(8) Long-Term Debt:

The activity in our long-term debt from December 31, 2012 to June 30, 2013 is summarized as follows:

			Six months ended
			June 30, 2013						Interest
									Rate at
		December 31,		Payments		New		June 30,	June 30,
($ in thousands)		2012		and Retirements		Borrowings		2013	2013 *

Senior Unsecured Debt	$	8,919,696	$	(1,533,880)	$	750,000	$	8,135,816	7.96%

Industrial Development
Revenue Bonds		13,550		-		-		13,550	6.33%

Rural Utilities Service
Loan Contracts		9,322		(194)		-		9,128	6.15%

TOTAL LONG-TERM DEBT	$	8,942,568	$	(1,534,074)	$	750,000	$	8,158,494	7.95%

Less: Debt (Discount)/Premium		(71)						333
Less: Current Portion		(560,550)						(257,905)

	$	8,381,947					$	7,900,922

* Interest rate includes amortization of debt issuance costs and debt premiums or discounts. The interest rates at June 30, 2013 represent a weighted average of multiple issuances.

Additional information regarding our Senior Unsecured Debt is as follows:

($ in thousands)	June 30, 2013			December 31, 2012
		Principal	Interest		Principal	Interest
		Outstanding	Rate		Outstanding	Rate

Senior Notes and Debentures Due:
1/15/2013	$	-	-	$	502,658	6.250%
5/1/2014		200,000	8.250%		200,000	8.250%
3/15/2015		105,026	6.625%		300,000	6.625%
4/15/2015		96,872	7.875%		374,803	7.875%
10/14/2016 *		488,750	3.075% (Variable)		517,500	3.095% (Variable)
4/15/2017		606,874	8.250%		1,040,685	8.250%
10/1/2018		582,739	8.125%		600,000	8.125%
3/15/2019		434,000	7.125%		434,000	7.125%
4/15/2020		1,021,505	8.500%		1,100,000	8.500%
7/1/2021		500,000	9.250%		500,000	9.250%
4/15/2022		500,000	8.750%		500,000	8.750%
1/15/2023		850,000	7.125%		850,000	7.125%
4/15/2024		750,000	7.625%		-	-
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%
		7,885,816			8,669,696

Subsidiary Senior Notes and Debentures Due:
2/15/2028		200,000	6.730%		200,000	6.730%
10/15/2029		50,000	8.400%		50,000	8.400%

Total	$	8,135,816	7.77% **	$	8,919,696	7.69% **

* Represents borrowings under the Credit Agreement with CoBank.

** Interest rate represents a weighted average of the stated interest rates of multiple issuances.

On April 10, 2013, the Company completed a registered debt offering of $750.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% senior unsecured notes due 2024, issued at a price of 100% of their principal amount. We received net proceeds of $736.9 million from the offering after deducting underwriting fees. The Company used the net proceeds from the sale of the notes, together with cash on hand, to finance the cash tender offers discussed below.

On April 10, 2013, the Company accepted for purchase $471.3 million aggregate principal amount of its senior notes tendered for total consideration of $532.4 million, consisting of $194.2 million aggregate principal amount of the 6.625% senior notes due 2015 (the March 2015 Notes), tendered for total consideration of $216.0 million, and $277.1 million aggregate principal amount of the 7.875% senior notes due 2015 (the April 2015 Notes), tendered for total consideration of $316.4 million. On April 24, 2013, the Company accepted for purchase $0.7 million aggregate principal amount of the March 2015 Notes, tendered for total consideration of $0.8 million, $0.8 million of the April 2015 Notes, tendered for total consideration of $0.9 million, and $225.0 million aggregate principal amount of the 8.250% senior notes due 2017 (the 2017 Notes), tendered for total consideration of $267.7 million. The repurchases in the debt tender offers for the senior notes resulted in a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of approximately $104.9 million, ($64.9 million or $0.06 per share after tax), which was recognized in the second quarter of 2013.

