Blair, effective as of December 21, 
2012 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 26, 2012)

Employment Agreement between ITC Holdings Corp. and Jon E. Jipping, effective as of December 21, 
2012 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 26, 2012)

Employment Agreement between ITC Holdings Corp. and Daniel J. Oginsky, effective as of December 
21, 2012 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on December 26, 2012)

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Exhibit No.

*10.120

*10.122

10.126

10.127

10.128

10.129

10.130

*10.150

10.157

10.158

10.159

10.160

Description of Exhibit

First Amendment to Executive Supplemental Retirement Plan, dated as of May 16, 2013 (filed with 
Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013)

Recoupment Policy and Related Consent, effective January 1, 2014 (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on 
December 2, 2013)

ITC Holdings Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2014, among ITC Holdings Corp., the 
various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 28, 
2014)

ITCTransmission  Revolving  Credit  Agreement,  dated  as  of  March  28,  2014,  among  International 
Transmission Company, the various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto 
as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays 
Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Barclays 
Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 
8-K on March 28, 2014)

METC Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2014, among Michigan Electric Transmission 
Company, LLC, the various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as 
lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank 
PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank 
PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-
K on March 28, 2014)

ITC Midwest Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2014, among ITC Midwest LLC, the 
various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 28, 
2014)

ITC Great Plains Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2014, among ITC Great Plains, LLC, 
the various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells 
Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on March 28, 
2014)

Employment  Agreement  between  ITC  Holdings  Corp.  and  Christine  Mason  Soneral,  effective  as  of 
February 3, 2015 (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2015)

Amendment No. 1, dated as of April 7, 2016, to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 
2014, by and among ITC Holdings, as the borrower, various financial institutions and other persons from 
time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan 
Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint 
bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents 
(filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 11, 2016)

Amendment No. 1, dated as of April 7, 2016, to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 
2014, by and among ITCTransmission, as the borrower, various financial institutions and other persons 
from time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. 
Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and 
joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication 
agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 11, 2016)

Amendment No. 1, dated as of April 7, 2016, to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 
2014, by and among METC, as the borrower, various financial institutions and other persons from time to 
time  parties  thereto  as  lenders,  JPMorgan  Chase  Bank,  N.A.,  as  administrative  agent,  J.P.  Morgan 
Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint 
bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents 
(filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 11, 2016)

Amendment No. 1, dated as of April 7, 2016, to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 
2014, by and among ITC Midwest, as the borrower, various financial institutions and other persons from 
time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan 
Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint 
bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication agents 
(filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 11, 2016)

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Exhibit No.

10.161

*10.163

*10.165

*10.166

*10.168

*10.172

*10.173

*10.174

*10.175

*10.176

*10.177

*10.178

*10.179

10.180

10.181

10.182

10.183

10.184

Description of Exhibit

Amendment No. 1, dated as of April 7, 2016, to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 28, 
2014, by and among ITC Great Plains, as the borrower, various financial institutions and other persons 
from time to time parties thereto as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, J.P. 
Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as joint lead arrangers and 
joint bookrunners, and Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as syndication 
agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on April 11, 2016) 

Retention Award Letter, dated May 23, 2016, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Linda H. Blair (filed with 
Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016)

Retention Award Letter, dated May 23, 2016, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Jon E. Jipping (filed with 
Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016)

Retention Award Letter, dated May 23, 2016, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Daniel J. Oginsky (filed 
with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016)

Letter Agreement, dated as of October 14, 2016, between ITC Holdings Corp. and Linda H. Blair (filed 
with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 12, 2016)

Employment Agreement between ITC Holdings Corp. and Gretchen L. Holloway, effective as of February 
3, 2015. (filed with Registrant’s 2016 Form 10-K)

Amended  Employment Agreement,  dated  as  of  October  12,  2016  between  ITC  Holdings  Corp.  and 
Christine Mason Soneral (filed with Registrant’s 2016 Form 10-K)

