XML 47 R17.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.8
Risk Management And Fair Values
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy Arkansas [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy Gulf States Louisiana [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy Louisiana [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy Mississippi [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy New Orleans
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

Entergy Texas [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

System Energy [Member]
 
Risk Management And Fair Values

NOTE 8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND FAIR VALUES (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)

 

Market Risk

 

In the normal course of business, Entergy is exposed to a number of market risks. Market risk is the potential loss that Entergy may incur as a result of changes in the market or fair value of a particular instrument or commodity. All financial and commodity-related instruments, including derivatives, are subject to market risk including commodity price risk, equity price and interest rate risk. Entergy uses derivatives primarily to mitigate commodity price risk, particularly power price and fuel price risk.

 

The Utility has limited exposure to the effects of market risk because it operates primarily under cost-based rate regulation. To the extent approved by their retail regulators, the Utility operating companies hedge the exposure to price volatility inherent in their purchased power, fuel, and gas purchased for resale costs that are recovered from customers.

 

As a wholesale generator, Entergy Wholesale Commodities's core business is selling energy, measured in MWh, to its customers. Entergy Wholesale Commodities enters into forward contracts with its customers and sells energy and capacity in the day ahead or spot markets. In addition to its forward physical power contracts, Entergy Wholesale Commodities also uses a combination of financial contracts, including swaps, collars, put and/or call options, to mitigate forward commodity price risk. When market price falls, the combination of instruments is expected to settle in gains offsetting lower revenue from generation and resulting in a more predictable cash flow.

 

Entergy's exposure to market risk is determined by a number of factors, including the size, term, composition, and diversification of positions held, as well as market volatility and liquidity. For instruments such as options, the time period during which the option may be exercised and the relationship between the current market price of the underlying instrument and the option's contractual strike or exercise price also affects the level of market risk. A significant factor influencing the overall level of market risk to which Entergy is exposed is its use of hedging techniques to mitigate such risk. Hedging instruments and volumes are chosen based on ability to mitigate risk associated with future energy and capacity prices; however, other considerations are factored into hedge product and volume decisions including corporate liquidity, corporate credit ratings, counterparty credit risk, hedging costs, firm settlement risk, and product availability in the marketplace. Entergy manages market risk by actively monitoring compliance with stated risk management policies as well as monitoring the effectiveness of its hedging policies and strategies. Entergy's risk management policies limit the amount of total net exposure and rolling net exposure during the stated periods. These policies, including related risk limits, are regularly assessed to ensure their appropriateness given Entergy's objectives.

 

Derivatives

 

            Some derivative instruments are classified as cash flow hedges due to their financial settlement provisions while others are classified as normal purchase/normal sale transactions due to their physical settlement provisions.  Normal purchase/normal sale risk management tools include power purchase and sales agreements, fuel purchase agreements, capacity contracts, and tolling agreements.  Financially-settled cash flow hedges can include natural gas and electricity swaps and options and interest rate swaps.  Entergy will occasionally enter into financially settled swap and option contracts to manage market risk under certain hedging transactions which may or may not be designated as hedging instruments. 

 

            Entergy enters into derivatives only to manage natural risks inherent in its physical or financial assets or liabilities.  The maximum length of time over which Entergy is currently hedging the variability in future cash flows with derivatives for forecasted power transactions at September 30, 2013 is approximately 2.25 years.  Planned generation currently under contract from Entergy Wholesale Commodities nuclear power plants is 82% for the remainder of 2013, of which approximately 59% is sold under financial derivatives and the remainder under normal purchase/normal sale contracts.  Total planned generation for the remainder of 2013 is 11 TWh.

 

            Entergy manages fuel price volatility for its Louisiana jurisdictions (Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana, and Entergy New Orleans) and Entergy Mississippi primarily through the purchase of short-term natural gas swaps that financially settle against NYMEX futures.  These swaps are marked-to-market with offsetting regulatory assets or liabilities.  All benefits or costs of the program are recorded in fuel costs.  The notional volumes of these swaps are based on a portion of projected annual exposure to gas for electric generation and projected winter purchases for gas distribution at Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans.  The total volume of natural gas swaps outstanding as of September 30, 2013 is 19,081,000 MMBtu for Entergy, 7,600,000 MMBtu for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, 8,540,000 MMBtu for Entergy Louisiana, 2,010,000 MMBtu for Entergy Mississippi, and 931,000 MMBtu for Entergy New Orleans.  Credit support for these natural gas swaps is covered by master agreements that do not require collateralization based on mark-to-market value, but do carry adequate assurance language that may lead to collateralization requests.

