2.4.0.82108100 - Disclosure - Debttruefalsefalse1falsefalsefalseD2013Q2YTDhttp://www.sec.gov/CIK0000073020duration2013-01-01T00:00:002013-06-30T00:00:001true1us-gaap_DebtDisclosureAbstractus-gaap_truenadurationfalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalse1falsefalsefalse00falsefalsefalsexbrli:stringItemTypestringfalse02false2us-gaap_DebtDisclosureTextBlockus-gaap_truenadurationfalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalseterseLabel1falsefalsefalse00<div style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:10pt;"><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:12pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;">6. DEBT</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;"><hr></hr></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-left:24px;font-size:11pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:12pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline;">Short-Term Debt</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">At </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">June 30, 2013</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, our short-term debt consisted of commercial paper notes payable with a maximum maturity of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">57 days</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, an average maturity of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">43 days</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, and an outstanding balance of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">$136.0 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">. The carrying cost of our commercial paper approximates fair value using Level 2 inputs due to the short-term nature of the notes. See Note 2 in our 2012 Form 10-K for a description of the fair value hierarchy.</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:11pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:12pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:12pt;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline;">Long-Term Debt</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">At </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">June 30, 2013</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, our utility's long-term debt consisted of $</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">651.7 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> of first mortgage bonds (FMBs) with maturity dates ranging from</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#ff0000;"> </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">2014</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> through </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">2042</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, interest rates ranging from </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">3.176</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">% to </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">9.05</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">%, and a weighted-average coupon rate of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">5.71</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">%. During the six months ended June 30, 2012, we did not issue or redeem any FMBs. </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">At </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">June 30, 2013</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, our gas storage segment’s long-term debt consisted of $</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">40 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> of senior secured debt with a maturity date of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">November 30, 2016</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">. This debt consists of $</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">20 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> of fixed rate debt with an interest rate of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">7.75%</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> and $</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">20 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> of variable interest rate debt, which currently has an interest rate of </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">7.00%</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">. The debt is secured by all of the membership interests in Gill Ranch and is nonrecourse to NW Natural. </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">As our outstanding debt does not trade in active markets, we estimate the fair value of our outstanding long-term debt using interest rates of other companies’ outstanding debt issuances that actively trade in public markets and have similar credit ratings, terms, and remaining maturities to our debt. These valuations are based on Level 2 inputs as defined in the fair value hierarchy. See </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">Note 2</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> in our 2012 Form 10-K.</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;text-indent:48px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">The following table provides an estimate of the fair value of our long-term debt, including current maturities of long-term debt, using market prices in effect on the valuation date:  </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:10pt;"><div style="padding-left:0px;text-indent:0px;line-height:normal;padding-top:10px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:10pt;width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;text-align:left;"><tr><td colspan="13" rowspan="1"></td></tr><tr><td width="52%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="13%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="13%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="13%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td><td width="1%" rowspan="1" colspan="1"></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="7" style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:center;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">June 30,</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:center;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">December 31,</font></div></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="font-size:8pt;text-align:left;font-size:8pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-style:italic;">In thousands</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:center;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">2013</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:center;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">2012</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="vertical-align:bottom;border-bottom:1px solid #000000;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:center;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">2012</font></div></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">Carrying amount</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">$</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">691,700</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">$</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">641,700</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">$</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">691,700</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#cceeff;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">Estimated fair value</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">769,679</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">768,429</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;padding-right:2px;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="overflow:hidden;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"> </font></div></td><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:2px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:2px;" rowspan="1"><div style="text-align:right;font-size:9pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">834,664</font></div></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;" rowspan="1" colspan="1"><div style="text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div></td></tr></table></div><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:inherit;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"/></font></div><div style="line-height:120%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">See </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">Note 7</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> in our </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;text-decoration:none;">2012</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> Form 10-K for more detail on our long-term debt.</font></div></div>falsefalsefalsenonnum:textBlockItemTypenaThe entire disclosure for information about short-term and long-term debt arrangements, which includes amounts of borrowings under each line of credit, note payable, commercial paper issue, bonds indenture, debenture issue, own-share lending arrangements and any other contractual agreement to repay funds, and about the underlying arrangements, rationale for a classification as long-term, including repayment terms, interest rates, collateral provided, restrictions on use of assets and activities, whether or not in compliance with debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements, such as the effects of refinancing and noncompliance with debt covenants.Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6928386&loc=d3e21475-112644
Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 19, 20, 22
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Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19,20,22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682
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