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Commitments and Contingencies (Guarantees and Other Assurances) (Details) (USD $)
12 Months Ended 12 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Dec. 31, 2010
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications For Sale Of PPL Gas Utilities [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications Related To WPD Midlands Acquisition [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications Issued By LKE [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications For Entities In Liquidation Sales Of Assets [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Tax Indemnification Related To Unconsolidated WPD Affiliates [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Performance Guarantee [Member]
WPD Guarantee Of Pension And Other Obligations Of Unconsolidated Entities [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Guarantee [Member]
Performance Guarantee [Member]
Tax Indemnification Related To Unconsolidated WPD Affiliates [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Retroactive Premiums Under Nuclear Insurance Programs [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Nuclear Claims Under Price Anderson Act Amendments Under Energy Policy Act of 2005 [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification To Operators Of Jointly Owned Facilities [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications For Sales Of Assets [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Performance Guarantee [Member]
Indemnification To Operators Of Jointly Owned Facilities [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Energy Supply Guarantee [Member]
Financial Guarantee [Member]
Guarantee Of Portion Of Unconsolidated Entitys Debt [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
PPL Electric Guarantee [Member]
Financial Guarantee [Member]
Guarantee Of Value Inventory [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
LKE [Member]
Indemnification Guarantee [Member]
Indemnifications Issued By LKE [Member]
Dec. 31, 2011
LGE And KU [Member]
Financial Guarantee [Member]
LGE And KU Guarantee Of Shortfall Related To OVEC [Member]
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]                                      
Recorded liability for all guarantees $ 14,000,000 $ 14,000,000                                  
Maximum exposure       300,000,000 [1],[2]     287,000,000 [1],[3]   88,000,000 [1],[4] 8,000,000 [1],[5] 44,000,000 [1],[6],[7] 235,000,000 [1],[6],[8]   338,000,000 [1],[6],[9] 6,000,000 [1],[10],[6] 22,000,000 [1],[11],[6] 14,000,000 [1],[12],[13] 301,000,000 [1],[12],[14]  
Maximum exposure is not estimateable          The maximum exposure and expiration of these indemnifications cannot be estimated because the maximum potential liability is not capped and there is no expiration date in the transaction documents.                            
Expiration date                 2015 2012           2018 2016   2040
Expiration date minimum             2014             2012       2021  
Expiration date maximum             2018             2025       2023  
Minimum amount of individual claim that requires guarantor to perform       50,000                              
Maximum dollar amount for certain indemnification provisions       45,000,000                              
Threshold of total claims that requires guarantor to perform       4,500,000                              
Maximum exposure of guarantee related to terminated lease specific to operational, regulatory and environmental issues           200,000,000                          
Term of guarantee (in years)           12                          
Maximum exposure of other guarantees expiring related to a terminated lease           100,000,000                          
Minimum period that indemnifications generally expire (in years)             2                        
Maximum period that indemnifications generally expire (in years)             7                        
Number of subsidiaries or affiliates involved in an indemnification transaction               2         2            
Number of subsidiaries that previously owned certain renewable energy facilities                           1          
Aggregate current maximum exposure for all owners of each jointly owned facilities                         20,000,000            
Equity interest in previously owned facility (in hundredths)                               33.30%      
Other Guarantee (Numeric) [Abstract]                                      
Deductible for bodily injury and property damage 4,000,000                                    
Maximum aggregate coverage bodily injury and property damage $ 200,000,000                                    
[1] Represents the estimated maximum potential amount of future payments that could be required to be made under the guarantee.
[2] PPL has provided indemnification to the purchaser of PPL Gas Utilities and Penn Fuel Propane, LLC for damages arising out of any breach of the representations, warranties and covenants under the related transaction agreement and for damages arising out of certain other matters, including certain pre-closing unknown environmental liabilities relating to former manufactured gas plant properties or off-site disposal sites, if any, outside of Pennsylvania. The indemnification provisions for most representations and warranties, including tax and environmental matters, are capped at $45 million, in the aggregate, and are triggered (i) only if the individual claim exceeds $50,000, and (ii) only if, and only to the extent that, in the aggregate, total claims exceed $4.5 million. The indemnification provisions for most representations and warranties expired on September 30, 2009 without any claims having been made. Certain representations and warranties, including those having to do with transaction authorization and title, survive indefinitely, are capped at the purchase price and are not subject to the above threshold or deductible. The indemnification provision for the tax matters representations survives for the duration of the applicable statute of limitation. The indemnification provision for the environmental matters representations expired on September 30, 2011 without any claims having been made. The indemnification for covenants survives until the applicable covenant is performed and is not subject to any cap.
