Property, Plant, and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant, and Equipment - MGE Energy and MGE.

Property, plant, and equipment consisted of the following as of December 31:

		MGE Energy				MGE
(In thousands)		2018		2017		2018		2017
Utility:
Electric^(a)(b)	$	1,310,421	$	1,209,336	$	1,310,438	$	1,209,353
Gas		442,581		415,542		442,593		415,553
Total utility plant		1,753,002		1,624,878		1,753,031		1,624,906
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization^(a)(b)		639,486		599,469		639,486		599,469
In-service utility plant, net		1,113,516		1,025,409		1,113,545		1,025,437
Nonregulated:
Nonregulated		322,855		319,611		322,855		319,611
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization		66,605		61,707		66,605		61,707
In-service nonregulated plant, net		256,250		257,904		256,250		257,904
Construction work in progress:
Utility construction work in progress^(a)(c)		138,663		56,208		138,663		56,208
Nonregulated construction work in progress		1,008		1,836		1,008		1,836
Total property, plant, and equipment	$	1,509,437	$	1,341,357	$	1,509,466	$	1,341,385

(a) As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, MGE has classified $3.1 million and $8.8 million, respectively, of Columbia assets as held-for-sale on the consolidated balance sheets related to the partial sale of plant assets to WPL. See Footnote 5.a. for further discussion.

(b) In April 2018, MGE, along with two other utilities, purchased the Forward Wind Energy Center (Forward Wind), which consists of 86 wind turbines located in Wisconsin. The aggregate purchase price was approximately $174 million, of which MGE's proportionate share is 12.8%, or approximately $23 million.

(c) In December 2017, the PSCW authorized construction of a 66 MW wind farm, consisting of 33 turbines, located near Saratoga, Iowa. MGE received specific approval to recover 100% AFUDC on the project. As of December 31, 2018, MGE has incurred $95.8 million of capital expenditures. After tax, MGE has recognized $2.5 million in AFUDC equity related to this project for the year ended December 31, 2018. Construction of the project was completed in February 2019.

MGE's utility plant is subject to the lien of its Indenture of Mortgage and Deed of Trust. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, there was $1.2 million of bonds outstanding under that indenture. See Footnote 10 for further discussion of the mortgage indenture.