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Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments [Abstract] 
Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments
7.
Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments

Commercial Paper - PSCo meets its short-term liquidity requirements primarily through the issuance of commercial paper and borrowings under its credit facility. The following table presents commercial paper outstanding for PSCo:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
Three Months Ended
Sept. 30, 2011
 
Twelve Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2010
 
Borrowing limit
 $700 $675 
Amount outstanding at period end
  -  269 
Average amount outstanding
  62  49 
Maximum amount outstanding
  204  275 
Weighted average interest rate, computed on a daily basis
  0.35% 0.37%
Weighted average interest rate at period end
  N/A  0.42 

Credit Facilities - In order to use its commercial paper program to fulfill short-term funding needs, PSCo must have a revolving credit facility in place at least equal to the amount of its commercial paper borrowing limit and cannot issue commercial paper in an aggregate amount exceeding available capacity under the credit agreement.

During March of 2011, PSCo executed a new four-year credit agreement. The total size of the credit facility is $700 million and terminates in March 2015. PSCo has the right to request an extension of the revolving termination date for two additional one-year periods, subject to majority bank group approval.
 
The line of credit provides short-term financing in the form of notes payable to banks, letters of credit and back-up support for commercial paper borrowings. Other features of PSCo's credit facility include:

 
·
The credit facility may be increased by up to $100 million.
 
·
The credit facility has a financial covenant requiring that PSCo's debt-to-total capitalization ratio be less than or equal to 65 percent. PSCo was in compliance as its debt-to-total capitalization ratio was 45 percent at Sept. 30, 2011. If PSCo does not comply with the covenant, an event of default may be declared, and if not remedied, any outstanding amounts due under the facility can be declared due by the lender.
 
·
The credit facility has a cross-default provision that provides PSCo will be in default on its borrowings under the facility if PSCo or any of its subsidiaries whose total assets exceed 15 percent of PSCo's consolidated total assets, default on certain indebtedness in an aggregate principal amount exceeding $75 million.
 
·
The interest rates under the line of credit are based on the Eurodollar rate or an alternate base rate, plus a borrowing margin of 0 to 200 basis points per year based on the applicable credit ratings.
 
·
The commitment fees, also based on applicable long-term credit ratings, are calculated on the unused portion of the line of credit at a range of 10 to 35 basis points per year.

At Sept. 30, 2011, PSCo had the following committed credit facility available (in millions of dollars):

Credit Facility
  
Drawn (a)
  
Available
 
$700.0  $4.8  $695.2 

(a)
Includes outstanding letters of credit.

All credit facility bank borrowings, outstanding letters of credit and outstanding commercial paper reduce the available capacity under the credit facility. PSCo had no direct advances on the credit facility outstanding at Sept. 30, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2010.

Letters of Credit - PSCo uses letters of credit, generally with terms of one-year, to provide financial guarantees for certain operating obligations. At Sept. 30, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2010, there were $4.8 million and $4.7 million of letters of credit outstanding, respectively. The contract amounts of these letters of credit approximate their fair value and are subject to fees determined in the marketplace.

Money Pool - Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries have established a money pool arrangement that allows for short-term investments in and borrowings between the utility subsidiaries. Xcel Energy Inc. may make investments in the utility subsidiaries at market-based interest rates; however, the money pool arrangement does not allow the utility subsidiaries to make investments in Xcel Energy Inc.

The following table presents the money pool borrowings for PSCo:

(Millions of Dollars)
 
Three Months Ended
Sept. 30, 2011
 
Twelve Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2010
 
Borrowing limit
 $250 $250 
Amount outstanding at period end
  -  - 
Average amount outstanding
  1  8 
Maximum amount outstanding
  20  84 
Weighted average interest rate, computed on a daily basis
  0.35% 0.33%
Weighted average interest rate at period end
  N/A  N/A 

Long-Term Borrowings

In August 2011, PSCo issued $250 million of 4.75 percent first mortgage bonds due Aug. 15, 2041. PSCo used a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the first mortgage bonds to repay short-term debt borrowings incurred to fund daily operational needs. The balance of the net proceeds was used for general corporate purposes.