Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Estimated Minimum Purchases Under Fuel Contracts

The estimated minimum purchases for Xcel Energy under these contracts as of Dec. 31, 2015 are as follows:



(Millions of Dollars)	Coal		Nuclear fuel		Natural gas supply		Natural gas storage and transportation
2016	$	824.4	$	112.2	$	285.4	$	282.0
2017	483.0		112.3		132.2		254.9
2018	227.8		62.7		181.0		154.5
2019	42.7		124.1		187.6		113.8
2020	44.4		46.9		203.4		101.6
Thereafter	334.9		599.2		409.5		1,044.2
Total	$	1,957.2	$	1,057.4	$	1,399.1	$	1,951.0

Estimated Future Payments for Capacity and Energy Pursuant to Purchased Power Agreements

At Dec. 31, 2015, the estimated future payments for capacity and energy that the utility subsidiaries of Xcel Energy are obligated to purchase pursuant to these executory contracts, subject to availability, are as follows:



(Millions of Dollars)	Capacity		Energy ^(a)
2016	$	191.0	$	106.9
2017	165.8		91.8
2018	129.1		93.2
2019	83.6		98.7
2020	68.1		105.4
Thereafter	362.5		662.5
Total	$	1,000.1	$	1,158.5


^(a)	Excludes contingent energy payments for renewable energy PPAs.

Summary of Property Held Under Capital Leases

Total amortization expenses under capital lease assets were approximately $8.2 million, $7.2 million and $6.3 million for 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Following is a summary of property held under capital leases:



(Millions of Dollars)	Dec. 31, 2015			Dec. 31, 2014
Gas storage facilities	$	200.5		$	200.5
Gas pipeline	20.7			20.7
Property held under capital leases	221.2			221.2
Accumulated depreciation	(57.2		)	(49.0		)
Total property held under capital leases, net	$	164.0		$	172.2

Future Commitments Under Operating and Capital Leases

Future commitments under operating and capital leases are:



(Millions of Dollars)	Operating Leases		PPA ^{(a) (b)} Operating Leases		Total Operating Leases		Capital Leases
2016	$	24.6	$	217.0	$	241.6	$	17.1
2017	22.0		208.7		230.7		15.1
2018	21.5		210.0		231.5		14.7
2019	25.9		227.8		253.7		14.5
2020	20.8		241.3		262.1		14.3
Thereafter	175.0		2,135.2		2,310.2		258.8
Total minimum obligation							334.5
Interest component of obligation							(236.9		)
Present value of minimum obligation							$	97.6		^(c)


^(a)	Amounts do not include PPAs accounted for as executory contracts.


^(b)	PPA operating leases contractually expire through 2039.


^(c)	Future commitments exclude certain amounts related to Xcel Energy’s 50 percent ownership interest in WYCO.

Eloigne and NSP-Wisconsin Low-income Housing Limited Partnerships

Amounts reflected in Xcel Energy’s consolidated balance sheets for the Eloigne and NSP-Wisconsin low-income housing limited partnerships include the following:



(Thousands of Dollars)	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014
Current assets	$	6,274	$	6,609
Property, plant and equipment, net	51,480		53,047
Other noncurrent assets	1,394		1,503
Total assets	$	59,148	$	61,159

Current liabilities	$	7,540	$	7,774
Mortgages and other long-term debt payable	31,082		31,207
Other noncurrent liabilities	644		619
Total liabilities	$	39,266	$	39,600

Committed Minimum Payments Under Technology Agreements

Committed minimum payments under these obligations are as follows:



(Millions of Dollars)	IBM Agreement		Accenture Agreement
2016	$	34.4	$	10.0
2017	34.4		10.5
2018	33.5		10.7
2019	33.5		10.8
2020	—		11.0
Thereafter	—		—

Guarantees and Bond Indemnities Issued and Outstanding

The following table presents guarantees and bond indemnities issued and outstanding as of Dec. 31, 2015:



(Millions of Dollars)	Guarantor	Guarantee Amount		Current Exposure		Triggering Event
Guarantee of customer loans for the Farm Rewiring Program ^(a)	NSP-Wisconsin	$	1.0	$	0.1	^(e)
Guarantee of the indemnification obligations of Xcel Energy Services Inc. under the aircraft leases ^(b)	Xcel Energy Inc.	6.7		—		^(f)
Guarantee of residual value of assets under the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Capital Corporation Equipment Leasing Agreement ^(c)	NSP-Minnesota	4.8		—		^(g)
Total guarantees issued		$	12.5	$	0.1
Guarantee performance and payment of surety bonds for Xcel Energy Inc.’s utility subsidiaries ^(d)	Xcel Energy Inc.	$	41.3	⁽ⁱ⁾		^(h)


^(a)	The term of this guarantee expires in 2020, which is the final scheduled repayment date for the loans. As of Dec. 31, 2015, no claims had been made by the lender.