[3] In connection with the liquidation of wholly owned subsidiaries that have been deconsolidated upon turning the entities over to the liquidators, certain affiliates of PPL Global have agreed to indemnify the liquidators, directors and/or the entities themselves for any liabilities or expenses arising during the liquidation process, including liabilities and expenses of the entities placed into liquidation. In some cases, the indemnifications are limited to a maximum amount that is based on distributions made from the subsidiary to its parent either prior or subsequent to being placed into liquidation. In other cases, the maximum amount of the indemnifications is not explicitly stated in the agreements. The indemnifications generally expire two to seven years subsequent to the date of dissolution of the entities. The exposure noted only includes those cases in which the agreements provide for a specific limit on the amount of the indemnification, and the expiration date was based on an estimate of the dissolution date of the entities. In connection with their sales of various businesses, WPD and its affiliates have provided the purchasers with indemnifications that are standard for such transactions, including indemnifications for certain pre-existing liabilities and environmental and tax matters. In addition, in connection with certain of these sales, WPD and its affiliates have agreed to continue their obligations under existing third-party guarantees, either for a set period of time following the transactions or upon the condition that the purchasers make reasonable efforts to terminate the guarantees. Finally, WPD and its affiliates remain secondarily responsible for lease payments under certain leases that they have assigned to third parties.
[4] As a result of the privatization of the utility industry in the U.K., certain electric associations' roles and responsibilities were discontinued or modified. As a result, certain obligations, primarily pension-related, associated with these organizations have been guaranteed by the participating members. Costs are allocated to the members based on predetermined percentages as outlined in specific agreements. However, if a member becomes insolvent, costs can be reallocated to and are guaranteed by the remaining members. At December 31, 2011, WPD has recorded an estimated discounted liability based on its current allocated percentage of the total expected costs for which the expected payment/performance is probable. Neither the expiration date nor the maximum amount of potential payments for certain obligations is explicitly stated in the related agreements. Therefore, they have been estimated based on the types of obligations.
[5] Two WPD unconsolidated affiliates were refinanced during 2005. Under the terms of the refinancing, WPD has indemnified the lender against certain tax and other liabilities.
[6] Other than the letters of credit, all guarantees of PPL Energy Supply, on a consolidated basis, also apply to PPL on a consolidated basis for financial reporting purposes.
[7] PPL Susquehanna is contingently obligated to pay this amount related to potential retrospective premiums that could be assessed under its nuclear insurance programs. See "Nuclear Insurance" above for additional information.
[8] This is the maximum amount PPL Susquehanna could be assessed for each incident at any of the nuclear reactors covered by this Act. See "Nuclear Insurance" above for additional information.
