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MARKETABLE SECURITIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Marketable Securities [Text Block]

6.       MARKETABLE SECURITIES

 

NU maintains a supplemental benefit trust to fund certain non-qualified executive retirement benefit obligations and WMECO maintains a spent nuclear fuel trust to fund WMECO's prior period spent nuclear fuel liability, each of which hold marketable securities. These trusts are not subject to regulatory oversight by state or federal agencies. In addition, CYAPC and YAEC maintain legally restricted trusts, each of which holds marketable securities, for settling the decommissioning obligations of their nuclear power plants.

 

The Company elects to record mutual funds purchased by the NU supplemental benefit trust at fair value. As such, any change in fair value of these mutual funds is reflected in Net Income. These mutual funds, classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy, totaled $57.2 million and $47 million as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and were included in Prepayments and Other Current Assets on the accompanying balance sheets. Net gains on these securities of $10.2 million and $5.9 million and net losses of $1.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, were recorded in Other Income, Net on the statements of income. Dividend income is recorded in Other Income, Net on the statements of income when dividends are declared. All other marketable securities are accounted for as available-for-sale.

 

Available-for-Sale Securities: The following is a summary of NU's available-for-sale securities held in the NU supplemental benefit trust, WMECO's spent nuclear fuel trust and CYAPC's and YAEC's nuclear decommissioning trusts. These securities are recorded at fair value and included in current and long-term Marketable Securities on the balance sheets.

  As of December 31, 2013
     Pre-Tax Pre-Tax    
  Amortized Unrealized Unrealized   
(Millions of Dollars)Cost Gains(1) Losses(1) Fair Value
NU           
 Debt Securities (2)$ 299.2 $ 2.5 $ (2.1) $ 299.6
 Equity Securities (2)  163.6   60.5   -   224.1
             
WMECO            
 Debt Securities  57.9   -   -   57.9
             
  As of December 31, 2012
     Pre-Tax Pre-Tax    
  Amortized Unrealized Unrealized   
(Millions of Dollars)Cost Gains(1) Losses(1) Fair Value
NU           
 Debt Securities (2)$ 266.6 $ 13.3 $ (0.1) $ 279.8
 Equity Securities (2)  145.5   20.0   -   165.5
             
WMECO            
 Debt Securities  57.7   0.1   (0.1)   57.7

  • Unrealized gains and losses on debt securities for the NU supplemental benefit trust and WMECO spent nuclear fuel trust are recorded in AOCI and Other Long-Term Assets, respectively, on the balance sheets.

 

(2)       NU's amounts include CYAPC's and YAEC's marketable securities held in nuclear decommissioning trusts of $424 million and $340.4 million as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, the majority of which are legally restricted and can only be used for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plants owned by these companies. In the first quarter of 2013, CYAPC and YAEC received cash from the DOE related to the litigation of storage costs for spent nuclear fuel, which was invested in the nuclear decommissioning trusts. Unrealized gains and losses for the nuclear decommissioning trusts are offset in Other Long-Term Liabilities on the balance sheets, with no impact on the statement of income. All of the equity securities accounted for as available-for-sale securities are held in these trusts.

 

Unrealized Losses and Other-than-Temporary Impairment: There have been no significant unrealized losses, other-than-temporary impairments or credit losses for the NU supplemental benefit trust, the WMECO spent nuclear fuel trust, and the trusts held by CYAPC and YAEC. Factors considered in determining whether a credit loss exists include the duration and severity of the impairment, adverse conditions specifically affecting the issuer, and the payment history, ratings and rating changes of the security. For asset-backed debt securities, underlying collateral and expected future cash flows are also evaluated.

 

Realized Gains and Losses: Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are recorded in Other Income, Net for the NU supplemental benefit trust, Other Long-Term Assets for the WMECO spent nuclear fuel trust, and offset in Other Long-Term Liabilities for CYAPC and YAEC. NU utilizes the specific identification basis method for the NU supplemental benefit trust securities and the average cost basis method for the WMECO spent nuclear fuel trust and the CYAPC and YAEC nuclear decommissioning trusts to compute the realized gains and losses on the sale of available-for-sale securities.

 

Contractual Maturities: As of December 31, 2013, the contractual maturities of available-for-sale debt securities are as follows:

             
  NU WMECO
  Amortized   Amortized  
(Millions of Dollars)Cost Fair Value Cost Fair Value
Less than one year (1)$ 72.4 $ 72.3 $ 26.5 $ 26.6
One to five years  62.1   62.7   25.6   25.5
Six to ten years  59.4   59.3   1.7   1.7
Greater than ten years  105.3   105.3   4.1   4.1
Total Debt Securities$ 299.2 $ 299.6 $ 57.9 $ 57.9

(1)       Amounts in the Less than one year NU category include securities in the CYAPC and YAEC nuclear decommissioning trusts, which are restricted and are classified in long-term Marketable Securities on the balance sheets.

 

Fair Value Measurements: The following table presents the marketable securities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis by the level in which they are classified within the fair value hierarchy:

    NU WMECO
    As of December 31, As of December 31,
(Millions of Dollars)2013 2012 2013 2012
Level 1:            
 Mutual Funds and Equities$ 281.3 $ 212.5 $ - $ -
 Money Market Funds  32.9   40.2   10.9   5.2
Total Level 1$ 314.2 $ 252.7 $ 10.9 $ 5.2
Level 2:           
 U.S. Government Issued Debt Securities            
  (Agency and Treasury)$ 61.4 $ 69.9 $ 6.8 $ 18.7
 Corporate Debt Securities  53.6   33.0   15.1   7.0
 Asset-Backed Debt Securities  30.4   28.5   9.0   10.9
 Municipal Bonds  105.5   93.8   11.2   11.6
 Other Fixed Income Securities  15.8   14.4   4.9   4.3
Total Level 2$ 266.7 $ 239.6 $ 47.0 $ 52.5
Total Marketable Securities$ 580.9 $ 492.3 $ 57.9 $ 57.7

U.S. government issued debt securities are valued using market approaches that incorporate transactions for the same or similar bonds and adjustments for yields and maturity dates. Corporate debt securities are valued using a market approach, utilizing recent trades of the same or similar instrument and also incorporating yield curves, credit spreads and specific bond terms and conditions. Asset-backed debt securities include collateralized mortgage obligations, commercial mortgage backed securities, and securities collateralized by auto loans, credit card loans or receivables. Asset-backed debt securities are valued using recent trades of similar instruments, prepayment assumptions, yield curves, issuance and maturity dates and tranche information. Municipal bonds are valued using a market approach that incorporates reported trades and benchmark yields. Other fixed income securities are valued using pricing models, quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics, and discounted cash flows.