Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The Company has agreements with affiliated companies to sell energy for resale, purchase power, provide fuel supply services, and provide power plant operation and maintenance services. The Company has agreements with certain DTE Energy affiliates where we charge them for their use of the shared capital assets of the Company. A shared services company accumulates various corporate support services expenses and charges various subsidiaries of DTE Energy, including DTE Electric. DTE Electric records federal, state and local income taxes payable to or receivable from DTE Energy based on its federal, state and local tax provisions.

The following is a summary of transactions with affiliated companies:

	2012		2011		2010
Revenues	(In millions)
Energy sales	$	2	$	1	$	1
Other services	11		4		7
Shared capital assets	26		30		29
Costs
Fuel and power purchases	5		1		4
Other services and interest	1		2		2
Corporate expenses (net)	322		304		294
Other
Dividends declared	317		305		305
Dividends paid	317		305		305

	December 31
	2012		2011
Assets	(In millions)
Accounts receivable	$	5	$	61
Income taxes receivable (included in other current assets)	—		48
Notes receivable	—		26
Liabilities
Accounts payable	52		67
Short-term borrowing	80		64
Income taxes payable (included in other current liabilities)	13
Accrued pension liability	1,368		1,231
Accrued postretirement liability	996		1,217

Our accounts receivable from affiliated companies and accounts payable to affiliated companies are payable upon demand and are generally settled in cash within a monthly business cycle.

Charitable contributions to the DTE Energy Foundation were approximately $21 million and $13 million for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The DTE Energy Foundation is a non-consolidated not-for-profit private foundation, the purpose of which is to contribute and assist charitable organizations and does not serve a direct business or political purpose of DTE Electric.