Regulatory Assets and Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

The components of regulatory assets shown on the consolidated balance sheets of PSCo at Dec. 31, 2016 and 2015 are:



(Thousands of Dollars)	See Note(s)	Remaining Amortization Period	Dec. 31, 2016				Dec. 31, 2015
Regulatory Assets			Current		Noncurrent		Current		Noncurrent
Pension and retiree medical obligations ^(a)	8	Various	$	27,270	$	568,258	$	29,260	$	497,973
Recoverable deferred taxes on AFUDC recorded in plant	1	Plant lives	—		151,022		—		144,953
Depreciation differences	1	Pending rate case	15,363		90,426		14,221		99,835
Net AROs^(b)	1, 12	Plant lives	—		78,050		—		62,948
Purchased power contract costs	12	Term of related contract	1,035		29,029		1,319		29,143
Conservation programs ^(c)	1, 11	One to two years	9,262		6,986		8,466		6,947
Losses on reacquired debt	4	Term of related debt	1,203		6,120		1,421		6,957
Contract valuation adjustments ^(d)	10	Term of related contract	3,444		6,082		9,376		9,526
Gas pipeline inspection costs	12	Two years	—		4,405		3,611		—
Property tax		Various	9,393		1,653		21,558		14,428
CACJA recovery rider		Less than one year	24,260		—		—		20,020
Other		Various	12,553		16,398		2,840		13,545
Total regulatory assets			$	103,783	$	958,429	$	92,072	$	906,275


^(a)	Includes $4.2 million and $4.4 million of regulatory assets related to the nonqualified pension plan, of which $0.4 million is included in the current asset at Dec. 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.


^(b)	Includes amounts recorded for future recovery of AROs.


^(c)	Includes costs for conservation programs, as well as incentives allowed in certain jurisdictions.


^(d)	Includes the fair value of certain long-term PPAs used to meet energy capacity requirements and valuation adjustments on natural gas commodity purchases.

The components of regulatory liabilities shown on the consolidated balance sheets of PSCo at Dec. 31, 2016 and 2015 are:



(Thousands of Dollars)	See Note(s)	Remaining Amortization Period	Dec. 31, 2016				Dec. 31, 2015
Regulatory Liabilities			Current		Noncurrent		Current		Noncurrent
Plant removal costs	1, 12	Plant lives	$	—	$	367,440	$	—	$	364,291
Renewable resources and environmental initiatives	11, 12	Various	3,600		67,728		3,311		40,988
Investment tax credit deferrals	1, 7	Various	—		18,797		—		20,515
Deferred income tax adjustment	1	Various	—		16,260		—		16,891
Gain from asset sales		Pending rate case	—		1,469		—		—
PSCo earnings test	11	One to two years	8,300		914		42,868		9,472
Deferred electric, natural gas and steam production costs	1	Less than one year	35,123		—		66,696		—
Conservation programs ^(a)	1, 11	Less than one year	24,077		—		33,460		—
Gas pipeline inspection costs	12	Less than one year	5,108		—		1,140		4,273
Low income discount program		Less than one year	881		—		1,393		—
Other		Various	24,021		40,325		3,955		14,991
Total regulatory liabilities ^(b)			$	101,110	$	512,933	$	152,823	$	471,421


^(a)	Includes costs for conservation programs, as well as incentives allowed in certain jurisdictions.


^(b)	Revenue subject to refund of $2.4 million and $9.1 million for 2016 and 2015, respectively, is included in other current liabilities.