Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair Value Hierarchy

ASC 820 defined and established a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements for financial assets and liabilities that are adjusted to fair value on a recurring basis and/or financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, which have been adjusted to fair value during the period. In accordance with ASC 820, we have categorized our financial assets and liabilities that are adjusted to fair value, based on the priority of the inputs to the valuation technique, following the three-level fair value hierarchy prescribed by ASC 820 as follows:

Level 1 - unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in an active market;

Level 2 - inputs from quoted prices in markets where trading occurs infrequently or quoted prices of instruments with similar attributes in active markets; and

Level 3 - unobservable inputs reflecting management’s own assumptions about the inputs used in pricing the asset or liability.

As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, all of IPALCO’s financial assets or liabilities adjusted to fair value on a recurring basis (excluding pension assets – see Note 6, “Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits”) were considered Level 3, based on the above fair value hierarchy. These primarily consisted of financial transmission rights, which are used to offset MISO congestion charges. Because the benefit associated with financial transmission rights is a flow-through to IPL’s jurisdictional customers, IPL records a regulatory liability matching the value of the financial transmission rights. In addition, IPALCO had one financial asset, a nonutility investment accounted for using the cost method of accounting, which is measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, again using Level 3 measurements. No adjustments were made to this asset during the periods covered by this report. All of these financial assets and liabilities were not material to the Financial Statements in the periods covered by this report, individually or in the aggregate.

Whenever possible, quoted prices in active markets are used to determine the fair value of our financial instruments. Our financial instruments are not held for trading or other speculative purposes. The estimated fair value of financial instruments has been determined by using available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. However, considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the estimates presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that we could realize in a current market exchange. The use of different market assumptions and/or estimation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

Cash Equivalents

As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, our cash equivalents consisted of money market funds. The fair value of cash equivalents, which approximates their book value due to their short maturity (Level 1), was $1.2 million and $5.1 million as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

Indebtedness

The fair value of our outstanding fixed-rate debt has been determined on the basis of the quoted market prices of the specific securities issued and outstanding. Because trading of our debt occurs somewhat infrequently, we consider the fair values to be Level 2. It is not the purpose of this disclosure to approximate the value on the basis of how the debt might be refinanced.

The following table shows the face value and the fair value of fixed-rate and variable-rate indebtedness for the periods ending:



	September 30, 2015				December 31, 2014
	Face Value		Fair Value		Face Value		Fair Value
	(In Millions)
Fixed-rate	$	2,220.3	$	2,386.3	$	1,955.3	$	2,231.2
Variable-rate	50.0		50.0		50.0		50.0
Total indebtedness	$	2,270.3	$	2,436.3	$	2,005.3	$	2,281.2

The difference between the face value and the carrying value of this indebtedness represents unamortized discounts of $4.6 million and $4.3 million at September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

Other Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurements

ASC 410 “Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations” addresses financial accounting and reporting for legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal operation. A legal obligation for purposes of ASC 410 is an obligation that a party is required to settle as a result of an existing law, statute, ordinance, written or oral contract or the doctrine of promissory estoppel. IPL’s ARO liabilities relate primarily to environmental issues involving asbestos-containing materials, ash ponds, landfills and miscellaneous contaminants associated with its generating plants, transmission system and distribution system. We use the cost approach to determine the fair value of IPL’s ARO liabilities, which is estimated by discounting expected cash outflows to their present value at the initial recording of the liabilities. Cash outflows are based on the approximate future disposal costs as determined by market information, historical information or other management estimates. These inputs to the fair value of the ARO liabilities would be considered Level 3 inputs under the fair value hierarchy. As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, ARO liabilities were $60.0 million and $59.1 million, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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