Long-Term Debt: |
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Long-term Debt, Unclassified [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Long-term Debt | LONG-TERM DEBT Long-term debt outstanding was as follows (dollars in thousands):
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Scheduled maturities of long-term debt, excluding amortization of premiums or discounts, for future years are (in thousands):
Our debt securities contain certain restrictive financial covenants, all of which the Company and its subsidiaries were in compliance with at December 31, 2017. Substantially all of the tangible utility property of South Dakota Electric and Wyoming Electric is subject to the lien of indentures securing their first mortgage bonds. First mortgage bonds of South Dakota Electric and Wyoming Electric may be issued in amounts limited by property, earnings and other provisions of the mortgage indentures. The first mortgage bonds issued by South Dakota Electric and Wyoming Electric are callable, but are subject to make-whole provisions which would eliminate any economic benefit for us to call the bonds. Assumption of Long-Term Debt At the closing of the SourceGas Acquisition on February 12, 2016, we assumed $760 million in long-term debt, consisting of the following:
The $760 million in long-term debt assumed in the SourceGas Acquisition was repaid in August 2016. Debt Transactions On May 16, 2017, we paid down $50 million on our Corporate term loan due August 9, 2019. On July 17, 2017, we paid down an additional $50 million on the same term loan. Short-term borrowings from our CP program were used to fund the payments on the Corporate term loan. On August 19, 2016, we completed a public debt offering of $700 million principal amount of senior unsecured notes. The debt offering consisted of $400 million of 3.15% 10-year senior notes due January 15, 2027 and $300 million of 4.20% 30-year senior notes due September 15, 2046 (together the “Notes”). The proceeds of the Notes were used for the following:
On August 9, 2016, we entered into a $500 million, three-year, unsecured term loan expiring on August 9, 2019. The proceeds of this term loan were used to pay down $240 million of the $340 million unsecured term loan assumed in the SourceGas Acquisition and the $260 million term loan expiring on April 12, 2017. This new term loan has substantially similar terms and covenants as the amended and restated Revolving Credit Facility. In accordance with regulatory orders related to the early termination and settlement of the gas supply contract described in Note 1, on June 7, 2016, we entered into a 2.32%, $29 million term loan, due June 7, 2021. Proceeds from this term loan were used to finance the early termination of the gas supply contract, resulting in a regulatory asset. Principal and interest are payable quarterly at approximately $1.6 million. On January 13, 2016, we completed a public debt offering of $550 million principal amount of senior unsecured notes. The debt offering consisted of $300 million of 3.95%, ten-year senior notes due 2026, and $250 million of 2.50%, three-year senior notes due 2019. After discounts and underwriter fees, net proceeds from the offering totaled $546 million and were used as funding for the SourceGas Acquisition. The discounts are amortized over the life of each respective note. Amortization Expense Our deferred financing costs and associated amortization expense included in Interest expense on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) were as follows (in thousands):
Dividend Restrictions Our credit facility and other debt obligations contain restrictions on the payment of cash dividends when a default or event of default occurs. In addition, the agreements governing our equity units contain restrictions on the payment of cash dividends upon any time we have exercised our right to defer payment of contract adjustment payments under the purchase contracts or interest payments under the RSNs included in such equity units. As of December 31, 2017, we were in compliance with these covenants. Due to our holding company structure, substantially all of our operating cash flows are provided by dividends paid or distributions made by our subsidiaries. The cash to pay dividends to our shareholders is derived from these cash flows. As a result, certain statutory limitations or regulatory or financing agreements could affect the levels of distributions allowed to be made by our subsidiaries. The following restrictions on distributions from our subsidiaries existed at December 31, 2017:
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