Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Estimated Minimum Purchases Under Fuel Contracts

The estimated minimum purchases for NSP-Wisconsin under these contracts as of Dec. 31, 2013 are as follows:



(Millions of dollars)	Coal		Natural gas supply		Natural gas storage and transportation
2014	$	6.2	$	13.4	$	11.9
2015	1.3		0.3		11.6
2016	0.7		0.3		11.7
2017	0.7		0.2		9.5
2018	0.7		—		4.4
Thereafter	4.1		—		18.9
Total ^(a)	$	13.7	$	14.2	$	68.0


^(a)	Excludes additional amounts allocated to NSP-Wisconsin through intercompany charges.

Future Commitments Under Operating Leases

Future commitments under operating leases are:



(Millions of Dollars)
2014	$	0.8
2015	0.8
2016	0.8
2017	0.9
2018	0.9
Thereafter	8.8
Total	$	13.0

Low-income Housing Limited Partnerships

Amounts reflected in NSP-Wisconsin’s consolidated balance sheets for low-income housing limited partnerships include the following:



(Thousands of Dollars)	Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012
Current assets	$	223	$	357
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,427		2,599
Other noncurrent assets	112		105
Total assets	$	2,762	$	3,061

Current liabilities	$	233	$	1,388
Mortgages and other long-term debt payable	1,687		617
Other noncurrent liabilities	42		39
Total liabilities	$	1,962	$	2,044

Guarantee Issued and Outstanding

The following table presents the guarantee issued and outstanding for NSP-Wisconsin:



(Millions of Dollars)	Guarantee Amount		Current Exposure		Term or Expiration Date	Triggering Event Requiring Performance
Guarantee of customer loans for the Farm Rewiring Program	$	1.0	$	0.3	2017	^(a)


^(a)	The debtor becomes the subject of bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.

Asset Retirement Obligations

A reconciliation of NSP-Wisconsin’s AROs is shown in the tables below for the years ended Dec. 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively:



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2013		Liabilities Recognized		Accretion		Revisions to Prior Estimates			Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2013 ^(a)
Electric plant
Steam production asbestos	$	1,962	$	—	$	43	$	—		$	2,005
Steam and other production ash containment	125		—		12		224			361
Electric distribution	13		—		1		22			36
Other	826		—		20		(557		)	289
Natural gas plant
Gas transmission and distribution	75		—		5		(5		)	75
Common and other property
Common miscellaneous	35		—		3		49			87
Total liability ^(b)	$	3,036	$	—	$	84	$	(267	)	$	2,853



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2012		Liabilities Recognized		Accretion		Revisions to Prior Estimates		Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2012 ^(a)
Electric plant
Steam production asbestos	$	—	$	1,962	$	—	$	—	$	1,962
Steam and other production ash containment	120		—		5		—		125
Electric distribution	13		—		—		—		13
Other	186		—		7		633		826
Natural gas plant
Gas transmission and distribution	71		—		4		—		75
Common and other property
Common miscellaneous	34		—		1		—		35
Total liability ^(b)	$	424	$	1,962	$	17	$	633	$	3,036


^(a)	There were no ARO liabilities settled during the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2013 or 2012.


^(b)	Included in the other long-term liabilities balance in the consolidated balance sheets.

- 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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