Additionally, during the second quarter of 2013, the Company repurchased $208.8 million of the 2017 Notes in a privately negotiated transaction, along with $17.3 million of its 8.125% senior notes due 2018 and $78.5 million of its 8.500% senior notes due 2020 in open market repurchases. These transactions resulted in a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $54.9 million ($34.0 million or $0.04 per share after tax), which was recognized in the second quarter of 2013.

The Company has a credit agreement with CoBank, ACB, as administrative agent, lead arranger and a lender, and the other lenders party thereto, for a $575.0 million senior unsecured term loan with a final maturity of October 14, 2016 (the Credit Agreement). The entire loan was drawn upon execution of the Credit Agreement in October 2011. Repayment of the outstanding principal balance is made in quarterly installments in the amount of $14.4 million, which commenced on March 31, 2012, with the remaining outstanding principal balance to be repaid on the final maturity date. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement bear interest based on the margins over the Base Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement) or LIBOR, at the election of the Company. Interest rate margins under the facility (ranging from 0.875% to 2.875% for Base Rate borrowings and 1.875% to 3.875% for LIBOR borrowings) are subject to adjustments based on the Total Leverage Ratio of the Company, as such term is defined in the Credit Agreement. The current pricing on this facility is LIBOR plus 2.875%. The maximum permitted leverage ratio is 4.5 times.

On May 3, 2013, the Company entered into a new $750.0 million revolving credit facility (the Revolving Credit Facility) and terminated the Company’s previously existing revolving credit facility. As of June 30, 2013, no borrowings had been made under the Revolving Credit Facility. The terms of the Revolving Credit Facility are set forth in the credit agreement, dated as of May 3, 2013, among the Company, the Lenders party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent and the joint lead arrangers, joint bookrunners, syndication agent and joint documentation agents named therein (the Revolving Credit Agreement). Associated commitment fees under the Revolving Credit Facility will vary from time to time depending on the Company’s debt rating (as defined in the Revolving Credit Agreement) and were 0.400% per annum as of June 30, 2013. The Revolving Credit Facility is scheduled to terminate on November 3, 2016. During the term of the Revolving Credit Facility, the Company may borrow, repay and reborrow funds, and may obtain letters of credit, subject to customary borrowing conditions. Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest based on the alternate base rate or the adjusted LIBO rate (each as determined in the Revolving Revolving Credit Agreement), at the Company’s election, plus a margin specified in the Revolving Credit Agreement based on the Company’s debt rating. Letters of credit issued under the Revolving Credit Facility will also be subject to fees that vary depending on the Company’s debt rating. The Revolving Credit Facility is available for general corporate purposes but may not be used to fund dividend payments.

We also have a $20.0 million unsecured letter of credit facility, as amended. The terms of the letter of credit facility are set forth in a Credit Agreement, dated as of September 8, 2010, among the Company, the Lenders party thereto, and Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch (the Bank), as Administrative Agent and Issuing Bank (the Letter of Credit Agreement). An initial letter of credit for $190.0 million was issued to the West Virginia Public Service Commission to guarantee certain of our capital investment commitments in West Virginia in connection with the Transaction. The initial commitments under the Letter of Credit Agreement expired in September 2011, with the Bank exercising its option to extend $100.0 million of the commitments to September 2012. In September 2012, the Company entered into an amendment to the Letter of Credit Agreement to extend $40 million of the commitments. Two letters of credit, one for $20 million that expired in March 2013, and the other for $20 million expiring in September 2013, were issued in September 2012. The Company is required to pay an annual facility fee on the available commitment, regardless of usage. The covenants binding on the Company under the terms of the amended Letter of Credit Agreement are substantially similar to those in the Company’s other credit facilities, including limitations on liens, substantial asset sales and mergers, subject to customary exceptions and thresholds.

As of June 30, 2013, we were in compliance with all of our debt and credit facility financial covenants.

Our principal payments for the next five years are as follows as of June 30, 2013:

		Principal
($ in thousands)		Payments

2013 (remaining six months)	$	28,948
2014	$	257,916
2015	$	259,840
2016	$	345,466
2017	$	607,375
2018	$	583,273