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Debt
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt Debt
Certain debt instruments of the Company's subsidiaries, including those discussed later, contain restrictive and financial covenants and cross-default provisions. In order to borrow under the debt agreements, the subsidiary companies must be in compliance with the applicable covenants and certain other conditions, all of which the subsidiaries, as applicable, were in compliance with at December 31, 2020. In the event the subsidiaries do not comply with the applicable covenants and other conditions, alternative sources of funding may need to be pursued.
The following table summarizes the outstanding revolving credit facilities of the Company's subsidiaries:
CompanyFacilityFacility
Limit
 Amount Outstanding at December 31, 2020Amount Outstanding at December 31,
 2019
Letters of
Credit at December 31, 2020
Expiration
Date
  (In millions)
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.Commercial paper/Revolving credit agreement (a)$175.0  $87.7 $118.6 $— 12/19/24
Cascade Natural Gas Corporation
Revolving credit agreement
$100.0 (b)$54.0 $64.6 $2.2 (c)6/7/24
Intermountain Gas Company
Revolving credit agreement
$85.0 (d)$41.9 $24.5 $— 6/7/24
Centennial Energy Holdings, Inc.
Commercial paper/Revolving credit agreement (e)$600.0  $37.9 $104.3 $— 12/19/24
(a)    The commercial paper program is supported by a revolving credit agreement with various banks (provisions allow for increased borrowings, at the option of Montana-Dakota on stated conditions, up to a maximum of $225.0 million). There were no amounts outstanding under the revolving credit agreement.
(b)    Certain provisions allow for increased borrowings, up to a maximum of $125.0 million.
(c)    Outstanding letter(s) of credit reduce the amount available under the credit agreement.
(d)    Certain provisions allow for increased borrowings, up to a maximum of $110.0 million.
(e)    The commercial paper program is supported by a revolving credit agreement with various banks (provisions allow for increased borrowings, at the option of Centennial on stated conditions, up to a maximum of $700.0 million). There were no amounts outstanding under the revolving credit agreement.
The respective commercial paper programs are supported by revolving credit agreements. While the amount of commercial paper outstanding does not reduce available capacity under the respective revolving credit agreements, Montana-Dakota and Centennial do not issue commercial paper in an aggregate amount exceeding the available capacity under their credit agreements. The commercial paper borrowings may vary during the period, largely the result of fluctuations in working capital requirements due to the seasonality of certain operations of the Company's subsidiaries.
Short-term debt
Montana-Dakota On April 8, 2020, Montana-Dakota entered into a $75.0 million term loan agreement with a LIBOR-based variable interest rate and a maturity date of April 7, 2021. At December 31, 2020, Montana-Dakota had $50.0 million outstanding under the agreement. The agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Montana-Dakota not to permit, at any time, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 65 percent. The covenants also include certain restrictions on the sale of certain assets, loans and investments.
Long-term debt
Long-term Debt Outstanding Long-term debt outstanding was as follows:
 
Weighted Average Interest Rate at December 31, 2020
20202019
 (In thousands)
Senior Notes due on dates ranging from October 22, 2022 to October 30, 20604.40 %$1,950,000 $1,850,000 
Commercial paper supported by revolving credit agreements
.28 %125,600 222,900 
Credit agreements due on June 7, 2024
1.88 %95,900 89,050 
Medium-Term Notes due on dates ranging from September 15, 2027 to March 16, 20297.32 %35,000 50,000 
Term Loan Agreement due on September 3, 2032
2.00 %8,400 9,100 
Other notes due on dates ranging from July 15, 2021 to November 30, 2038
.75 %4,034 29,117 
Less unamortized debt issuance costs5,803 7,010 
Less discount1 50 
Total long-term debt2,213,130 2,243,107 
Less current maturities1,555 16,540 
Net long-term debt$2,211,575 $2,226,567 
Montana-Dakota On January 1, 2019, the Company's revolving credit agreement and commercial paper program became Montana-Dakota's revolving credit agreement and commercial paper program as a result of the Holding Company Reorganization. The outstanding balance of the revolving credit agreement was also transferred to Montana-Dakota. All of the related terms and covenants of the credit agreements remained the same.
