Revolving Credit Facilities, Lines of Credit and Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Revolving Credit Facilities, Lines of Credit and Short Term Borrowings and Long Term Debt [Abstract]

REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES, LINES OF CREDIT, SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS, AND LONG-TERM DEBT

NOTE 4. REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES, LINES OF CREDIT, SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS, AND LONG-TERM DEBT (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

     Entergy Corporation has in place a credit facility that has a borrowing capacity of approximately $3.5 billion and expires in August 2012, which Entergy intends to renew before expiration. Because the facility is now within one year of its expiration date, it is classified as currently maturing long-term debt on the balance sheet. Entergy Corporation also has the ability to issue letters of credit against the total borrowing capacity of the credit facility. The facility fee is currently 0.125% of the commitment amount. Facility fees and interest rates on loans under the credit facility can fluctuate depending on the senior unsecured debt ratings of Entergy Corporation. The weighted average interest rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was 0.746% on the drawn portion of the facility. Following is a summary of the borrowings outstanding and capacity available under the facility as of September 30, 2011.

			Letters		Capacity
Capacity	Borrowings		of Credit		Available
	(In Millions)
$3,463	$	1,870	$	25	$	1,568

     Entergy Corporation’s facility requires it to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Entergy is in compliance with this covenant. If Entergy fails to meet this ratio, or if Entergy Corporation or one of the Utility operating companies (except Entergy New Orleans) defaults on other indebtedness or is in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, an acceleration of the facility maturity date may occur.

     Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, and Entergy Texas each had credit facilities available as of September 30, 2011 as follows:

						Amount Drawn
						as of
		Amount of				September 30,
Company	Expiration Date	Facility	Interest Rate (a)			2011
Entergy Arkansas	April 2012	$78 million (b)		3.25	%		—
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana	August 2012	$100 million (c)		0.71	%		—
Entergy Louisiana	August 2012	$200 million (d)		0.71	%		—
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$35 million (e)		1.99	%		—
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$25 million (e)		1.99	%		—
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$10 million (e)		1.99	%		—
Entergy Texas	August 2012	$100 million (f)		0.71	%		—

(a)	The interest rate is the rate as of September 30, 2011 that would be applied to outstanding borrowings under the facility.
(b)	The credit facility requires Entergy Arkansas to maintain a debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Borrowings under the Entergy Arkansas credit facility may be secured by a security interest in its accounts receivable.
(c)	The credit facility allows Entergy Gulf States Louisiana to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of September 30, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Gulf States Louisiana to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.
(d)	The credit facility allows Entergy Louisiana to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of September 30, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Louisiana to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.
(e)	Borrowings under the Entergy Mississippi credit facilities may be secured by a security interest in its accounts receivable. Entergy Mississippi is required to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.
(f)	The credit facility allows Entergy Texas to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of September 30, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Texas to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Pursuant to the terms of the credit agreement securitization bonds are excluded from debt and capitalization in calculating the debt ratio.

     The facility fees on the credit facilities range from 0.09% to 0.15% of the commitment amount.

     The short-term borrowings of the Registrant Subsidiaries are limited to amounts authorized by the FERC. The current FERC-authorized limits are effective through October 31, 2013. In addition to borrowings from commercial banks, these companies are authorized under a FERC order to borrow from the Entergy System money pool. The money pool is an inter-company borrowing arrangement designed to reduce the Utility subsidiaries’ dependence on external short-term borrowings. Borrowings from the money pool and external borrowings combined may not exceed the FERC-authorized limits. The following are the FERC-authorized limits for short-term borrowings and the outstanding short-term borrowings as of September 30, 2011 (aggregating both money pool and external short-term borrowings) for the Registrant Subsidiaries:

	Authorized		Borrowings
	(In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas	$	250	$	32
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana	$	200		—
Entergy Louisiana	$	250		—
Entergy Mississippi	$	175	$	16
Entergy New Orleans	$	100		—
Entergy Texas	$	200		—
System Energy	$	200		—

Variable Interest Entities (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and System Energy)

      See Note 18 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for a discussion of the consolidation of the nuclear fuel company variable interest entities (VIE). The variable interest entities have credit facilities and also issue commercial paper to finance the acquisition and ownership of nuclear fuel as follows as of September 30, 2011:

				Weighted
				Average			Amount
				Interest			Outstanding
		Amount		Rate on			as of
	Expiration	of		Borrowings			September 30,
Company	Date	Facility		(a)			2011
		(Dollars in Millions)
Entergy Arkansas VIE	July 2013	$	85		2.40	%	$	60.3
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE	July 2013	$	85		2.13	%	$	42.7
Entergy Louisiana VIE	July 2013	$	90		2.26	%	$	56.5
System Energy VIE	July 2013	$	100		—			—

(a) Includes letter of credit fees and bank fronting fees on commercial paper issuances by the VIEs for Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, and System Energy. The VIE for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana does not issue commercial paper, but borrows directly on its bank credit facility.

