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Leases
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Leases [Abstract]  
Leases Leases:
As a lessee, we have a relatively small portfolio of leases with the most significant being our 60% undivided interest in Scherer Unit No. 2 and railcar leases for the transportation of coal. We also have various other leases of minimal value.
We classify our four Scherer Unit No. 2 leases as finance leases and our railcar leases as operating leases. We have made an accounting policy election not to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities that arise from short-term leases, leases having an initial term of 12 months or less, for any class of underlying asset. We recognize lease expense for short-term leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Lease expense recognized for our short-term leases during 2020 and 2019 was insignificant.
Finance Leases
Three of our Scherer Unit No. 2 finance leases have lease terms through December 31, 2027, and one lease extends through June 30, 2031. At the end of the leases, we can elect at our sole discretion to:
Renew the leases for a period of not less than one year and not more than five years at fair market value,
Purchase the undivided interest at fair market value, or
Redeliver the undivided interest to the lessors.
For rate-making purposes, we include the actual lease payments for our finance leases in our cost of service. The difference between lease payments and the aggregate of the amortization on the right-of-use asset and the interest on the finance lease obligation is recognized as a regulatory asset. Finance lease amortization is recorded in depreciation and amortization expense.
Operating Leases
Our railcar operating leases have terms that extend through March 16, 2024. At the end of the railcar operating leases, we can renew at terms mutually agreeable by us and the lessors, purchase the assets or return the assets to the lessors. We have an additional operating lease that has a term that extends through February 2042 with one renewal option for a 20-year term.
The exercise of renewal options for our finance and operating leases is at our sole discretion.
As all of our operating leases do not provide an implicit rate, we used our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the time new lease agreements are entered into or reassessed to determine the present value of lease payments.
For lease agreements entered into or reassessed after the adoption of the new leases standard, we combine lease and nonlease components.

Classification20202019
(dollars in thousands)
Right-of-Use Assets - Finance leases
   Right-of-use assets$302,732 $302,732 
   Less: Accumulated provision for depreciation(262,774)(257,504)
      Total finance lease assets$39,958 $45,228 
Lease liabilities - Finance leases
   Obligations under finance leases$68,876 $75,649 
   Long-term debt and finance leases due within one year6,773 6,081 
      Total finance lease liabilities$75,649 $81,730 

Classification20202019
(dollars in thousands)
Right-of-Use Assets - Operating leases
   Electric plant in service$3,283 $3,237 
      Total operating lease assets$3,283 $3,237 
Lease liabilities - Operating leases
   Capitalization - Other$2,388 $2,293 
   Other current liabilities990 1,252 
      Total operating lease liabilities$3,378 $3,545 
20202019
(dollars in thousands)
Lease CostClassification
Finance lease cost:
   Amortization of leased assetsDepreciation and amortization$5,376 $4,756 
   Interest on lease liabilitiesInterest expense$8,868 $9,488 
Operating lease costInventory(1) & production expense$1,305 $3,179 
      Total lease cost$15,549 $17,423 

(1)The majority of our operating lease costs relate to our railcar leases and such costs are added to the cost of our fossil-fuel inventories and are recognized in fuel expense as the inventories are consumed.

December 31, 2020December 31, 2019
Lease Term and Discount Rate
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years):
   Finance leases7.868.84
   Operating leases7.277.39
Weighted-average discount rate:
   Finance leases11.05 %11.05 %
   Operating leases4.63 %5.12 %


20202019
(dollars in thousands)
Other Information:
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
   Operating cash flows from finance leases$8,868 $9,488 
   Operating cash flows from operating leases$1,540 $3,710 
   Financing cash flows from finance leases$6,082 $5,461 
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities$1,227 $6,983 
Maturity analysis of our finance and operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2020 is as follows:
(dollars in thousands)
Year Ending December 31,Finance LeasesOperating LeasesTotal
2021$14,949 $1,119 $16,068 
202214,949 929 15,878 
202314,949 708 15,657 
202414,949 234 15,183 
202514,949 72 15,021 
Thereafter40,583 1,012 41,595 
   Total lease payments$115,328 $4,074 $119,402 
   Less: imputed interest(39,679)(696)(40,375)
Present value of lease liabilities$75,649 $3,378 $79,027 
As a lessor, we primarily lease office space to several tenants within our headquarters building. Several of these tenants are related parties. We account for all of these lease agreements as operating leases.
Lease income recognized during 2020 and 2019 was as follows:

20202019
Lease income$6,171 $6,071