Retention Award Letter, dated May 19, 2016 between ITC Holdings Corp. and Christine Mason Soneral 
(filed with Registrant’s 2016 Form 10-K)

Retention Award Letter, dated March 16, 2016 between ITC Holdings Corp. and Gretchen L. Holloway 
(filed with Registrant’s 2016 Form 10-K)

2017 Omnibus Plan, effective February 27, 2017 (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter 
ended March 31, 2017)

Summary of 2017 Annual Incentive Plan (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 
31, 2017)

Form of Service-Based Unit Award Agreement under 2017 Omnibus Plan (February 2017) (filed with 
Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017)

Form of Performance-Based Unit Award Agreement under 2017 Omnibus Plan (February 2017) (filed 
with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017)

Term Loan Credit Agreement, dated as of March 23, 2017, among ITC Holdings Corp., the various 
financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as lenders and JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, lead arranger and sole bookrunner (filed with Registrant’s 
Form 8-K on March 27, 2017)

Term Loan Credit Agreement, dated as of March 23, 2017, among International Transmission 
Company, the various financial institutions and other persons from time to time parties thereto as 
lenders and PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K 
on March 27, 2017)

Amendment to 2017 Omnibus Plan, dated as of July 10, 2017 (filed with Registrant’s Form 10-Q for the 
quarter ended June 30, 2017)

ITC Holdings Corp. Director Deferred Compensation Plan, effective March 1, 2017 (filed with Registrant’s 
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017)

ITC Holdings Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2017, among ITC Holdings Corp., 
with the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders listed on the respective signature 
pages thereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders, JPMorgan Chase 
Bank, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, The Bank of Nova Scotia and Mizuho 
Bank, Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, 
National Association, as co-syndication agents and The Bank of Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as 
co-documentation agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 23, 2017)

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Exhibit No.

10.185

10.186

10.187

10.188

10.189

12.1

21

31.1

31.2

32

Description of Exhibit

ITCTransmission Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2017, among International 
Transmission Company, with the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders listed on the 
respective signature pages thereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the 
Lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, The Bank of 
Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Barclays Bank PLC 
and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-syndication agents and The Bank of Nova Scotia 
and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as co-documentation agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 23, 
2017)

METC Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2017, among Michigan Electric 
Transmission Company, LLC, with the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders listed 
on the respective signature pages thereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the 
Lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, The Bank of 
Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Barclays Bank PLC 
and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-syndication agents and The Bank of Nova Scotia 
and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as co-documentation agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 23, 
2017)

ITC Midwest Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2017, among ITC Midwest LLC, with 
the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders listed on the respective signature pages 
thereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, 
N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, The Bank of Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank, 
Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Barclays Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National 
Association, as co-syndication agents and The Bank of Nova Scotia and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as co-
documentation agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 23, 2017)

ITC Great Plains Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2017, among ITC Great Plains, 
LLC, with the banks, financial institutions and other institutional lenders listed on the respective 
signature pages thereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders, 
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, The Bank of Nova 
Scotia and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Barclays Bank PLC and 
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-syndication agents and The Bank of Nova Scotia and 
Mizuho Bank, Ltd. as co-documentation agents (filed with Registrant’s Form 8-K on October 23, 2017)

Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 14, 2017 between ITC Holdings Corp., Barclays 
Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 
on their own behalf and as representatives of each of the other initial purchasers named therein (filed 
with Registrant’s Form 8-K on November 15, 2017)

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges for ITC Holdings Corp.

