Variable Interest Entities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]

Variable interest entities significant balance sheet accounts

As of December 31, MGE has included the following significant accounts on its consolidated balance sheets related to its interest in these VIEs:

		MGE Power Elm Road				MGE Power West Campus
(In thousands)		2018		2017		2018		2017
Property, plant, and equipment, net	$	173,464	$	176,002	$	81,273	$	80,282
Construction work in progress		530		1,225		478		610
Affiliate receivables		-		-		3,707		4,236
Deferred income taxes		30,595		29,256		14,222		13,795
Long-term debt^(a)		56,806		59,416		41,496		43,262
Noncontrolling interest		97,519		97,635		43,935		43,267

(a) MGE Power Elm Road's long-term debt includes debt issuance costs of $0.5 million and $0.6 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The debt is secured by a collateral assignment of lease payments that MGE makes to MGE Power Elm Road for use of the Elm Road Units pursuant to the related long-term leases. MGE Power West Campus's long-term debt includes debt issuance costs of $0.1 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. The debt is secured by a collateral assignment of lease payments that MGE makes to MGE Power West Campus for use of the cogeneration facility pursuant to the long-term lease. See Footnote 10 for further information on the long-term debt securities.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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