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Commitments and Contingent Liabilities (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Abstract]  
Estimated Minimum Purchases Under Fuel Contracts
The estimated minimum purchases for Xcel Energy under these contracts as of Dec. 31, 2011 are as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
Dec. 31, 2011
 
Coal
 $3,683 
Nuclear fuel
  1,546 
Natural gas supply
  1,122 
Natural gas storage and transportation
  2,755 
 
Estimated Future Payments for Capacity for Purchased Power Agreements
Included in electric fuel and purchased power expenses for purchased power agreements were payments for capacity of $325.3 million, $426.7 million and $461.3 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  At Dec. 31, 2011, the estimated future payments for capacity that the utility subsidiaries of Xcel Energy are obligated to purchase, subject to availability, are as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)
   
2012
 $275.5 
2013
  227.2 
2014
  224.9 
2015
  198.6 
2016
  148.7 
2017 and thereafter
  404.0 
Total
 $1,478.9 
Amounts Reflected in Consolidated Balance Sheets for Eloigne and NSP-Wisconsin Low-income Housing Limited Partnerships
Amounts reflected in Xcel Energy's consolidated balance sheets for the Eloigne and NSP-Wisconsin low-income housing limited partnerships include the following:

(Thousands of Dollars)
 
Dec. 31, 2011
  
Dec. 31, 2010
 
Current assets
 $4,034  $3,794 
Property, plant and equipment, net
  90,914   97,602 
Other noncurrent assets
  8,053   8,236 
Total assets
 $103,001  $109,632 
          
Current liabilities
 $12,297  $11,884 
Mortgages and other long-term debt payable
  48,863   53,195 
Other noncurrent liabilities
  8,278   8,333 
Total liabilities
 $69,438  $73,412 
Summary of Property Held Under Capital Leases
PSCo records amortization for its capital leases as cost of natural gas sold and transported on the consolidated statements of income.  Total amortization expenses under capital lease assets were approximately $3.2 million, $5.3 million, and $3.5 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.  Following is a summary of property held under capital leases:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
2011
  
2010
 
Storage, leaseholds and rights
 $200.5  $196.1 
Gas pipeline
  20.7   20.7 
Property held under capital lease
  221.2   216.8 
Accumulated depreciation
  (29.8)  (26.6)
Total property held under capital leases, net
 $191.4  $190.2 
Future Commitments Under Operating and Capital Leases
Included in the future commitments under operating leases are estimated future payments under purchased power agreements that have been accounted for as operating leases in accordance with the applicable accounting guidance.  Future commitments under operating and capital leases are:

   
Other
  
Purchased
  
Total
     
   
Operating
  
Power Agreement
  
Operating
     
(Millions of Dollars)
 
Leases
  
Operating Leases (a) (b)
  
Leases
  
Capital Leases
  
2012
 $26.6  $159.0  $185.6  $18.2  
2013
  24.8   173.5   198.3   18.0  
2014
  24.3   180.6   204.9   18.0  
2015
  23.2   182.0   205.2   17.9  
2016
  18.2   173.9   192.1   17.2  
Thereafter
  89.6   1,908.7   1,998.3   306.2  
Total minimum obligation
              395.5  
Interest component of obligation
              (280.5) 
Present value of minimum obligation
             $115.0 
(c)

(a)
Amounts do not include purchased power agreements accounted for as other commitments, which are recorded to O&M as executed.
(b)
Purchased power agreement operating leases contractually expire through 2033.
(c)
Future commitments exclude certain amounts related to Xcel Energy's 50 percent ownership interest in WYCO.
Committed Minimum Payments Under Technology Agreements
Committed minimum payments under these obligations are as follows:

   
IBM
  
Accenture
 
(Millions of Dollars)
 
Agreement
  
Agreement
 
2012
 $19.2  $8.7 
2013
  17.6   8.4 
2014
  17.2   8.2 
2015
  11.9   8.2 
2016 and thereafter
  -   8.1 
 
Guarantees and Bond Indemnities Issued and Outstanding
The following table presents guarantees and bond indemnities issued and outstanding, including those guarantees related to Xcel Energy Wholesales Group Inc., Seren, UE, Viking, and Xcel Energy Argentina Inc., which are components of discontinued operations, as of Dec. 31, 2011:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
Guarantor
 
Guarantee
 Amount
  
Current
Exposure
 
Triggering
Event
Guarantee of the indemnification obligations of Xcel Energy Wholesale Group Inc. under a stock purchase agreement (e)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
 $17.5  $17.5 
(b)
              
Guarantee of the indemnification obligations of Xcel Energy Argentina Inc. under a stock purchase agreement (d)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
  14.7   - 
(b)
              
Guarantee of the indemnification obligations of various Xcel Energy Inc. subsidiaries under different asset purchase agreements (d)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
  25.5   - 
(b)
              
Guarantee of customer loans for the Farm Rewiring Program (f)
 
NSP-Wisconsin
  1.0   0.5 
(c)
              