     The amount outstanding on Entergy Gulf States Louisiana’s credit facility is included in long-term debt on its balance sheet and the commercial paper outstanding for the other VIEs is classified as a current liability on the respective balance sheets. The commitment fees on the credit facilities are 0.20% of the undrawn commitment amount. Each credit facility requires the respective lessee (Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, or Entergy Corporation as guarantor for System Energy) to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 70% or less of its total capitalization.

     The variable interest entities had notes payable that are included in long-term debt on the respective balance sheets as of September 30, 2011 as follows:

Company	Description	Amount
Entergy Arkansas VIE	9% Series H due June 2013	$30 million
Entergy Arkansas VIE	5.69% Series I due July 2014	$70 million
Entergy Arkansas VIE	3.23% Series J due July 2016	$55 million
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE	5.56% Series N due May 2013	$75 million
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE	5.41% Series O due July 2012	$60 million
Entergy Louisiana VIE	5.69% Series E due July 2014	$50 million
Entergy Louisiana VIE	3.30% Series F due March 2016	$20 million
System Energy VIE	6.29% Series F due September 2013	$70 million
System Energy VIE	5.33% Series G due April 2015	$60 million

     In accordance with regulatory treatment, interest on the nuclear fuel company variable interest entities’ credit facilities, commercial paper, and long-term notes payable is reported in fuel expense.

Debt Issuances and Redemptions

(Entergy Louisiana)

     In March 2011, Entergy Louisiana issued $200 million of 4.80% Series first mortgage bonds due May 2021. Entergy Louisiana used the proceeds, together with other available funds, to purchase Unit 2 of the Acadia Energy Center, a 580MW generating unit located near Eunice, Louisiana.

     In August 2011, the LPSC issued a financing order authorizing the issuance of bonds to recover Entergy Louisiana’s investment recovery costs associated with the cancelled Little Gypsy repowering project. In September 2011, Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding I, L.L.C., a company wholly-owned and consolidated by Entergy Louisiana, issued $207.2 million of senior secured investment recovery bonds. The bonds have an interest rate of 2.04% and an expected maturity date of June 2021. Although the principal amount is not due until the date given above, Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding expects to make principal payments on the bonds over the next five years in the amounts of $25.6 million for 2012, $16.6 million for 2013, $21.9 million for 2014, $20.5 million for 2015, and $21.6 million for 2016. With the proceeds, Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding purchased from Entergy Louisiana the investment recovery property, which is the right to recover from customers through an investment recovery charge amounts sufficient to service the bonds. In accordance with the financing order, Entergy Louisiana will apply the proceeds it received from the sale of the investment recovery property as a reimbursement for previously-incurred investment recovery costs. The investment recovery property is reflected as a regulatory asset on the consolidated Entergy Louisiana balance sheet. The creditors of Entergy Louisiana do not have recourse to the assets or revenues of Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding, including the investment recovery property, and the creditors of Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding do not have recourse to the assets or revenues of Entergy Louisiana. Entergy Louisiana has no payment obligations to Entergy Louisiana Investment Recovery Funding except to remit investment recovery charge collections.

(Entergy Mississippi)

     In April 2011, Entergy Mississippi issued $150 million of 6.0% Series first mortgage bonds due May 2051. Entergy Mississippi used a portion of the proceeds to pay at maturity its $80 million 4.65% Series first mortgage bonds due May 2011.

     In May 2011, Entergy Mississippi issued $125 million of 3.25% Series first mortgage bonds due June 2016. Entergy Mississippi used a portion of the proceeds to pay prior to maturity its $100 million 5.92% Series first mortgage bonds due February 2016.

(Entergy Texas)

     In September 2011, Entergy Texas issued $75 million of 4.10% Series first mortgage bonds due September 2021.

Fair Value

     The book value and the fair value of long-term debt for Entergy Corporation and the Registrant Subsidiaries as of September 30, 2011 are as follows:

	Book Value		Fair Value
	of Long-Term		of Long-Term
	Debt		Debt (a) (b)
	(In Thousands)
Entergy	$	12,264,403	$	12,211,941
Entergy Arkansas	$	1,882,056	$	1,757,503
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana	$	1,603,011	$	1,707,838
Entergy Louisiana	$	2,198,460	$	2,195,653
Entergy Mississippi	$	920,424	$	975,856
Entergy New Orleans	$	166,599	$	168,550
Entergy Texas	$	1,686,582	$	1,908,427
System Energy	$	787,029	$	627,286

(a)	The values exclude lease obligations of $188 million at Entergy Louisiana and $179 million at System Energy, long-term DOE obligations of $181 million at Entergy Arkansas, and the note payable to NYPA of $148 million at Entergy, and include debt due within one year.
(b)	Fair values are based on prices derived by independent third parties that use inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker/dealer quotes, and issuer spreads.