Long-Term Debt (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Long-Term Debt [Abstract]

Long-Term Debt

The activity in our long-term debt from December 31, 2011 to September 30, 2012 is summarized as follows:

				Nine months ended
				September 30, 2012								Interest
												Rate* at
	December 31,						New		September 30,			September 30,
($ in thousands)	2011			Payments			Borrowings		2012			2012
Senior Unsecured Debt	$	8,325,774		$	(570,691	)	$	1,100,000	$	8,855,083			7.88	%
Industrial Development
Revenue Bonds		13,550			-			-		13,550			6.33	%
Rural Utilities Service
Loan Contracts		10,197			(781	)		-		9,416			6.15	%
TOTAL LONG-TERM DEBT	$	8,349,521		$	(571,472	)	$	1,100,000	$	8,878,049			7.87	%
Less: Debt Discount		(49,664	)							(23,905	)
Less: Current Portion		(94,016	)							(596,545	)
	$	8,205,841							$	8,257,599

* Interest rate includes amortization of debt issuance costs and debt premiums or discounts. The interest rates at September 30, 2012 represent a weighted average of multiple issuances.

Senior Unsecured Debt

Additional information regarding our Senior Unsecured Debt is as follows:

($ in thousands)	September 30, 2012			December 31, 2011
		Principal	Interest		Principal	Interest
		Outstanding	Rate		Outstanding	Rate
Senior Notes and Debentures Due:
1/15/2013	$	502,658	6.250%	$	580,724	6.250%
5/1/2014		200,000	8.250%		600,000	8.250%
3/15/2015		300,000	6.625%		300,000	6.625%
4/15/2015 *		450,500	7.875%		500,000	7.875%
10/14/2016 **		531,875	3.095% (Variable)		575,000	3.175% (Variable)
4/15/2017 *		1,100,000	8.250%		1,100,000	8.250%
10/1/2018		600,000	8.125%		600,000	8.125%
3/15/2019		434,000	7.125%		434,000	7.125%
4/15/2020		1,100,000	8.500%		1,100,000	8.500%
7/1/2021		500,000	9.250%		-	-
4/15/2022		500,000	8.750%		500,000	8.750%
1/15/2023 *		600,000	7.125%		-	-
11/1/2025		138,000	7.000%		138,000	7.000%
8/15/2026		1,739	6.800%		1,739	6.800%
1/15/2027		345,858	7.875%		345,858	7.875%
8/15/2031		945,325	9.000%		945,325	9.000%
10/1/2034		628	7.680%		628	7.680%
7/1/2035		125,000	7.450%		125,000	7.450%
10/1/2046		193,500	7.050%		193,500	7.050%
		8,569,083			8,039,774
Subsidiary Senior Notes and Debentures Due:
12/1/2012		36,000	8.050%		36,000	8.050%
2/15/2028		200,000	6.730%		200,000	6.730%
10/15/2029		50,000	8.400%		50,000	8.400%
Total	$	8,855,083	7.88%	$	8,325,774	7.93%

* See Note 18 – Subsequent Events.

** Represents borrowings under the Credit Agreement with CoBank.

Debt maturities by year

Our principal payments for the next five years are as follows as of September 30, 2012:

		Principal
($ in thousands)		Payments
2012 (remaining three months)	$	50,470
2013	$	560,550
2014	$	257,916
2015	$	808,442
2016	$	345,466
2017	$	1,100,501