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Financing Activities
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Financing Activities [Abstract]  
Financing Activities

7. Financing Activities

 

Credit Arrangements and Short-term Debt

 

(PPL, PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU)

 

The Registrants maintain credit facilities to enhance liquidity and provide credit support, and as a backstop to commercial paper programs, when necessary. The following credit facilities were in place at:

       March 31, 2012 December 31, 2011
                Letters of      Letters of
                Credit Issued       Credit Issued
                and       and
                Commercial       Commercial
       Expiration    Borrowed Paper Unused Borrowed Paper
        Date Capacity (a) Backstop Capacity (a) Backstop
PPL                    
 WPD Credit Facilities                    
  PPL WW Syndicated                    
   Credit Facility (b) Jan. 2013 £ 150 £ 110  n/a £ 40 £ 111  n/a
  WPD (South West)                     
   Syndicated Credit Facility (c) Jan. 2017   245     n/a   245     n/a
  WPD (East Midlands)                     
   Syndicated Credit Facility  Apr. 2016   300    £ 70   230    £ 70
  WPD (West Midlands)                    
   Syndicated Credit Facility  Apr. 2016   300      71   229      71
  Uncommitted Credit Facilities     73      3   70      3
   Total WPD Credit Facilities (d)   £ 1,068 £ 110 £ 144 £ 814 £ 111 £ 144
                           
PPL Energy Supply (e)                    
 Syndicated Credit Facility Oct. 2016 $ 3,000    $ 634 $ 2,366    $ 541
 Letter of Credit Facility Mar. 2013   200  n/a   144   56  n/a   89
   Total PPL Energy Supply                    
    Credit Facilities   $ 3,200    $ 778 $ 2,422    $ 630
                           
PPL Electric (e)                    
 Syndicated Credit Facility (f) Oct. 2016 $ 200    $ 1 $ 199    $ 1
 Asset-backed Credit Facility (g) July 2012   150     n/a   150     n/a
   Total PPL Electric Credit Facilities   $ 350    $ 1 $ 349    $ 1
                           
LG&E (e) (h)                    
 Syndicated Credit Facility  Oct. 2016 $ 400       $ 400      
                           
KU (e) (h)                    
 Syndicated Credit Facility  Oct. 2016 $ 400       $ 400      
 Letter of Credit Facility  Apr. 2014   198  n/a $ 198     n/a $ 198
   Total KU Credit Facilities   $ 598    $ 198 $ 400    $ 198

(a)       Amounts borrowed are recorded as "Short-term debt" on the Balance Sheets.

 

(b)       The borrowing outstanding at March 31, 2012 was a USD-denominated borrowing of $174 million, which equated to £110 million at the time of borrowing and bore interest at approximately 1.458%.

 

(c)       In January 2012, WPD (South West) entered into a new £245 million 5-year syndicated credit facility to replace its existing £210 million 3-year syndicated credit facility that was set to expire in July 2012. Under the facility, WPD (South West) has the ability to make cash borrowings but cannot request the lenders to issue letters of credit. WPD (South West) pays customary commitment fees under this facility and borrowings bear interest at LIBOR-based rates plus a margin. The credit facility contains financial covenants that require WPD (South West) to maintain an interest coverage ratio of not less than 3.0 times consolidated earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization and total net debt not in excess of 85% of its RAV, in each case calculated in accordance with the credit facility.

 

(d)       At March 31, 2012, the unused capacity of the WPD credit facilities was approximately $1.3 billion.

 

(e)       All credit facilities at PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric, LG&E and KU also apply to PPL on a consolidated basis for financial reporting purposes.

 

(f)       In April 2012, PPL Electric increased the capacity of its syndicated credit facility to $300 million.

 

(g)       PPL Electric participates in an asset-backed commercial paper program through which PPL Electric obtains financing by selling and contributing its eligible accounts receivable and unbilled revenue to a special purpose, wholly owned subsidiary on an ongoing basis. The subsidiary has pledged these assets to secure loans from a commercial paper conduit sponsored by a financial institution.