^(b)	The term of this guarantee expires in 2017 when the associated leases expire.


^(c)	The terms of this guarantee expires in 2019 when the associated lease expires.


^(d)	The surety bonds primarily relate to workers compensation benefits and utility projects. The workers compensation bonds are renewed annually and the project based bonds expire in conjunction with the completion of the related projects.


^(e)	The debtor becomes the subject of bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.


^(f)	Nonperformance and/or nonpayment.


^(g)	Actual fair value of leased assets is less than the guaranteed residual value amount at the end of the lease term.


^(h)	Failure of any one of Xcel Energy Inc.’s utility subsidiaries to perform under the agreement that is the subject of the relevant bond. In addition, per the indemnity agreement between Xcel Energy Inc. and the various surety companies, the surety companies have the discretion to demand that collateral be posted.


⁽ⁱ⁾	Due to the magnitude of projects associated with the surety bonds, the total current exposure of this indemnification cannot be determined. Xcel Energy Inc. believes the exposure to be significantly less than the total amount of the outstanding bonds.

Asset Retirement Obligations

A reconciliation of Xcel Energy’s AROs for the years ended Dec. 31, 2015 and 2014 is as follows:



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2015		Liabilities Recognized			Liabilities Settled			Accretion		Cash Flow Revisions ^(b)			Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2015
Electric plant
Nuclear production decommissioning	$	2,037,947	$	—		$	—		$	103,077	$	—		$	2,141,024
Steam and other production ash containment	127,600		—			—			4,746		(759		)	131,587
Steam and other production asbestos	69,698		3,875			—			3,670		7,248			84,491
Wind production	38,260		31,085		^(a)	—			1,778		523			71,646
Electric distribution	12,593		—			—			463		131			13,187
Other	4,605		127			(273		)	178		(94		)	4,543
Natural gas plant
Gas transmission and distribution	149,964		—			—			5,969		—			155,933
Other	3,925		—			—			155		(114		)	3,966
Common and other property
Common general plant asbestos	505		—			—			27		19			551
Common miscellaneous	1,534		—			—			56		44			1,634
Total liability	$	2,446,631	$	35,087		$	(273	)	$	120,119	$	6,998		$	2,608,562


^(a)	The liability recognized relates to the NSP-Minnesota Pleasant Valley and Border Wind Farms which were placed in service during 2015.


^(b)	In 2015, AROs were revised for changes in estimated cash flows and the timing of those cash flows. Changes in the asbestos AROs were mainly related to updated cost estimates.

The aggregate fair value of NSP-Minnesota’s legally restricted assets, for purposes of funding future nuclear decommissioning, was $1.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015, consisting of external investment funds.



(Thousands of Dollars)	Beginning Balance Jan. 1, 2014		Liabilities Recognized		Accretion		Cash Flow Revisions ^(a)			Ending Balance Dec. 31, 2014^(b)
Electric plant
Nuclear production decommissioning	$	1,628,298	$	—	$	86,284	$	323,365		$	2,037,947
Steam and other production ash containment	79,353		—		3,354		44,893			127,600
Steam and other production asbestos	50,827		747		2,972		15,152			69,698
Wind production	37,464		—		1,676		(880		)	38,260
Electric distribution	12,186		—		444		(37		)	12,593
Other	3,551		705		137		212			4,605
Natural gas plant
Gas transmission and distribution	1,198		20,935		76		127,755			149,964
Other	575		2,865		24		461			3,925
Common and other property
Common general plant asbestos	480		—		25		—			505
Common miscellaneous	1,458		—		53		23			1,534
Total liability	$	1,815,390	$	25,252	$	95,045	$	510,944		$	2,446,631

^(a)

In 2014, revisions were made to various AROs due to revised estimated cash flows and the timing of those cash flows. Changes to estimated nuclear production decommissioning primarily relate to the triennial filing made to the MPUC in December 2014. See additional information in Note 14. Changes in estimated excavation costs and the timing of future retirement activities resulted in revisions to AROs related to gas transmission and distribution.


^(b)	There were no ARO liabilities settled during the year ended Dec. 31, 2014.

Plant Removal Costs

The accumulated balances by entity were as follows at Dec. 31:



(Millions of Dollars)	2015		2014
NSP-Minnesota	$	430	$	396
PSCo	364		366
SPS	204		68
NSP-Wisconsin	132		123
Total Xcel Energy	$	1,130	$	953