Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities

Fair Value Measurements

Accounting guidance for fair value measurements and disclosures provides a single definition of fair value and requires disclosures about assets and liabilities measured at fair value. A hierarchical framework for disclosing the observability of the inputs utilized in measuring assets and liabilities at fair value is established by this guidance.

• Level 1 — Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. The types of assets and liabilities included in Level 1 are highly liquid and actively traded instruments with quoted prices;

• Level 2 — Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, but are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date. The types of assets and liabilities included in Level 2 are typically either comparable to actively traded securities or contracts, or priced with models using highly observable inputs; and

• Level 3 — Significant inputs to pricing have little or no observability as of the reporting date. The types of assets and liabilities included in Level 3 are those valued with models requiring significant management judgment or estimation.

Specific valuation methods include:

Cash equivalents — The fair values of cash equivalents are generally based on cost plus accrued interest; money market funds are measured using quoted NAV.

Investments in equity securities and other funds — Equity securities are valued using quoted prices in active markets. The fair values for commingled funds are measured using NAVs. The investments in commingled funds may be redeemed for NAV with proper notice. Private equity commingled fund investments require approval of the fund for any unscheduled redemption, and such redemptions may be approved or denied by the fund at its sole discretion. Unscheduled distributions from real estate commingled funds investments may be redeemed with proper notice, however, withdrawals may be delayed or discounted as a result of fund illiquidity.

Investments in debt securities — Fair values for debt securities are determined by a third party pricing service using recent trades and observable spreads from benchmark interest rates for similar securities.

Interest rate derivatives — Fair values of interest rate derivatives are based on broker quotes that utilize current market interest rate forecasts.

Commodity derivatives — Methods used to measure the fair value of commodity derivative forwards and options utilize forward prices and volatilities, as well as pricing adjustments for specific delivery locations and are generally assigned a Level 2 classification. When contractual settlements relate to inactive delivery locations or extend to periods beyond those readily observable on active exchanges or quoted by brokers, the significance of the use of less observable forecasts of forward prices and volatilities on a valuation is evaluated and may result in Level 3 classification.

Electric commodity derivatives held by NSP-Minnesota and SPS include transmission congestion instruments, generally referred to as FTRs. FTRs purchased from a RTO are financial instruments that entitle or obligate the holder to monthly revenues or charges based on transmission congestion across a given transmission path.

The value of an FTR is derived from, and designed to offset, the cost of transmission congestion. In addition to overall transmission load, congestion is also influenced by the operating schedules of power plants and the consumption of electricity pertinent to a given transmission path. Unplanned plant outages, scheduled plant maintenance, changes in the relative costs of fuels used in generation, weather and overall changes in demand for electricity can each impact the operating schedules of the power plants on the transmission grid and the value of an FTR.

If forecasted costs of electric transmission congestion increase or decrease for a given FTR path, the value of that particular FTR instrument will likewise increase or decrease. Given the limited observability of certain inputs to the value of FTRs between auction processes, including expected plant operating schedules and retail and wholesale demand, fair value measurements for FTRs have been assigned a Level 3.

Non-trading monthly FTR settlements are included in fuel and purchased energy cost recovery mechanisms as applicable in each jurisdiction and therefore changes in the fair value of the yet to be settled portions of most FTRs are deferred as a regulatory asset or liability. Given this regulatory treatment and the limited magnitude of FTRs relative to the electric utility operations of NSP-Minnesota and SPS, the numerous unobservable quantitative inputs pertinent to the value of FTRs are insignificant to the consolidated financial statements.

Non-Derivative Fair Value Measurements

The NRC requires NSP-Minnesota to maintain a portfolio of investments to fund the costs of decommissioning its nuclear generating plants. Assets of the nuclear decommissioning fund are legally restricted for the purpose of decommissioning these facilities. The fund contains cash equivalents, debt securities, equity securities and other investments. NSP-Minnesota uses the MPUC approved asset allocation for the escrow and investment targets by asset class for both the escrow and qualified trust.

NSP-Minnesota recognizes the costs of funding the decommissioning over the lives of the nuclear plants, assuming rate recovery of all costs. Realized and unrealized gains on fund investments over the life of the fund are deferred as an offset of NSP-Minnesota’s regulatory asset for nuclear decommissioning costs. Consequently, any realized and unrealized gains and losses on securities in the nuclear decommissioning fund are deferred as a component of the regulatory asset.

Unrealized gains for the nuclear decommissioning fund were $454 million and $706 million as of March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, respectively, and unrealized losses were $88 million and $6 million as of March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, respectively.