 

       At March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, $260 million and $251 million of accounts receivable and $75 million and $98 million of unbilled revenue were pledged by the subsidiary under the credit agreement related to PPL Electric's and the subsidiary's participation in the asset-backed commercial paper program. Based on the accounts receivable and unbilled revenue pledged at March 31, 2012, the amount available for borrowing under the facility was limited to $82 million. PPL Electric's sale to its subsidiary of the accounts receivable and unbilled revenue is an absolute sale of assets, and PPL Electric does not retain an interest in these assets. However, for financial reporting purposes, the subsidiary's financial results are consolidated in PPL Electric's financial statements. PPL Electric performs certain record-keeping and cash collection functions with respect to the assets in return for a servicing fee from the subsidiary.

 

(h)       All credit facilities at LG&E and KU also apply to LKE on a consolidated basis for financial reporting purposes.

 

(PPL and PPL Energy Supply)

 

PPL Energy Supply maintains a $500 million Facility Agreement expiring June 2017, whereby PPL Energy Supply has the ability to request up to $500 million of committed letter of credit capacity at fees to be agreed upon at the time of each request, based on certain market conditions. At March 31, 2012, PPL Energy Supply has not requested any capacity for the issuance of letters of credit under this arrangement.

 

PPL Energy Supply, PPL EnergyPlus, PPL Montour and PPL Brunner Island maintain an $800 million secured energy marketing and trading facility, whereby PPL EnergyPlus will receive credit to be applied to satisfy collateral posting obligations related to its energy marketing and trading activities with counterparties participating in the facility. The credit amount is guaranteed by PPL Energy Supply, PPL Montour and PPL Brunner Island. PPL Montour and PPL Brunner Island have granted liens on their respective generating facilities to secure any amount they may owe under their guarantees. The facility expires in November 2015, but is subject to automatic one-year renewals under certain conditions. There were no secured obligations outstanding under this facility at March 31, 2012.

 

In April 2012, PPL Energy Supply increased the capacity of its commercial paper program from $500 million to $750 million to provide an additional financing source to fund its short-term liquidity needs, if and when necessary. Commercial paper issuances are supported by PPL Energy Supply's Syndicated Credit Facility. At March 31, 2012, PPL Energy Supply had $500 million of commercial paper outstanding, included in "Short-term debt" on the Balance Sheet, at a weighted-average interest rate of approximately 0.47%.

       

(PPL and PPL Electric)

 

PPL Electric maintains a commercial paper program for up to $200 million to provide an additional financing source to fund its short-term liquidity needs, if and when necessary. Commercial paper issuances are supported by PPL Electric's Syndicated Credit Facility. PPL Electric had no commercial paper outstanding at March 31, 2012.

 

(PPL, LKE, LG&E and KU)

 

In February 2012, LG&E and KU each established a commercial paper program for up to $250 million to provide an additional financing source to fund their short-term liquidity needs. Commercial paper issuances will be supported by LG&E and KU's Syndicated Credit Facilities. LG&E and KU had no commercial paper outstanding at March 31, 2012.

 

(PPL Energy Supply, LKE, LG&E and KU)

 

See Note 11 for discussion of intercompany borrowings.

 

Long-term Debt and Equity Securities

 

(PPL)

 

In April 2012, PPL made a registered underwritten public offering of 9.9 million shares of its common stock. In conjunction with that offering, the underwriters exercised an option to purchase an additional 590,880 shares of PPL common stock solely to cover over-allotments.

 

In connection with the registered public offering, PPL entered into forward sale agreements with two counterparties covering the 9.9 million shares of PPL's common stock. Settlement of these initial forward sale agreements will occur no later than April 2013. As a result of the underwriters' exercise of the overallotment option, PPL entered into additional forward sale agreements covering the additional 590,880 shares of common stock. Settlement of the subsequent forward sale agreements will occur in July 2013. Upon any physical settlement of any forward sale agreement, PPL will issue and deliver to the forward counterparties shares of its common stock in exchange for cash proceeds per share equal to the forward sale price. The forward sale price will be calculated based on an initial forward price of $27.02 per share reduced during the period the contracts are outstanding as specified in the forward sale agreements. PPL may, in certain circumstances, elect cash settlement or net share settlement for all or a portion of its rights or obligations under the forward sale agreements.

 

PPL will not receive any proceeds or issue any shares of common stock until settlement of the forward sale agreements. PPL intends to use any net proceeds that it receives upon settlement to repay short-term debt obligations and for other general corporate purposes.

