Revolving Credit Facilities, Lines of Credit and Short-Term Borrowings

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Revolving Credit Facilities, Lines of Credit and Short-Term Borrowings [Abstract]

REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES, LINES OF CREDIT AND SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS

NOTE 4. REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES, LINES OF CREDIT AND SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

Entergy Corporation has in place a credit facility that has a borrowing capacity of approximately $3.5 billion and expires in August 2012, which Entergy intends to renew before expiration. Because the facility is now within one year of its expiration date, borrowings outstanding on the facility are classified as currently maturing long-term debt on the balance sheet. Entergy Corporation also has the ability to issue letters of credit against the total borrowing capacity of the credit facility. The facility fee is currently 0.125% of the commitment amount. Facility fees and interest rates on loans under the credit facility can fluctuate depending on the senior unsecured debt ratings of Entergy Corporation. The weighted average interest rate for the year ended December 31, 2011 was 0.745% on the drawn portion of the facility. Following is a summary of the borrowings outstanding and capacity available under the facility as of December 31, 2011.

Capacity	Borrowings	Letters of Credit	Capacity Available
(In Millions)
$3,451	$1,920	$28	$1,503

Entergy Corporation’s facility requires it to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Entergy is in compliance with this covenant. If Entergy fails to meet this ratio, or if Entergy Corporation or one of the Utility operating companies (except Entergy New Orleans) defaults on other indebtedness or is in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, an acceleration of the facility maturity date may occur.

Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, and Entergy Texas each had credit facilities available as of December 31, 2011 as follows:

Company	Expiration Date	Amount of Facility	Interest Rate (a)	Amount Drawn as of December 31, 2011
Entergy Arkansas	April 2012	$78 million(b)	3.25%		—
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana	August 2012	$100 million(c)	0.71%		—
Entergy Louisiana	August 2012	$200 million(d)	0.67%		$50 million
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$35 million(e)	2.05%		—
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$25 million(e)	2.05%		—
Entergy Mississippi	May 2012	$10 million(e)	2.05%		—
Entergy Texas	August 2012	$100 million(f)	0.77%		—

(a) The interest rate is the rate as of December 31, 2011 that would be applied to outstanding borrowings under the facility.

(b) The credit facility requires Entergy Arkansas to maintain a debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Borrowings under the Entergy Arkansas credit facility may be secured by a security interest in its accounts receivable.

(c) The credit facility allows Entergy Gulf States Louisiana to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of December 31, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Gulf States Louisiana to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.

(d) The credit facility allows Entergy Louisiana to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of December 31, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Louisiana to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.

(e) Borrowings under the Entergy Mississippi credit facilities may be secured by a security interest in its accounts receivable. Entergy Mississippi is required to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization.

(f) The credit facility allows Entergy Texas to issue letters of credit against the borrowing capacity of the facility. As of December 31, 2011, no letters of credit were outstanding. The credit facility requires Entergy Texas to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 65% or less of its total capitalization. Pursuant to the terms of the credit agreement securitization bonds are excluded from debt and capitalization in calculating the debt ratio.

The facility fees on the credit facilities range from 0.09% to 0.15% of the commitment amount.

The short-term borrowings of the Registrant Subsidiaries are limited to amounts authorized by the FERC. The current FERC-authorized limits are effective through October 31, 2013. In addition to borrowings from commercial banks, these companies are authorized under a FERC order to borrow from the Entergy System money pool. The money pool is an inter-company borrowing arrangement designed to reduce the Utility subsidiaries’ dependence on external short-term borrowings. Borrowings from the money pool and external borrowings combined may not exceed the FERC-authorized limits. The following are the FERC-authorized limits for short-term borrowings and the outstanding short-term borrowings as of December 31, 2011 (aggregating both money pool and external short-term borrowings) for the Registrant Subsidiaries:

	Authorized		Borrowings
	(In Millions)
Entergy Arkansas	$	250		—
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana	$	200		—
Entergy Louisiana	$	250	$	168
Entergy Mississippi	$	175	$	2
Entergy New Orleans	$	100		—
Entergy Texas	$	200		—
System Energy	$	200		—

Variable Interest Entities (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and System Energy)

See Note 18 to the financial statements for a discussion of the consolidation of the nuclear fuel company variable interest entities (VIE). The variable interest entities have credit facilities and also issue commercial paper to finance the acquisition and ownership of nuclear fuel as follows as of December 31, 2011:

Company	Expiration Date		Amount of Facility		Weighted Average Interest Rate on Borrowings (a)			Amount Outstanding as of December 31, 2011
	(Dollars in Millions)
Entergy Arkansas VIE		July 2013	$	85		2.43	%	$	35.9
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE		July 2013	$	85		2.25	%	$	29.4
Entergy Louisiana VIE		July 2013	$	90		2.38	%	$	44.3
System Energy VIE		July 2013	$	100		—			—

(a) Includes letter of credit fees and bank fronting fees on commercial paper issuances by the VIEs for Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, and System Energy. The VIE for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana does not issue commercial paper, but borrows directly on its bank credit facility.

The amount outstanding on the Entergy Gulf States Louisiana credit facility is included in long-term debt on its balance sheet and the commercial paper outstanding for the other VIEs is classified as a current liability on the respective balance sheets. The commitment fees on the credit facilities are 0.20% of the undrawn commitment amount. Each credit facility requires the respective lessee (Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, or Entergy Corporation as Guarantor for System Energy) to maintain a consolidated debt ratio of 70% or less of its total capitalization.

The variable interest entities had notes payable that are included in long-term debt on the respective balance sheets as of December 31, 2011 as follows:

Company	Description	Amount
Entergy Arkansas VIE	9% Series H due June 2013	$30 million
Entergy Arkansas VIE	5.69% Series I due July 2014	$70 million
Entergy Arkansas VIE	3.23% Series J due July 2016	$55 million
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE	5.56% Series N due May 2013	$75 million
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana VIE	5.41% Series O due July 2012	$60 million
Entergy Louisiana VIE	5.69% Series E due July 2014	$50 million
Entergy Louisiana VIE	3.30% Series F due March 2016	$20 million
System Energy VIE	6.29% Series F due September 2013	$70 million
System Energy VIE	5.33% Series G due April 2015	$60 million

In accordance with regulatory treatment, interest on the nuclear fuel company variable interest entities’ credit facilities, commercial paper, and long-term notes payable is included as fuel expense.

In February 2012, System Energy VIE issued $50 million of 4.02% Series H notes due February 2017. System Energy used the proceeds to purchase additional nuclear fuel.