Fair Value of Financial Instruments:

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The estimated fair values of our financial instruments, excluding derivatives which are presented in Note 11, were as follows (in thousands) as of:



	March 31, 2019				December 31, 2018				March 31, 2018
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Cash and cash equivalents ^(a)	$	12,225	$	12,225	$	20,776	$	20,776	$	30,947	$	30,947
Restricted cash ^(a)	$	3,494	$	3,494	$	3,369	$	3,369	$	2,958	$	2,958
Notes payable ^(b)	$	164,650	$	164,650	$	185,620	$	185,620	$	164,200	$	164,200
Long-term debt, including current maturities ^{(c) (d)}	$	2,956,042	$	3,137,538	$	2,956,578	$	3,039,108	$	3,114,530	$	3,265,965

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(a)	Carrying value approximates fair value due to either the short-term length of maturity or variable interest rates that approximate prevailing market rates, and therefore is classified in Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.


(b)	Notes payable consist of commercial paper borrowings and borrowings on our Revolving Credit Facility. Carrying value approximates fair value due to the short-term length of maturity; since these borrowings are not traded on an exchange, they are classified in Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.


(c)	Long-term debt is valued based on observable inputs available either directly or indirectly for similar liabilities in active markets and therefore is classified in Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

(d)

Carrying amount of long-term debt is net of deferred financing costs.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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