4.	Income Taxes

Except to the extent noted below, the circumstances set forth in Note 6 to the financial statements included in SPS' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010 appropriately represent, in all material respects, the current status of other income tax matters, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Federal Audit - SPS is a member of the Xcel Energy affiliated group that files a consolidated federal income tax return. The statute of limitations applicable to Xcel Energy's 2006 federal income tax return expired in August 2010. The statute of limitations applicable to Xcel Energy's 2007 federal income tax return expires in September 2011. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commenced an examination of tax years 2008 and 2009 in the third quarter of 2010. As of June 30, 2011, the IRS had not proposed any material adjustments to tax years 2008 and 2009.

State Audits - SPS is a member of the Xcel Energy affiliated group that files consolidated state income tax returns. As of June 30, 2011, SPS' earliest open tax year that is subject to examination by state taxing authorities under applicable statutes of limitations is 2006. As of June 30, 2011, there were no state income tax audits in progress.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits - The unrecognized tax benefit balance includes permanent tax positions, which if recognized would affect the annual effective tax rate (ETR). In addition, the unrecognized tax benefit balance includes temporary tax positions for which the ultimate deductibility is highly certain but for which there is uncertainty about the timing of such deductibility. A change in the period of deductibility would not affect the ETR but would accelerate the payment of cash to the taxing authority to an earlier period.

A reconciliation of the amount of unrecognized tax benefit is as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)	June 30, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010
Unrecognized tax benefit - Permanent tax positions	$	0.2	$	0.2
Unrecognized tax benefit - Temporary tax positions		4.1		4.1
Unrecognized tax benefit balance	$	4.3	$	4.3

SPS' amount of unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change in the next 12 months as the IRS audit progresses and state audits resume. As the IRS examination moves closer to completion, it is reasonably possible that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits could decrease up to approximately $3 million.

The payable for interest related to unrecognized tax benefits is partially offset by the interest benefit associated with net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The payables for interest related to unrecognized tax benefits at June 30, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2010 were not material. No amounts were accrued for penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as of June 30, 2011 or Dec. 31, 2010.