 

The forward sale agreements will be classified as equity transactions. As a result, no amounts will be recorded in the consolidated financial statements until the settlement of the forward sale agreements. Prior to those settlements, the only impact to the financial statements will be the inclusion of incremental shares within the calculation of diluted EPS using the treasury stock method.

 

Also in April 2012, WPD (East Midlands) issued £100 million aggregate principal amount of 5.25% Senior Notes due 2023. WPD (East Midlands) received proceeds of approximately £111 million, which equated to $178 million at the time of issuance, net of underwriting fees. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

 

(PPL and PPL Energy Supply)

 

In April 2012, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Energy Supply completed the Ironwood Acquisition. See Note 8 for information on the transaction and the debt of PPL Ironwood, LLC assumed through consolidation as part of the acquisition.

 

(PPL and PPL Electric)

 

In April 2012, PPL Electric gave notice that it had elected to redeem all 2.5 million shares of its 6.25% Series Preference Stock, par value $100 per share, on June 18, 2012. The price to be paid for the redemption is the par value, without premium ($250 million in the aggregate). The Preference Stock is reflected on PPL's Balance Sheets in "Noncontrolling Interests" and in "Preferred Securities" on PPL Electric's Balance Sheets at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

 

(PPL and LKE)

 

In April 2012, LKE filed a Form S-4 Registration Statement with the SEC, as required by a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the issuance of senior notes in September 2011 in a transaction not registered under the Securities Act of 1933. The Form S-4 relates to an offer to exchange the senior notes issued in September 2011, with similar but registered securities. See Note 7 in PPL's and LKE's 2011 Form 10-K for additional information.

 

Legal Separateness

 

(PPL, PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE)

 

The subsidiaries of PPL are separate legal entities. PPL's subsidiaries are not liable for the debts of PPL. Accordingly, creditors of PPL may not satisfy their debts from the assets of PPL's subsidiaries absent a specific contractual undertaking by a subsidiary to pay PPL's creditors or as required by applicable law or regulation. Similarly, absent a specific contractual undertaking or as required by applicable law or regulation, PPL is not liable for the debts of its subsidiaries, nor are its subsidiaries liable for the debts of one another. Accordingly, creditors of PPL's subsidiaries may not satisfy their debts from the assets of PPL or its other subsidiaries absent a specific contractual undertaking by PPL or its other subsidiaries to pay the creditors or as required by applicable law or regulation.

 

Similarly, the subsidiaries of PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE are each separate legal entities. These subsidiaries are not liable for the debts of PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE. Accordingly, creditors of PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE may not satisfy their debts from the assets of their subsidiaries absent a specific contractual undertaking by a subsidiary to pay the creditors or as required by applicable law or regulation. Similarly, absent a specific contractual undertaking or as required by applicable law or regulation, PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE are not liable for the debts of their subsidiaries, nor are their subsidiaries liable for the debts of one another. Accordingly, creditors of these subsidiaries may not satisfy their debts from the assets of PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric and LKE (or their other subsidiaries) absent a specific contractual undertaking by that parent or other subsidiary to pay such creditors or as required by applicable law or regulation.

 

Distributions and Capital Contributions

 

(PPL)

 

In February 2012, PPL declared its quarterly common stock dividend, payable April 2, 2012, at 36.0 cents per share (equivalent to $1.44 per annum). Future dividends, declared at the discretion of the Board of Directors, will be dependent upon future earnings, cash flows, financial and legal requirements and other factors.

 

(PPL Energy Supply, PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU)

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the following distributions occurred:

    PPL Energy            
    Supply PPL Electric LKE LG&E KU
                  
Dividends/distributions paid to parent/member $ 557 $ 35 $ 25 $ 15 $ 24

(PPL, LKE, LG&E and KU)

 

In February 2012, LG&E and KU filed an application with the FERC seeking authorization to pay dividends in the future based on earnings reinvested balances, which would be calculated ignoring the impact of the accounting for the acquisition by PPL. If approved, as of March 31, 2012, this would increase the balance available for dividends from LG&E by $809 million and KU by $1.4 billion. LG&E and KU do not anticipate changing their dividend practices as a result of the filing.