Financial and Other Derivative Instruments (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Derivative Instruments and Hedges, Assets [Abstract]

FINANCIAL AND OTHER DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

FINANCIAL AND OTHER DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company recognizes all derivatives at their fair value on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position unless they qualify for certain scope exceptions, including the normal purchases and normal sales exception. Further, derivatives that qualify and are designated for hedge accounting are classified as either hedges of a forecasted transaction or the variability of cash flows to be received or paid related to a recognized asset or liability (cash flow hedge), or as hedges of the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or of an unrecognized firm commitment (fair value hedge). For cash flow hedges, the portion of the derivative gain or loss that is effective in offsetting the change in the value of the underlying exposure is deferred in Accumulated other comprehensive income and later reclassified into earnings when the underlying transaction occurs. For fair value hedges, changes in fair values for the derivative are recognized in earnings each period. Gains and losses from the ineffective portion of any hedge are recognized in earnings immediately. For derivatives that do not qualify or are not designated for hedge accounting, changes in fair value are recognized in earnings each period.

The Company's primary market risk exposure is associated with commodity prices, credit and interest rates. The Company has risk management policies to monitor and manage market risks. The Company uses derivative instruments to manage some of the exposure. DTE Electric generates, purchases, distributes and sells electricity. DTE Electric uses forward energy contracts to manage changes in the price of electricity and fuel. Substantially all of these contracts meet the normal purchases and sales exemption and are therefore accounted for under the accrual method. Other derivative contracts are recoverable through the PSCR mechanism when settled. This results in the deferral of unrealized gains and losses as Regulatory assets or liabilities, until realized.

The following represents the fair value of derivative instruments as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012:

	March 31		December 31
	2013		2012
	(In millions)
FTRs — Other current assets	$	1	$	1
Total derivatives not designated as hedging instrument	$	1	$	1

The effect of derivative instruments recoverable through the PSCR mechanism when realized on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position were $1 million in gains related to FTRs recognized in Regulatory liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012.

The following represents the cumulative gross volume of derivative contracts outstanding as of March 31, 2013:

Commodity	Number of Units
FTRs (MWh)	19,077