MERGER WITH ALTAGAS LTD. On January 25, 2017 , WGL entered into an agreement and plan of merger (Merger Agreement) to combine with AltaGas in an all cash transaction. The merger was consummated on July 6, 2018 . The Merger Agreement provided for the merger of the Merger Sub, a newly formed indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AltaGas with and into WGL, whereby WGL became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AltaGas. Upon consummation of the merger, each share of WGL common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the closing was converted automatically into the right to receive $ 88.25 (Merger Consideration) in cash per share, without interest, less any applicable withholding taxes and ceased to be outstanding . Shares of WGL common stock held by WGL, AltaGas, the Merger Sub or any subsidiaries were not entitled to receive the Merger Consideration. Each share of the Merger Sub's issued and outstanding common stock at the time of the consummation of the merger was converted into one share of WGL common stock for a total of 100 WGL post-Merger shares owned by Wrangler 1 LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AltaGas (Wrangler 1). As a result of the Merger, WGL's common stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. In connection with the Merger, WGL established Wrangler SPE LLC, the SPE for the purposes of owning the common stock of Washington Gas in a bankruptcy remote entity. The SPE is a wholly owned subsidiary of WGL. Following the consummation of the merger, all of Washington Gas outstanding shares of common stock are now owned by the SPE. The merger had no effect on the Washington Gas preferred stock, which continues to be outstanding. Merger Related Costs The following table summarizes pre-tax merger commitments, legal expense, acceleration of stock-based compensation , and other merger related costs (collectively referred to as merger related costs) that we recorded in connection with the Merger. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018, both WGL and Washington Gas recorded merger related cost of $ 13.5 million in "Other income (expense)net" and $ 223.2 million and $ 186.7 million , respectively, in Operation and maintenance in WGL's Consolidated Statements of Income and Washington Gas' Statements of Income. WGL Holdings, Inc. MERGER RELATED COSTS (in millions) Costs Description Amount Merger commitments (1) $ 139.6 Property plant &amp; equipment impairment (2) 38.0 Finance and legal advisory costs 29.7 Key employee retention payments 11.6 Acceleration of stock-based compensation (3) 8.4 Severance costs (4) 6.7 Other 2.7 Total $ 236.7 ` (1) See the Merger Commitments table below for details of merger related commitments. (2) Net property, plant and equipment impairment recorded in connection with an agreement not to seek recovery of certain costs incurred under the Formal Case 1027 mechanical coupling program. (3) See Note 10-Stock-Based Compensation for further discussion of the acceleration of incentive compensation. (4) Severance costs are related to the retirement of senior executives following the merger. Merger Commitments Approval of the merger across all jurisdictions was conditioned upon AltaGas and WGL agreeing to certain financial commitments including: customer bill credits, funding for low-income weatherization and energy efficiency initiatives, public safety programs, energy educational programs, gas expansion fund contributions, workplace development initiatives, charitable contributions, and other required commitments. The commitments will be funded by AltaGas within various timeframes from 30 days to 10 years after the merger close. In addition, the commitments related to Maryland are subject to a Most Favored Nation (MFN) provision that may change the amount or nature of the commitments. The following table lists total commitments, the amounts paid , and future expected payments as of September 30, 2018. WGL Holdings, Inc. MERGER COMMITMENTS (in millions) Expected Future Payments Commitment Description Total Commitment Amount Amount paid in FY 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024-2027 Customer bill credits $ 56.8 $ 56.8 $  $  $  $  $  $  Gas expansion fund contributions 34.2  34.2  Energy customer or education programs 22.8 22.8       Charitable contributions 13.5 0.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 5.6 Work place development initiatives 7.4  3.7 3.7     Low-income weatherization and energy efficiency initiatives 4.2  2.1 2.1     Public safety programs 0.7  0.7      Total merger commitments $ 139.6 $ 80.0 $ 42.2 $ 7.3 $ 1.5 $ 1.5 $ 1.5 $ 5.6 The following additional commitments by Washington Gas will have an impact on our consolidated financial statements when the transactions are incurred in the future: 1) Hiring of three damage prevention trainers in each jurisdiction for a total of $ 2.4 million over 5 years ; 2) Investment of $ 70.0 million over a 10-year period to further extend natural gas service to areas within Washington Gas's service territory, which will be incorporated into Washington Gas's ongoing capital plan ; 3) Spending $ 8.0 million on leak mitigation and reducing leak backlogs within 3 years after the Merger close; and 4) Development of 15MW of either electric grid energy storage or Tier 1 renewable resources within 5 years. In addition, there are a number of operational commitments that will have an impact on the ongoing business of Washington Gas, including reductions of leak backlogs, conducting a root cause analysis related to customer service, increasing supplier diversity, achieving synergy savings benefits, developing protocols for moving meters from inside to outside customers premises, as well as reporting and tracking related to all the commitments. Other Merger Related Item s Pursuant to the Merger agreement, Washington Gas contributed $ 66.7 million that was funded by AltaGas to rabbi trusts formed to fully satisfy certain outstanding employee benefit obligations immediately prior to the Merger close. See Note 9Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Plans for further discussion of the rabbi trust s .