Debt and Credit Agreements	3 Months Ended
Debt and Credit Agreements	Mar. 31, 2012
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Debt and Credit Agreements	Debt and Credit Agreements 2012 Project Financings Broken Bow and Crofton Bluffs Effective March 30, 2012, EME completed through its subsidiaries, Broken Bow Wind, LLC and Crofton Bluffs Wind, LLC, two nonrecourse financings of its interests in the Broken Bow and Crofton Bluffs wind projects. The financings included construction loans totaling $79 million that are required to be converted to 15-year amortizing term loans by March 31, 2013, subject to meeting specified conditions, $13.1 million letter of credit facilities and $5.5 million working capital facilities. Interest under the construction and term loans will accrue at London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 2.875%, with the term loan rate increasing 0.125% after the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth years. Pursuant to the financing agreements, on April 2, 2012 and April 17, 2012, EME's subsidiaries entered into forward starting interest rate swap agreements at 0.8275% and 0.7825%, respectively, to hedge the majority of the variable interest rate debt beginning December 31, 2012 through December 31, 2013 and at 2.96% and 2.7475%, respectively, to hedge the majority of the variable interest rate debt beginning December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2027. Upon conversion to a term loan, distributions from such subsidiaries are subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of their financing agreements, including a 12-month historic debt service coverage ratio test as specified in the agreements of at least 1.20 to 1.00. As of March 31, 2012, no amounts were outstanding under the construction loans and letters of credit facilities. Capistrano Wind Partners agreed to acquire the Broken Bow I wind project and the Crofton Bluffs wind project for consideration expected to include $140 million from the same outside investors of the Capistrano Wind equity capital transaction upon the satisfaction of specified conditions, including commencement of commercial operation and conversion of project debt financing to term. 2012 Letter of Credit Facilities In February 2012, EME terminated its $564 million revolving credit facility and entered into $55 million bridge letter of credit facilities which expire June 8, 2012 and which are secured by cash collateral of at least equal to the issued amount. In the first quarter of 2012, EME also completed a $100 million letter of credit facility for EME's general corporate needs and for its projects, which expires on June 30, 2014. Letters of credit issued under this facility are secured by cash collateral at least equal to the issued amount. 2011 Project Financings Tapestry Wind In December 2011, EME completed through its subsidiary, Tapestry Wind, LLC, a nonrecourse financing of its interests in the Taloga, Buffalo Bear and Pinnacle wind projects. A total of $97 million of cash proceeds received from the $214 million 10-year partially amortizing term loan was deposited into an escrow account as of December 31, 2011. On February 22, 2012, a neighbor of the Pinnacle project filed a formal complaint with the West Virginia Public Service Commission requesting that the Commission order the project to shut down at night due to alleged noise emissions. The release of the loan proceeds in escrow is subject to resolution of the complaint or further due diligence from the lenders. EME expects the loan proceeds to be released in the second quarter of 2012. Standby Letters of Credit Letters of credit under EME's and its subsidiaries' credit facilities aggregated $179 million and were scheduled to expire as follows: $122 million in 2012, $29 million in 2013, $10 million in 2017, and $18 million in 2018. Standby letters of credit include $40 million issued in connection with the power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison Company, an affiliate of EME, under the Walnut Creek credit facility. Certain letters of credit are subject to automatic annual renewal provisions. At March 31, 2012, EME had $71 million in letters of credit which were supported by $74 million of cash collateral.

The entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants.

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