List of Subsidiaries

Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 
as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 
as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-
Oxley Act of 2002

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema

101.CAL

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase

101.DEF

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Database

101.LAB

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase

101.PRE

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

____________________________

*

Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

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SCHEDULE I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)

(In millions, except share data)
ASSETS
Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable from subsidiaries
Income tax receivable
Prepaid and other current assets

Total current assets

Other assets

Investment in subsidiaries
Deferred income taxes
Other

Total other assets

TOTAL ASSETS
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
Current liabilities

Intercompany tax payable to subsidiaries
Accrued compensation
Accrued interest
Debt maturing within one year
Other

Total current liabilities

Accrued pension and postretirement liabilities
Other
Long-term debt (net of deferred financing fees and discount of $22 and $16, 

respectively)

STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

Common stock, without par value, 235,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31,
2017, and 224,203,112 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and
2016

Retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive income

Total stockholder’s equity

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

December 31,

2017

2016

60
21
15
3
99

4,461
141
96
4,698
4,797

$

$

— $
28
33
—
8
69
74
6

4
16
17
8
45

4,171
208
78
4,457
4,502

85
14
33
195
13
340
68
1

2,728

2,192

892
1,026
2
1,920
4,797

$

892
1,007
2
1,901
4,502

$

$

$

$

See notes to condensed financial statements (parent company only).

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SCHEDULE I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)

(In millions)
Other income
General and administrative expense
Taxes other than income taxes
Interest expense
LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES
INCOME TAX BENEFIT
LOSS AFTER TAXES
EQUITY IN SUBSIDIARIES’ NET EARNINGS
NET INCOME

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

$

2 $

(11)
(2)
(120)
(131)
(6)
(125)
444
319 $

1 $

(122)
—
(113)
(234)
(122)
(112)
358
246 $

1
(6)
—
(106)
(111)
(45)
(66)
308
242

See notes to condensed financial statements (parent company only).

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SCHEDULE I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)

(In millions)
NET INCOME
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

319 $

246 $

242

Derivative instruments (net of tax of $3 and $1 for the years ended 

December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively)

TOTAL OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS, NET OF TAX
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

—
—
319 $

(2)
(2)
244 $

(1)
(1)
241

$

See notes to condensed financial statements (parent company only).

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SCHEDULE I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant
ITC HOLDINGS CORP.
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)

(In millions)
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:

Equity in subsidiaries' earnings
Dividends from subsidiaries
Deferred and other income taxes
Net intercompany tax payments (to) from subsidiaries
Expense for the accelerated vesting of share-based awards associated with the Merger
Other
Changes in assets and liabilities, exclusive of changes shown separately:

Accounts receivable from subsidiaries
Income tax receivable
Prepaid and other current assets
Intercompany tax payable to subsidiaries
Accrued Compensation
Accrued taxes
Other current liabilities
Other non-current assets and liabilities, net

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Equity contributions to subsidiaries
Return of capital from subsidiaries
Other

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Issuance of long-term debt, net of discount
Borrowings under revolving credit agreement
Borrowings under term loan credit agreement
Net issuance of commercial paper, net of discount
Retirement of long-term debt — including extinguishment of debt costs
Repayments of revolving credit agreement
Repayments of term loan credit agreements
Dividends on common stock
Dividends to ITC Investment Holdings Inc.
Issuance of common stock
Repurchase and retirement of common stock
Settlement of share-based compensation awards associated with the Merger — including

cost of accelerated share-based awards

Contribution from ITC Investment Holdings Inc. for the settlement of share-based awards

associated with the Merger

Other

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — Beginning of period

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — End of period

$

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

319

$

246

$

242

(444)
3
67
(13)
—
5

(4)
2
(2)
(72)
14
—
(5)
8
(122)

(148)
296
(9)
139

999
97
200
(148)
(437)
(170)
(200)
—
(300)
—
—

—

—

(2)
39
56

4

60

(358)
10
(69)
(72)
41
25

22
(17)
1
85
(10)
(35)
3
5
(123)

(87)
274
(9)
178

399
126
—
48
(139)
(191)
(161)
(90)
(33)
13
(9)

(137)

137

(22)
(59)
(4)
8

$

4

$

(308)
185
(116)
121
—
21

3
—
—
—
1
9
3
(5)
156

(263)
161
(11)
(113)

—
839
—
95
—
(755)
—
(108)
—
14
(137)

—

—

11
(41)
2

6

8

See notes to condensed financial statements (parent company only).