[9] PPL Energy Supply's maximum exposure with respect to certain indemnifications and the expiration of the indemnifications cannot be estimated because, in the case of certain indemnification provisions, the maximum potential liability is not capped by the transaction documents and the expiration date is based on the applicable statute of limitation. The exposure and expiration dates noted are only for those cases in which the agreements provide for specific limits. A subsidiary of PPL Energy Supply has agreed to provide indemnification to the purchaser of the Long Island generation business for damages arising out of any breach of the representations, warranties and covenants under the related transaction agreement and for damages arising out of certain other matters, including liabilities relating to certain renewable energy facilities which were previously owned by one of the PPL subsidiaries sold in the transaction but which were unrelated to the Long Island generation business. The indemnification provisions are subject to certain customary limitations, including thresholds for allowable claims, caps on aggregate liability, and time limitations for claims arising out of breaches of most representations and warranties. The indemnification provisions for most representations and warranties expired in the third quarter of 2011. A subsidiary of PPL Energy Supply has agreed to provide indemnification to the purchasers of the Maine hydroelectric facilities for damages arising out of any breach of the representations, warranties and covenants under the respective transaction agreements and for damages arising out of certain other matters, including liabilities of the PPL Energy Supply subsidiary relating to the pre-closing ownership or operation of those hydroelectric facilities. The indemnification obligations are subject to certain customary limitations, including thresholds for allowable claims, caps on aggregate liability, and time limitations for claims arising out of breaches of representations and warranties. The indemnification provisions for certain representations and warranties expired in the second quarter of 2011. Subsidiaries of PPL Energy Supply have agreed to provide indemnification to the purchasers of certain non-core generation facilities sold in March 2011 (see Note 9 for additional information) for damages arising out of any breach of the representations, warranties and covenants under the related transaction agreements and for damages arising out of certain other matters relating to the facilities that were the subject of the transaction, including certain reduced capacity payments (if any) at one of the facilities in the event specified PJM rule changes are proposed and become effective. The indemnification provisions are subject to certain customary limitations, including thresholds for allowable claims, caps on aggregate liability, and time limitations for claims arising out of breaches of most representations and warranties.
[10] In December 2007, a subsidiary of PPL Energy Supply executed revised owners agreements for two jointly owned facilities, the Keystone and Conemaugh generating plants. The agreements require that in the event of any default by an owner, the other owners fund contributions for the operation of the generating plants, based upon their ownership percentages. The maximum obligation among all owners, for each plant, is currently $20 million. The non-defaulting owners, who make up the defaulting owner's obligations, are entitled to the generation entitlement of the defaulting owner, based upon their ownership percentage. The agreements do not have an expiration date.
[11] A PPL Energy Supply subsidiary owned a one-third equity interest in Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation (Safe Harbor) that was sold in March 2011. Beginning in 2008, PPL Energy Supply guaranteed one-third of any amounts payable with respect to certain senior notes issued by Safe Harbor. Under the terms of the sale agreement, PPL Energy Supply continues to guarantee the portion of Safe Harbor's debt, but received a cross-indemnity from the purchaser in the event PPL Energy Supply is required to make a payment under the guarantee. Exposure noted reflects principal only. See Note 9 for additional information on the sale of this interest.
[12] All guarantees of PPL Electric and LKE, on a consolidated basis, also apply to PPL on a consolidated basis for financial reporting purposes.
[13] PPL Electric entered into a contract with a third party logistics firm that provides inventory procurement and fulfillment services. Under the contract, the logistics firm has title to the inventory purchased for PPL Electric's use. Upon termination of the contract, PPL Electric has guaranteed to purchase any remaining inventory that has not been used or sold by the logistics firm at the weighted-average cost at which the logistics firm purchased the inventory, thus protecting the logistics firm from reductions in the fair value of the inventory.
[14] LKE provides certain indemnifications, the most significant of which relate to the termination of the WKE lease in July 2009. These guarantees cover the due and punctual payment, performance and discharge by each party of its respective present and future obligations. The most comprehensive of these guarantees is the LKE guarantee covering operational, regulatory and environmental commitments and indemnifications made by WKE under the WKE Transaction Termination Agreement. This guarantee has a term of 12 years ending July 2021, and a cumulative maximum exposure of $200 million. Certain items such as non-excluded government fines and penalties fall outside the cumulative cap. Another guarantee with a maximum exposure of $100 million covering other indemnifications expires in 2023. Certain matters are currently under discussion among the parties, including one matter currently in arbitration and a further matter for which LKE is contesting the applicability of the indemnification requirement. The matter in arbitration may be ruled upon during early 2012, which ruling may result in increases or decreases to the liability estimate LKE has currently recorded. The ultimate outcome of both matters cannot be predicted at this time. Additionally, LKE has indemnified various third parties related to historical obligations for other divested subsidiaries and affiliates. The indemnifications vary by entity and the maximum amount limits range from being capped at the sale price to no specified maximum; however, LKE is not aware of formal claims under such indemnities made by any party at this time. LKE could be required to perform on these indemnifications in the event of covered losses or liabilities being claimed by an indemnified party. No additional material loss is anticipated by reason of such indemnification.