 

The fair values of Entergy's derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 are shown in the table below. Certain investments, including those not designated as hedging instruments, are subject to master netting arrangements and are presented in the balance sheet on a net basis in accordance with accounting guidance for derivatives and hedging.

(a)

Represents the gross amounts of recognized assets/liabilities

(b)

Represents the netting of fair value balances with the same counterparty

(c)

Represents the net amounts of assets /liabilities presented on the Entergy Consolidated Balance Sheets

(d)

Excludes cash collateral in the amounts of $7 million and $56 million held as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively

 

 

           

 

 

On a daily basis, Entergy Wholesale Commodities calculates the mark-to-market for all derivative transactions.  Entergy Wholesale Commodities Risk Control Group also validates forward market prices by comparing them to other sources of forward market prices and/or to settlement prices of actual market transactions. Significant differences are analyzed and potentially adjusted based on these other sources of forward market prices and/or settlement prices of actual market transactions. Implied volatilities used to value options are also validated using actual counterparty quotes for Entergy Wholesale Commodities transactions when available, and using multiple sources of market implied volatilities. Moreover, on at least a monthly basis, the Office of Corporate Risk Oversight confirms the mark-to-market calculations and prepares price scenarios and credit downgrade scenario analysis.  The scenario analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and within Entergy Wholesale Commodities.  Finally, for all proposed derivative transactions, an analysis is completed to assess the risk of adding the proposed derivative to Entergy Wholesale Commodities's portfolio.  In particular, the credit, liquidity, and financial metrics impacts are calculated for this analysis.  This analysis is communicated to senior management within Entergy and Entergy Wholesale Commodities.

 

The following tables set forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, Entergy's assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.  The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.  

 

 

2013

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

 

(In Millions)

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary cash investments

 

$262

 

$-

 

$-

 

$262

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities

 

418

 

2,470

 

-

 

2,888

Debt securities

 

741

 

999

 

-

 

1,740

Power contracts

 

-

 

-

 

85

 

85

Securitization recovery trust account

 

50

 

-

 

-

 

50

Escrow accounts

 

135

 

-

 

-

 

135

 

 

$1,606

 

$3,469

 

$85

 

$5,160

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power contracts

 

$-

 

$-

 

$36

 

$36

Gas hedge contracts

 

3

 

-

 

-

 

3

 

 

$3

 

$-

 

$36

 

$39


2012

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

(In Millions)

Assets:

Temporary cash investments

$420

$-

$-

$420

Decommissioning trust funds (a):

Equity securities

358

2,101

-

2,459

Debt securities

769

962

-

1,731

Power contracts

-

-

191

191

Securitization recovery trust account

46

-

-

46

Escrow accounts

386

-

-

386

$1,979

$3,063

$191

$5,233

Liabilities:

Power contracts

$-

$-

$13

$13

Gas hedge contracts

8

-

-

8

$8

$-

$13

$21

 

(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.

 

 

The following table sets forth an analysis of each of the types of unobservable inputs impacting the fair value of items classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy, and the sensitivity to changes to those inputs:

 

Significant
Unobservable
Input

 



Transaction Type

 



Position

 



Change to Input

 


Effect on
Fair Value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unit contingent
discount

 


Electricity swaps

 


Sell

 


Increase (Decrease)

 


Decrease (Increase)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Sell

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

Implied volatility

 

Electricity options

 

Buy

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

Increase (Decrease)

 

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, the Registrant Subsidiaries' assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to a fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect its placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.


(a)

The decommissioning trust funds hold equity and fixed income securities. Equity securities are invested to approximate the returns of major market indices.  Fixed income securities are held in various governmental and corporate securities.  See Note 9 for additional information on the investment portfolios.