Guarantee of the indemnification obligations of Xcel Energy Services Inc. under the aircraft leases (g)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
  8.3   - 
(a)
              
Guarantee benefiting Young Gas Storage Company Ltd. (f)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
  0.5   - 
(a)
Total guarantees issued
    $67.5  $18.0  
              
Guarantee performance and payment of surety bonds for Xcel Energy Inc. and its subsidiaries (j) (k)
 
Xcel Energy Inc.
 $31.2  
(h)
 
(i)

(a)
Nonperformance and/or nonpayment.
(b)
Losses caused by default in performance of covenants or breach of any warranty or representation in the purchase agreement.
(c)
The debtor becomes the subject of bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.
(d)
The term of this guarantee is continuing.  Certain representations and warranties relating to due organization, transaction authorization and tax matters survive indefinitely.  As of Dec. 31, 2011, no claims have been made.
(e)
The indemnification provisions of the guarantee expired in 2010.  As of Dec. 31, 2011, there is a pending indemnification claim causing the guarantee liability to remain outstanding until the final resolution.
(f)
The term of this guarantee is continuing.
(g)
The term of this guarantee expires in 2012 when the associated leases expire. At the time of renewal of the aircraft leases, the related guarantees will also be renewed.
(h)
Due to the magnitude of projects associated with the surety bonds, the total current exposure of this indemnification cannot be determined.  Xcel Energy Inc. believes the exposure to be significantly less than the total amount of the outstanding bonds.
(i)
Failure of Xcel Energy Inc. or one of its subsidiaries to perform under the agreement that is the subject of the relevant bond.  In addition, per the indemnity agreement between Xcel Energy Inc. and the various surety companies, the surety companies have the discretion to demand that collateral be posted.
(j)
Xcel Energy Inc. has on ongoing agreement to indemnify an insurance company in connection with surety bonds they may issue or have issued for UE up to $80 million.  Xcel Energy Inc.'s indemnification will be triggered only in the event that UE has failed to meet its obligations to the surety company.
(k)
The expiration date of the surety bonds is project based. Accordingly, the surety bonds expire in conjunction with the completion of the related projects.
 
Asset Retirement Obligations
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending aggregate carrying amounts of Xcel Energy's AROs is shown in the table below for the years ended Dec. 31, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2010:

   
Beginning
           
Revisions
 
Ending
 
   
Balance
  
Liabilities
  
Liabilities
     
to Prior
 
Balance
 
(Thousands of Dollars)
 
Jan. 1, 2011
  
Recognized
  
Settled
  
Accretion
  
Estimates
 
Dec. 31, 2011
 
Electric plant
                  
Steam production asbestos
 $93,629  $-  $(514) $5,958  $(44,731) $54,342 
Steam production ash containment
  19,688   -   -   919   20,551   41,158 
Steam production radiation sources
  166   -   -   12   (39)  139 
Nuclear production decommissioning
  809,474   -   -   57,641   615,626
 (a)
  1,482,741 
Wind production
  38,553   -   -   1,962   -   40,515 
Electric transmission and distribution
  5,727   -   -   290   24,687   30,704 
Natural gas plant
                        
Gas transmission and distribution
  996   -   -   63   -   1,059 
Common and other property
                        
Common general plant asbestos
  1,077   -   -   58   -   1,135 
Total liability
 $969,310  $-  $(514) $66,903  $616,094  $1,651,793 

(a)
The increase is primarily due to the completion of NSP-Minnesota's triennial nuclear decommissioning study, which reflects an increase in the estimated cost of retirement, increase in the escalation rates for each nuclear unit and a decrease in the discount rate used to calculate the net present value of the future cash flows.


   
Beginning
           
Revisions
  
Ending
 
   
Balance
  
Liabilities
  
Liabilities
     
to Prior
  
Balance
 
(Thousands of Dollars)
 
Jan. 1, 2010
  
Recognized
  
Settled
  
Accretion
  
Estimates
  
Dec. 31, 2010
 
Electric plant
                  
Steam production asbestos
 $95,093  $3,771  $(2,330) $6,037  $(8,942) $93,629 
Steam production ash containment
  17,552   32   -   903   1,201   19,688 
Steam production radiation sources
  176   -   -   12   (22)  166 
Nuclear production decommissioning
  758,923   -   -   50,551   -   809,474 
Wind production
  7,751   25,671   -   592   4,539   38,553 
Electric transmission and distribution
  27   -   -   12   5,688   5,727 
Natural gas plant
                        
Gas transmission and distribution
  936   -   -   60   -   996 
Common and other property
                        
Common general plant asbestos
  1,021   -   -   56   -   1,077 
Total liability
 $881,479  $29,474  $(2,330) $58,223  $2,464  $969,310 
Plant Removal Cost
The accumulated balances by entity were as follows at Dec. 31:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
2011
  
2010
 
NSP-Minnesota
 $382  $400 
NSP-Wisconsin
  109   107 
PSCo
  380   385 
SPS
  74   88 
Total Xcel Energy
 $945  $980