Non-derivative instruments with recurring fair value measurements in the nuclear decommissioning fund:

	March 31, 2020
			Fair Value
(Millions of Dollars)	Cost		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		NAV		Total
Nuclear decommissioning fund (a)
Cash equivalents	$	71	$	71	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	71
Commingled funds	756		—		—		—		843		843
Debt securities	514		—		488		13		—		501
Equity securities	435		726		1		—		—		727
Total	$	1,776	$	797	$	489	$	13	$	843	$	2,142

 

^(a)  Reported in nuclear decommissioning fund and other investments on the consolidated balance sheet, which also includes $158 million of equity investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries and $129 million of rabbi trust assets and miscellaneous investments.

	Dec. 31, 2019
			Fair Value
(Millions of Dollars)	Cost		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		NAV		Total
Nuclear decommissioning fund (a)
Cash equivalents	$	33	$	33	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	33
Commingled funds	733		—		—		—		935		935
Debt securities	489		—		495		13		—		508
Equity securities	485		962		2		—		—		964
Total	$	1,740	$	995	$	497	$	13	$	935	$	2,440

^(a)  Reported in nuclear decommissioning fund and other investments on the consolidated balance sheet, which also includes $155 million of equity investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries and $136 million of rabbi trust assets and miscellaneous investments.

For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, there were immaterial Level 3 nuclear decommissioning fund investments or transfer of amounts between levels.

Contractual maturity dates of debt securities in the nuclear decommissioning fund as of March 31, 2020:

	Final Contractual Maturity
(Millions of Dollars)	Due in 1 Year or Less		Due in 1 to 5 Years		Due in 5 to 10 Years		Due after 10 Years		Total
Debt securities	$	11	$	81	$	205	$	204	$	501

Rabbi Trusts

Xcel Energy has established rabbi trusts to provide partial funding for future distributions of its supplemental executive retirement plan and deferred compensation plan.

Cost and fair value of assets held in rabbi trusts:

	March 31, 2020
			Fair Value
(Millions of Dollars)	Cost		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Rabbi Trusts (a)
Cash equivalents	$	17	$	17	$	—	$	—	$	17
Mutual funds	57		56		—		—		56
Total	$	74	$	73	$	—	$	—	$	73

	Dec. 31, 2019
			Fair Value
(Millions of Dollars)	Cost		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Rabbi Trusts (a)
Cash equivalents	$	17	$	17	$	—	$	—	$	17
Mutual funds	57		65		—		—		65
Total	$	74	$	82	$	—	$	—	$	82

^(a) Reported in nuclear decommissioning fund and other investments on the consolidated balance sheet.

Derivative Instruments Fair Value Measurements

Xcel Energy enters into derivative instruments, including forward contracts, futures, swaps and options, for trading purposes and to manage risk in connection with changes in interest rates, utility commodity prices and vehicle fuel prices.

Interest Rate Derivatives — Xcel Energy enters into various instruments that effectively fix the interest payments on certain floating rate debt obligations or effectively fix the yield or price on a specified benchmark interest rate for an anticipated debt issuance for a specific period. These derivative instruments are generally designated as cash flow hedges for accounting purposes.

As of March 31, 2020, Xcel Energy had $13 million of settlement payables related to interest rate swaps, which were paid in April 2020. These interest rate derivatives were designated as hedges and changes in fair value were recorded as other comprehensive income.

As of March 31, 2020, accumulated other comprehensive loss related to interest rate derivatives included $5 million of net losses expected to be reclassified into earnings during the next 12 months as the hedged transactions impact earnings.

Wholesale and Commodity Trading Risk — Xcel Energy Inc.’s utility subsidiaries conduct various wholesale and commodity trading activities, including the purchase and sale of electric capacity, energy, energy-related instruments and natural gas-related instruments, including derivatives. Xcel Energy is allowed to conduct these activities within guidelines and limitations as approved by its risk management committee, comprised of management personnel not directly involved in activities governed by this policy.

Commodity Derivatives — Xcel Energy enters into derivative instruments to manage variability of future cash flows from changes in commodity prices in its electric and natural gas operations, as well as for trading purposes. This could include the purchase or sale of energy or energy-related products, natural gas to generate electric energy, natural gas for resale, FTRs, vehicle fuel and weather derivatives.

Xcel Energy may enter into derivative instruments that mitigate commodity price risk on behalf of electric and natural gas customers, but may not be designated as qualifying hedging transactions. Changes in the fair value of non-trading commodity derivative instruments are recorded as other comprehensive income or deferred as a regulatory asset or liability. The classification as a regulatory asset or liability is based on approved regulatory recovery mechanisms.

As of March 31, 2020, Xcel Energy had no commodity contracts designated as cash flow hedges.

