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ACQUISITION OF FOX ENERGY CENTER
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
ACQUISITION OF FOX ENERGY CENTER
Proposed Merger of Parent Company with Wisconsin Energy Corporation

In June 2014, our parent company, Integrys Energy Group, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Wisconsin Energy Corporation (Wisconsin Energy). This transaction was approved unanimously by the Boards of Directors of both companies. It was also approved by the shareholders of both companies. On October 24, 2014, the Department of Justice closed its review of the transaction and the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The transaction is still subject to approvals from the FERC, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), PSCW, and other regulatory commissions, as well as other customary closing conditions. In the MPSC approval docket, we and our parent are parties to a contested settlement agreement with the MPSC staff and all but one of the parties, under which the settling parties agree that the MPSC should grant approval of the merger contingent on additional transactions, including the sale of the Presque Isle facility currently owned by Wisconsin Energy, as well as our and Wisconsin Energy's Michigan electric distribution assets, to UPPCO. The asset sales require additional approvals, including the MPSC, PSCW, FERC, FCC, and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, as well as the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. We expect the merger transaction to close in the second half of 2015.

Acquisition of Fox Energy Center

In March 2013, we acquired all of the equity interests in Fox Energy Company LLC for $391.6 million. Fox Energy Company LLC was dissolved immediately after the purchase.

The purchase included the Fox Energy Center, a 593-megawatt combined-cycle electric generating facility located in Wisconsin, along with associated contracts. Fox Energy Center is a dual-fuel facility, equipped to use fuel oil, but being run primarily on natural gas. This plant gives us a more balanced mix of owned electric generation, including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and other renewable sources. In giving its approval for the purchase, the PSCW stated that the purchase price was reasonable and will benefit ratepayers.

The purchase price was allocated based on the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition, as follows:
(Millions)
 
 
Assets acquired (1)
 
 
Inventories - materials and supplies
 
$
3.0

Other current assets
 
0.4

Property, plant, and equipment
 
374.4

Other long-term assets (2)
 
15.6

Total assets acquired
 
$
393.4

 
 
 
Liabilities assumed
 
 
Accounts payable
 
$
1.8

Total liabilities assumed
 
$
1.8


(1) 
Relates to the electric utility segment.

(2) 
Intangible assets recorded for contractual services agreements. See Note 9, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, for more information.

Prior to the purchase, we supplied natural gas for the facility and purchased 500 megawatts of capacity and the associated energy output under a tolling arrangement. We paid $50.0 million for the early termination of the tolling arrangement. This amount was recorded as a regulatory asset, as we are authorized recovery by the PSCW. The amount is being amortized over a nine-year period that began on January 1, 2014.

We received regulatory approval to defer incremental costs incurred in 2013 associated with the purchase of the facility. These costs are included in our 2015 proposed retail electric rate increase. See Note 22, Regulatory Environment, for more information. Our rate order effective January 1, 2014, included the costs of owning and operating the Fox Energy Center.

Pro forma adjustments to our revenues and earnings prior to the date of acquisition would not be meaningful or material. Prior to the acquisition, the Fox Energy Center was a nonregulated plant and sold all of its output to third parties, with most of the output purchased by us. The plant is now part of our regulated fleet, used to serve our customers.