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Sale of Lubbock Electric Distribution Assets	12 Months Ended
Sale of Lubbock Electric Distribution Assets	Dec. 31, 2012
Sale of Lubbock Electric Distribution Assets [Abstract]
Sale of Lubbock Electric Distribution Assets	16. Sale of Lubbock Electric Distribution Assets In November 2009, SPS entered into an asset purchase agreement with the city of Lubbock, Texas. This agreement had set forth that SPS would sell its electric distribution system assets within the city limits to Lubbock Power and Light (LP&L) for approximately $87 million. The sale and related transactions eliminate the inefficiencies of maintaining duplicate distribution systems, by both SPS and by the city-owned LP&L.