Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

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, 2017 are as follows:



(Millions of Dollars)	Coal		Natural gas supply		Natural gas storage and transportation
2018	$	6.4	$	9.4	$	13.3
2019	0.6		0.4		12.3
2020	0.6		0.3		10.1
2021	0.7		0.3		9.5
2022	0.7		0.2		8.2
Thereafter	0.7		—		30.5
Total ^(a)	$	9.7	$	10.6	$	83.9


^(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)
2018	$	0.9
2019	0.9
2020	0.9
2021	0.8
2022	0.8
Thereafter	4.6
Total	$	8.9

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, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016
Current assets	$	426	$	375
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,882		2,025
Other noncurrent assets	137		125
Total assets	$	2,445	$	2,525

Current liabilities	$	1,214	$	1,269
Mortgages and other long-term debt payable	486		486
Other noncurrent liabilities	56		54
Total liabilities	$	1,756	$	1,809

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
Guarantee of customer loans for the Farm Rewiring Program^(a)	$	1.0	$	—	2020	^(b)


^(a)	The term of this guarantee expires in 2020, which is the final scheduled repayment date for the loans. As of Dec. 31, 2017, no claims had been made by the lender.


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

Asset Retirement Obligations

A reconciliation of NSP-Wisconsin’s AROs for the years ended Dec. 31, 2017 and 2016 is as follows:



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2017		Liabilities Recognized			Accretion		Cash Flow Revisions			Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2017 ^(a)
Electric plant
Steam production asbestos	$	2,194	$	949	^(b)	$	50	$	—		$	3,193
Steam production ash containment	452		—			15		—			467
Electric distribution	32		—			3		—			35
Other	376		—			12		—			388
Natural gas plant
Gas distribution	8,293		—			339		1,661		^(c)	10,293
Common and other property
Common miscellaneous	45		—			2		—			47
Total liability ^(d)	$	11,392	$	949		$	421	$	1,661		$	14,423


^(a)	There were no ARO liabilities settled during the year ended Dec. 31, 2017.


^(b)	The liability recognized relates to asbestos at the French Island plant.


^(c)	Changes in the gas distribution ARO are mainly related to increased labor costs.


^(d)	Included in other long-term liabilities balance in the consolidated balance sheet.



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2016		Liabilities Settled			Accretion		Cash Flow Revisions			Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2016 ^(a)
Electric plant
Steam production asbestos	$	2,145	$	—		$	49	$	—		$	2,194
Steam production ash containment	617		—			18		(183		)	452
Electric distribution	72		—			3		(43		)	32
Other	391		(29		)	14		—			376
Natural gas plant
Gas distribution	6,367		—			256		1,670			8,293
Common and other property
Common miscellaneous	95		—			2		(52		)	45
Total liability ^(b)	$	9,687	$	(29	)	$	342	$	1,392		$	11,392


^(a)	There were no ARO liabilities recognized during the year ended Dec. 31, 2016.


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

- 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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