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SCHEDULE I — Condensed Financial Information of Registrant

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (PARENT COMPANY ONLY)

1.   GENERAL

For  ITC  Holdings  Corp.’s  (“ITC  Holdings,”  “we,”  “our”  and  “us”)  presentation  (Parent  Company  only),  the 
investment in subsidiaries is accounted for using the equity method. The condensed parent company financial 
statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes of ITC 
Holdings appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As a holding company with no business operations, ITC Holdings’ assets consist primarily of investments in 
our subsidiaries. ITC Holdings’ material cash inflows are only from dividends and other payments received from 
our subsidiaries, the proceeds raised from the sale of debt securities, issuances under our commercial  paper 
program and borrowings under our revolving credit agreement. ITC Holdings may not be able to access cash 
generated by our subsidiaries in order to fulfill cash commitments. The ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend 
and other payments to us is subject to the availability of funds after taking into account their respective funding 
requirements, the terms of their respective indebtedness, the regulations of the FERC under the FPA and applicable 
state laws. In addition, there are practical limitations on using the net assets of each of our Regulated Operating 
Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2017 for dividends based on management's intent to maintain the FERC-approved 
capital structure targeting 60% equity and 40% debt for each of our Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. These net 
assets are included in Schedule I as the line-item “Investments in subsidiaries.” Each of our subsidiaries, however, 
is legally distinct from us and has no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to make funds available to us.

Supplementary Cash Flows Information

(In millions)
Supplementary cash flows information:

Interest paid
Income taxes paid (a)

Supplementary non-cash investing and financing activities:

Equity transfers to (from) subsidiaries

____________________________

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

$

115 $
—

(2)

112 $

23

—

104
56

1

(a)  Amount for the year ended December 31, 2016 does not include the income tax refund of $128 million received 
from the Internal Revenue Service in August 2016, which resulted from the election of bonus depreciation as 
described in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

2.   DEBT

As of December 31, 2017, the maturities of our debt outstanding were as follows:

(In millions)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 and thereafter

Total

$

$

—
—
200
—
500
2,050
2,750

Refer to Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for a description of the ITC Holdings Senior Notes, the 

ITC Holdings Revolving Credit Agreements, the ITC Holdings Commercial Paper Program and related items.

Based on the borrowing rates obtained from third party lending institutions currently available for bank loans 
with similar terms and average maturities from active markets, the fair value of the ITC Holdings Senior Notes was 
$2,908 million and $2,297 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The total book value of the ITC 

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Holdings  Senior  Notes,  net  of  discount  and  deferred  financing  fees,  was  $2,728  million  and  $2,169  million  at 
December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. At December 31, 2017 we did not have anything outstanding under 
our revolving and term loan credit agreements, which are variable rate loans compared to $73 million as of December 
31, 2016. The fair value of these loans approximates book value based on the borrowing rates currently available 
for variable rate loans obtained from third party lending institutions. These fair values represent Level 2 under the 
three-tier  hierarchy  described  in  Note  12  to  the  consolidated  financial  statements. At  December 31,  2017  ITC 
Holdings  did  not  have  any  commercial  paper  issued  and  outstanding  under  the  commercial  paper  program 
compared to $145 million as of December 31, 2016. Due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments, 
the carrying value approximates fair value.

Covenants

Our debt instruments contain numerous financial and operating covenants that place significant restrictions on 
certain transactions, such as incurring additional indebtedness, engaging in sale and lease-back transactions, 
creating liens or other encumbrances, entering into mergers, consolidations, liquidations or dissolutions, creating 
or acquiring subsidiaries, selling or otherwise disposing of all or substantially all of our assets and paying dividends. 
In  addition,  the  covenants  require  us  to  meet  certain  financial  ratios,  such  as  maintaining  certain  net  debt  to 
capitalization ratios and certain funds from operations to net debt levels. At December 31, 2017, we were not in 
violation of any debt covenant.

