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:

(Millions of Dollars, Except Interest Rates)	Three Months Ended June 30, 2012			Twelve Months Ended Dec. 31, 2011
Borrowing limit	$	2,450		$	2,450
Amount outstanding at period end		481			219
Average amount outstanding		456			430
Maximum amount outstanding		634			824
Weighted average interest rate, computed on a daily basis		0.37	%		0.36	%
Weighted average interest rate at period end		0.35			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 June 30, 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	$	397.0	$	403.0
PSCo		700.0		8.0		692.0
NSP-Minnesota		500.0		8.7		491.3
SPS		300.0		-		300.0
NSP-Wisconsin		150.0		79.0		71.0
Total	$	2,450.0	$	492.7	$	1,957.3

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

All credit facility bank borrowings, outstanding letters of credit 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 June 30, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011.

Amended Credit Agreements - In July 2012, NSP-Minnesota, NSP-Wisconsin, PSCo, SPS and Xcel Energy Inc. entered into amended five-year credit agreements with a syndicate of banks, replacing their previous four-year credit agreements. The amended credit agreements have substantially the same terms and conditions as the prior credit agreements with an improvement in pricing and an extension of maturity from March 2015 to July 2017. The Eurodollar borrowing margins on these lines of credit were reduced from a range of 100 to 200 basis points per year, to a range of 87.5 to 175 basis points per year based on applicable long-term credit ratings. The commitment fees, calculated on the unused portion of the lines of credit, were reduced from a range of 10 to 35 basis points per year, to a range of 7.5 to 27.5 basis points per year, also based on applicable long-term credit ratings.

Xcel Energy Inc. and its utility subsidiaries, other than NSP-Wisconsin, have the right to request an extension of the revolving termination date for two additional one-year periods, and NSP-Wisconsin has the right to request an extension of the revolving termination date for an additional one-year period, each subject to majority bank group approval.

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 June 30, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011, there were $11.7 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 June 30, 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.

Long-Term Borrowings

In June 2012, SPS issued an additional $100 million of its 4.5 percent first mortgage bonds due Aug. 15, 2041 at a premium of $10.1 million. Including the $200 million of this series previously issued in August 2011, total principal outstanding for this series is $300 million.