Xcel Energy enters into commodity derivative instruments for trading purposes not directly related to commodity price risks associated with serving its electric and natural gas customers. Changes in the fair value of these commodity derivatives are recorded in electric operating revenues, net of amounts credited to customers under margin-sharing mechanisms.

Gross notional amounts of commodity forwards, options and FTRs:

(Amounts in Millions) (a)(b)	March 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
MWh of electricity	79	95
MMBtu of natural gas	149	110

^(a)  Not reflective of net positions in the underlying commodities.

^(b)  Notional amounts for options included on a gross basis but weighted for the probability of exercise.

Consideration of Credit Risk and Concentrations — Xcel Energy continuously monitors the creditworthiness of counterparties to its interest rate derivatives and commodity derivative contracts prior to settlement, and assesses each counterparty’s ability to perform on the transactions set forth in the contracts. Impact of credit risk was immaterial to the fair value of unsettled commodity derivatives presented in the consolidated balance sheets.

Xcel Energy’s utility subsidiaries’ most significant concentrations of credit risk with particular entities or industries are contracts with counterparties to their wholesale, trading and non-trading commodity activities.

As of March 31, 2020, six of Xcel Energy’s 10 most significant counterparties for these activities, comprising $154 million, or 56%, of this credit exposure, had investment grade credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s Investor Services or Fitch Ratings. Three of the 10 most significant counterparties, comprising $35 million, or 13%, of this credit exposure, were not rated by these external agencies, but based on Xcel Energy’s internal analysis, had credit quality consistent with investment grade. One of these significant counterparties, comprising $12 million or 4% of this credit exposure, had credit quality less than investment grade, based on internal analysis. Eight of these significant counterparties are municipal or cooperative electric entities, RTOs or other utilities.

Impact of derivative activity:

	Pre-Tax Fair Value Gains (Losses) Recognized During the Period in:
(Millions of Dollars)	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss			Regulatory (Assets) and Liabilities
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
Interest rate	$	(13	)	$	—
Total	(13		)	—
Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
Interest rate	(9		)	—
Total	(9		)	—
Other derivative instruments
Electric commodity	—			12
Natural gas commodity	—			4
Total	$	—		$	16

	Pre-Tax (Gains) Losses Reclassified into Income During the Period from:							Pre-Tax Gains (Losses) Recognized During the Period in Income
(Millions of Dollars)	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss			Regulatory Assets and (Liabilities)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
Interest rate	$	2	(a)	$	—			$	—
Total	2			—				—
Other derivative instruments
Commodity trading	—			—				1			(b)
Electric commodity	—			(4		)	(c)	—
Natural gas commodity	—			5			(d)	(6		)	(d)
Total	—			1				(5		)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
Interest rate	1		(a)	—				—
Total	1			—				—
Other derivative instruments
Commodity trading	—			—				1			(b)
Electric commodity	—			1			(c)	—
Natural gas commodity	—			(1		)	(d)	(3		)	(d)
Total	$	—		$	—			$	(2	)

^(a)  Recorded to interest charges.

^(b)  Recorded to electric operating revenues. Portions of these gains and losses are subject to sharing with electric customers through margin-sharing mechanisms and deducted from gross revenue, as appropriate.

^(c)  Recorded to electric fuel and purchased power. These derivative settlement gains and losses are shared with electric customers through fuel and purchased energy cost-recovery mechanisms, and reclassified out of income as regulatory assets or liabilities, as appropriate.

^(d)  Amounts for both the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 included no settlement gains or losses on derivatives entered to mitigate natural gas price risk for electric generation recorded to electric fuel and purchased power, subject to cost-recovery mechanisms and reclassified to a regulatory asset, as appropriate. Remaining settlement losses for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 related to natural gas operations and were recorded to cost of natural gas sold and transported. These gains and losses are subject to cost-recovery mechanisms and reclassified out of income to a regulatory asset or liability, as appropriate.

Xcel Energy had no derivative instruments designated as fair value hedges during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

Credit Related Contingent Features — Contract provisions for derivative instruments that the utility subsidiaries enter, including those accounted for as normal purchase-normal sale contracts and therefore not reflected on the consolidated balance sheets, may require the posting of collateral or settlement of the contracts for various reasons, including if the applicable utility subsidiary’s credit ratings are downgraded below its investment grade credit rating by any of the major credit rating agencies, or for cross default contractual provisions if there was a failure under other financing arrangements related to payment terms or other covenants. As of March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, there were $11 million and $7 million derivative instruments in a liability position with such underlying contract provisions, respectively. Certain derivative instruments are also subject to contract provisions that contain adequate assurance clauses. Provisions allow counterparties to seek performance assurance, including cash collateral, in the event that a given utility subsidiary’s ability to fulfill its contractual obligations is reasonably expected to be impaired. Xcel Energy had no collateral posted related to adequate assurance clauses in derivative contracts as of March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements — Derivative assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

