Employee Benefits

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Employee Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Benefits

Note 10 - Employee Benefits

Questar has defined-benefit pension and life insurance plans covering a majority of its employees. On July 1, 2010, Questar closed its defined-benefit pension plan to new hires or rehires. The Company previously closed its postretirement medical coverage and life insurance plan to employees hired or rehired after January 1, 1997, and established maximum amounts paid by the Company.

Questar is subject to and complies with minimum-required and maximum-allowed annual contribution levels for its qualified pension plan as determined by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and Internal Revenue Code. The 2011 estimated qualified pension expense is $22.8 million.

The Company also has a nonqualified pension plan for eligible employees who participate in the qualified pension plan, which provides a "make-up" benefit due to the limits on compensation that can be taken into account in determining benefits under the qualified pension plan. The nonqualified pension plan is unfunded. Claims are paid from the Company general funds. The 2011 nonqualified pension plan expense is estimated to be $0.8 million. Components of the qualified and nonqualified pension expense included in the determination of net income are listed in the table below. The 2010 amounts have not been recast for the Spinoff of QEP.

	3 Months Ended June 30,		6 Months Ended June 30,		12 Months Ended June 30,
	2011	2010	2011	2010	2011	2010
	(in millions)
Service cost	$2.2	$2.5	$  4.4	$  4.9	$  8.8	$  9.8
Interest cost	7.1	7.9	14.2	15.8	27.1	31.1
Expected return on plan assets	(6.3)	(6.4)	(12.6)	(12.8)	(24.2)	(25.4)
Prior service and other costs	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.6	1.1	1.2
Recognized net-actuarial loss	2.6	1.7	5.2	3.5	9.9	7.2
Curtailment costs	-	0.1	-	0.3	2.1	(0.3)
Special-termination benefits	-	-	-	-	-	2.0
Pension expense	$5.9	$6.1	$11.8	$12.3	$24.8	$25.6

The Company currently estimates a $4.8 million expense for postretirement benefits other than pensions in 2011 before $0.8 million for accretion of a regulatory liability. Postretirement benefit expense components are listed in the table below. The 2010 amounts have not been recast for the Spinoff of QEP.

	3 Months Ended June 30,		6 Months Ended June 30,		12 Months Ended June 30,
	2011	2010	2011	2010	2011	2010
	(in millions)
Service cost	$0.1	$0.1	$0.3	$0.3	$0.6	$0.6
Interest cost	1.1	1.2	2.2	2.4	4.2	4.6
Expected return on plan assets	(0.6)	(0.6)	(1.3)	(1.1)	(2.6)	(2.2)
Amortization of transition obligation	0.4	0.4	0.9	0.9	1.9	1.9
Amortization of losses	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.8
Curtailment costs	-	-	-	-	0.3	-
Accretion of regulatory liability	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.8
Postretirement benefits expense	$1.4	$1.5	$2.8	$3.3	$5.7	$6.5