Montana-Dakota's revolving credit agreement supports its commercial paper program. Commercial paper borrowings under this agreement are classified as long-term debt as they are intended to be refinanced on a long-term basis through continued commercial paper borrowings. The credit agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including covenants of Montana-Dakota not to permit, as of the end of any fiscal quarter,
the ratio of funded debt to total capitalization (determined on a consolidated basis) to be greater than 65 percent. Other covenants include limitations on the sale of certain assets and on the making of certain loans and investments.
Montana-Dakota's ratio of total debt to total capitalization at December 31, 2020, was 49 percent.
Cascade Any borrowings under the revolving credit agreement are classified as long-term debt as they are intended to be refinanced on a long-term basis through continued borrowings. The credit agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Cascade not to permit, at any time, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 65 percent. Other covenants include restrictions on the sale of certain assets, limitations on indebtedness and the making of certain investments.
On June 15, 2020, Cascade issued $50.0 million of senior notes under a note purchase agreement with maturity dates ranging from June 15, 2050 to June 15, 2060, at a weighted average interest rate of 3.66 percent. The agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Cascade not to permit, at any time, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 65 percent.
On October 30, 2020, Cascade issued $25.0 million of senior notes under a note purchase agreement with a maturity date of October 30, 2060, at an interest rate of 3.34 percent. The agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Cascade not to permit, at any time, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 65 percent.
Cascade's ratio of total debt to total capitalization at December 31, 2020, was 53 percent.
Intermountain Any borrowings under the revolving credit agreement are classified as long-term debt as they are intended to be refinanced on a long-term basis through continued borrowings. The credit agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Intermountain not to permit, at any time, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 65 percent. Other covenants include restrictions on the sale of certain assets, limitations on indebtedness and the making of certain investments.
Intermountain's ratio of total debt to total capitalization at December 31, 2020, was 51 percent.
Centennial Centennial's revolving credit agreement supports its commercial paper program. Commercial paper borrowings under this agreement are classified as long-term debt as they are intended to be refinanced on a long-term basis through continued commercial paper borrowings. Centennial's revolving credit agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of Centennial, not to permit, as of the end of any fiscal quarter, the ratio of total consolidated debt to total consolidated capitalization to be greater than 65 percent. Other covenants include restricted payments, restrictions on the sale of certain assets, limitations on subsidiary indebtedness, minimum consolidated net worth, limitations on priority debt and the making of certain loans and investments.
Centennial's ratio of total debt to total capitalization at December 31, 2020, was 31 percent.
Certain of Centennial's financing agreements contain cross-default provisions. These provisions state that if Centennial or any subsidiary of Centennial fails to make any payment with respect to any indebtedness or contingent obligation, in excess of a specified amount, under any agreement that causes such indebtedness to be due prior to its stated maturity or the contingent obligation to become payable, the applicable agreements will be in default.
WBI Energy Transmission On July 26, 2019, WBI Energy Transmission amended its uncommitted note purchase and private shelf agreement to increase capacity to $300.0 million and extend the issuance period to May 16, 2022. On December 16, 2020, WBI Energy Transmission issued $25.0 million of senior notes under the private shelf agreement with a maturity date of December 16, 2035, at an interest rate of 3.26 percent. WBI Energy Transmission had $195.0 million of notes outstanding at December 31, 2020, which reduced the remaining capacity under this uncommitted private shelf agreement to $105.0 million. This agreement contains customary covenants and provisions, including a covenant of WBI Energy Transmission not to permit, as of the end of any fiscal quarter, the ratio of total debt to total capitalization to be greater than 55 percent. Other covenants include a limitation on priority debt and restrictions on the sale of certain assets and the making of certain investments.
WBI Energy Transmission's ratio of total debt to total capitalization at December 31, 2020, was 41 percent.
Schedule of Debt Maturities Long-term debt maturities, which excludes unamortized debt issuance costs and discount, for the five years and thereafter following December 31, 2020, were as follows:
20212022202320242025Thereafter
(In thousands)
Long-term debt maturities$1,555 $148,021 $77,921 $282,922 $177,802 $1,530,713