3.   RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Our related-party transactions during 2017, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:

(In millions)

Equity contributions to subsidiaries

Dividends from subsidiaries (a)

Return of capital from subsidiaries (a)

Net income tax payments (to) from: (b)

ITCTransmission

METC

ITC Midwest

ITC Great Plains

ITC Interconnection

Other (c)

$

$

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

148 $

87 $

3

296

10

274

4 $

(28) $

1

5

11

1

(35)

(14)

(34)

4

—

—

263

185

161

36

39

31

15

—

—

____________________________

(a)  Includes ITCTransmission, MTH, ITC Midwest and other subsidiaries.

(b)  The net income tax payments were pursuant to intercompany tax sharing arrangements, and the total of these 
tax payments is presented as a net cash outflow or inflow from operating activities in the condensed parent 
company statements of cash flows. Other reconciling items between the parent company and the consolidated 
tax liabilities are presented as deferred and other income taxes in the adjustments to reconcile net income to 
net cash provided by operating activities. Additionally, ITC Holdings paid its subsidiaries for NOLs utilized by 
the consolidated group.

(c)  Includes all of our non-regulated subsidiaries.

Net Intercompany Receivables and Payables

We  may  incur  charges  from  our  subsidiaries  for  general  corporate  expenses  incurred. In  addition,  we  may 
perform additional services for, or receive additional services from our subsidiaries. These transactions are in the 
normal course of business and payments for these services are settled through accounts receivable and accounts 
payable, as necessary. We generally settle our intercompany balances with our affiliates on a net basis monthly. 

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Intercompany Tax Sharing Arrangement

As discussed in Note 1 to the condensed financial statements of the parent company, we are a holding company 
with no business operations. We file consolidated income tax returns that include our affiliates, which are taxed 
as a corporation for federal and Michigan income tax purposes. We operate under an intercompany tax sharing 
arrangement with our subsidiaries and as a result may receive or pay federal and state income tax based on their 
stand-alone company tax positions. 

Retirement Benefits

We are the plan sponsor for a pension plan, other postretirement plans and a defined contribution plan. The 
benefits-related expenses recorded by our affiliates result from the inclusion of benefit costs as a component of 
the total charge for services performed by our employees under the cost assignment and allocation methods used 
by us and our subsidiaries.

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ITEM 16.   FORM 10-K SUMMARY.

Not applicable.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has 
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Novi, 
State of Michigan, on February 14, 2018.

SIGNATURES

ITC HOLDINGS CORP.

By:  /s/ LINDA H. APSEY
Linda H. Apsey

President and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following 

persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

Signature

Title

/s/ LINDA H. APSEY
Linda H. Apsey

President and Chief Executive
Officer (principal executive officer)

Date

February 14, 2018

/s/ GRETCHEN L. HOLLOWAY
Gretchen L. Holloway

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 (principal financial and accounting officer)

February 14, 2018

/s/ JOSEPH L. WELCH
Joseph L. Welch

/s/ ROBERT A. ELLIOTT
Robert A. Elliott

/s/ ALBERT ERNST
Albert Ernst

/s/ RHYS D. EVENDEN
Rhys D. Evenden

/s/ JAMES P. LAURITO
James P. Laurito

/s/ BARRY V. PERRY
Barry V. Perry

/s/ SANDRA E. PIERCE
Sandra E. Pierce

/s/ KEVIN L. PRUST
Kevin L. Prust

/s/ A. DOUGLAS ROTHWELL
A. Douglas Rothwell

/s/ THOMAS G. STEPHENS
Thomas G. Stephens

Director and Chairman

February 14, 2018

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

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