Commitments:

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments:

Commitments:

9. Commitments:

a. Operating leases

    As of December 31, 2011, our estimated minimum rental commitments for our railcar leases for use at our coal-fired facilities over the next five years and thereafter are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,		(dollars in thousands)
2012	$	5,764
2013		5,764
2014		5,764
2015		4,432
2016		4,432
Thereafter		11,511

    The rental expenses for the railcar leases are added to the cost of the fossil inventories and are recognized in fuel expense. Rental expenses totaled $5,190,000 in 2011, $5,265,000 in 2010 and $5,230,000 in 2009.

b. Fuel

    To supply a portion of the fuel requirements to our generating units, Southern Nuclear on our behalf for nuclear fuel, and Georgia Power, on our behalf for coal, have entered into various long-term commitments for the procurement of coal and nuclear fuel. The contracts in most cases contain provision for price escalations, minimum purchase levels and other financial commitments. The value of the coal commitments is based on maximum coal prices and minimum volumes as provided in the contracts and does not include taxes, transportation or government impositions. For further discussion of total nuclear fuel expense, see Note 1h. As of December 31, 2011, our estimated minimum long-term commitments are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,		(dollars in thousands)
		Coal		Nuclear Fuel
2012	$	89,353	$	77,100
2013		77,605		50,100
2014		40,369		48,900
2015		–		30,600
2016		–		21,300
Thereafter		–		158,400