VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]
Schedule Of Variable Interest Entities Text Block	15. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES The Company's variable interests outside of the consolidated group are not material and consist of contracts that are required by regulation and provide for regulatory recovery of contract costs and benefits through customer rates. NU holds variable interests in VIEs through agreements with certain entities that own single renewable energy or peaking generation power plants and with other independent power producers. NU does not control the activities that are economically significant to these VIEs or provide financial or other support to these VIEs. Therefore, NU does not consolidate any power plant VIEs.

- Definition

Disclosure of variable interest entities (VIE), including, but not limited to the nature, purpose, size, and activities of the VIE, the carrying amount and classification of consolidated assets that are collateral for the VIE's obligations, lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of a consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary. An enterprise that holds a significant variable interest in a VIE but is not the primary beneficiary may disclose the nature of its involvement with the VIE and when that involvement began, the nature, purpose, size, and activities of the VIE and the enterprise's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with the VIE.

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