Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments [Abstract]

Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments

 7. Borrowings and Other Financing Instruments

Money Pool- Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries have established a money pool arrangement that allows for short-term investments in and borrowings between the utility subsidiaries.  NSP-Wisconsin does not participate in the money pool.  Xcel Energy Inc. may make investments in the utility subsidiaries at market-based interest rates; however, the money pool arrangement does not allow the utility subsidiaries to make investments in Xcel Energy Inc.  The money pool balances are eliminated upon consolidation.

Commercial Paper - Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries meet their short-term liquidity requirements primarily through the issuance of commercial paper and borrowings under their credit facilities.  Commercial paper outstanding for Xcel Energy was as follows:

(Amounts in Millions, Except Interest Rate)	Three Months Ended March 31, 2012			Twelve Months Ended Dec. 31, 2011
Borrowing limit	$	2,450		$	2,450
Amount outstandingat period end		339			219
Average amount outstanding		324			430
Maximum amount outstanding		463			824
Weighted average interest rate, computed on a daily basis		0.36	%		0.36	%
Weighted average interest rate at period end		0.36			0.40

Credit Facilities -In order to use their commercial paper programs to fulfill short-term funding needs, Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries must have revolving credit facilities in place at least equal to the amount of their respective commercial paper borrowing limits and cannot issue commercial paper in an aggregate amount exceeding available capacity under these credit agreements.  The lines of credit provide short-term financing in the form of notes payable to banks, letters of credit and back-up support for commercial paper borrowings.

At March 31, 2012, Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries had the following committed credit facilities available:

(Millions of Dollars)	Credit Facility		Drawn (a)		Available
Xcel Energy Inc.	$	800.0	$	214.0	$	586.0
PSCo		700.0		3.0		697.0
NSP-Minnesota		500.0		35.7		464.3
SPS		300.0		26.0		274.0
NSP-Wisconsin		150.0		71.0		79.0
Total	$	2,450.0	$	349.7	$	2,100.3

(a) Includes outstanding commercial paper and letters of credit.

All credit facility bank borrowings and outstanding commercial paper reduce the available capacity under the respective credit facilities.  Xcel Energy Inc. and its subsidiaries had no direct advances on the credit facilities outstanding at March 31, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011.

Letters of Credit- Xcel Energy Inc. and its subsidiaries use letters of credit, generally with terms of one year, to provide financial guarantees for certain operating obligations.  At March 31, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011, there were $10.7 million and $12.7 million of letters of credit outstanding, respectively, under the credit facilities.  An additional $1.1 million of letters of credit not issued under the credit facilities were outstanding at March 31, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011, respectively.The contract amounts of these letters of credit approximate their fair value and are subject to fees determined in the marketplace.