	March 31, 2020													Dec. 31, 2019
	Fair Value						Fair Value Total		Netting (a)			Total		Fair Value						Fair Value Total		Netting (a)			Total
(Millions of Dollars)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3									Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Current derivative assets
Other derivative instruments:
Commodity trading	$	8	$	63	$	16	$	87	$	(63	)	$	24	$	3	$	51	$	24	$	78	$	(52	)	$	26
Electric commodity	—		—		18		18		—			18		—		—		21		21		(1		)	20
Natural gas commodity	—		—		—		—		—			—		—		6		—		6		—			6
Total current derivative assets	$	8	$	63	$	34	$	105	$	(63	)	42		$	3	$	57	$	45	$	105	$	(53	)	52
PPAs (b)												3													3
Current derivative instruments												$	45												$	55
Noncurrent derivative assets
Other derivative instruments:
Commodity trading	$	10	$	38	$	22	$	70	$	(45	)	$	25	$	9	$	38	$	7	$	54	$	(45	)	$	9
Electric commodity	—		—		2		2		—			2		—		—		—		—		—			—
Total noncurrent derivative assets	$	10	$	38	$	24	$	72	$	(45	)	27		$	9	$	38	$	7	$	54	$	(45	)	9
PPAs (b)												12													13
Noncurrent derivative instruments												$	39												$	22

	March 31, 2020													Dec. 31, 2019
	Fair Value						Fair Value Total		Netting (a)			Total		Fair Value						Fair Value Total		Netting (a)			Total
(Millions of Dollars)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3									Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Current derivative liabilities
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges:
Interest rate	$	—	$	13	$	—	$	13	$	—		$	13	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	—
Other derivative instruments:
Commodity trading	$	8	$	62	$	14	$	84	$	(63	)	$	21	$	4	$	59	$	15	$	78	$	(63	)	$	15
Electric commodity	—		—		—		—		—			—		—		—		1		1		(1		)	—
Natural gas commodity	—		—		—		—		—			—		—		5		—		5		—			5
Total current derivative liabilities	$	8	$	75	$	14	$	97	$	(63	)	34		$	4	$	64	$	16	$	84	$	(64	)	20
PPAs (b)												18													18
Current derivative instruments												$	52												$	38
Noncurrent derivative liabilities
Other derivative instruments:
Commodity trading	$	3	$	89	$	39	$	131	$	(19	)	$	112	$	2	$	79	$	32	$	113	$	(13	)	$	100
Total noncurrent derivative liabilities	$	3	$	89	$	39	$	131	$	(19	)	112		$	2	$	79	$	32	$	113	$	(13	)	100
PPAs (b)												71													75
Noncurrent derivative instruments												$	183												$	175

^(a)  Xcel Energy nets derivative instruments and related collateral in its consolidated balance sheet when supported by a legally enforceable master netting agreement, and all derivative instruments and related collateral amounts were subject to master netting agreements at March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019. At both March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, derivative assets and liabilities include $32 million of obligations to return cash collateral and rights to reclaim cash collateral of $6 million and $11 million, respectively. Counterparty netting amounts presented exclude settlement receivables and payables and non-derivative amounts that may be subject to the same master netting agreements.

^(b)  During 2006, Xcel Energy qualified these contracts under the normal purchase exception. Based on this qualification, contracts are no longer adjusted to fair value and the previous carrying value of these contracts is being amortized over the remaining contract lives along with the offsetting regulatory assets and liabilities.

Changes in Level 3 commodity derivatives:

	Three Months Ended March 31
(Millions of Dollars)	2020			2019
Balance at Jan. 1	$	4		$	29
Purchases	12			4
Settlements	(18		)	(11		)
Net transactions recorded during the period:
Gains (losses) recognized in earnings (a)	6			(18		)
Net gains (losses) recognized as regulatory assets and liabilities	1			(11		)
Balance at March 31	$	5		$	(7	)

^(a)  Amounts relate to commodity derivatives held at the end of the period.

Xcel Energy recognizes transfers between levels as of the beginning of each period. There were no transfers of amounts between levels for derivative instruments for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

Fair Value of Long-Term Debt

Other financial instruments which the carrying amount did not equal fair value:

	March 31, 2020				Dec. 31, 2019
(Millions of Dollars)	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Long-term debt, including current portion	$	18,112	$	19,864	$	18,109	$	20,227

Fair value of Xcel Energy’s long-term debt is estimated based on recent trades and observable spreads from benchmark interest rates for similar securities. Fair value estimates are based on information available to management as of March 31, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2019, and given the observability of the inputs, fair values presented for long-term debt were assigned as Level 2.