Derivative instruments:

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Derivative instruments:

Derivative instruments:

3. Derivative instruments:

    Our risk management and compliance committee provides general oversight over all risk management and compliance activities, including but not limited to, commodity trading, investment portfolio management and interest rate risk management. We use commodity trading derivatives to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the market price of natural gas. Prior to December 2012, our commodity trading derivatives were generally designated as hedging instruments under authoritative guidance for accounting for derivatives and hedging. In December 2012, we discontinued hedge accounting for these derivatives and currently apply regulatory accounting. Consistent with our rate-making, unrealized gains or losses on natural gas swaps are reflected as a regulatory asset or liability. To hedge the risk of rising interest rates due to the significant amount of new long-term debt we expect to incur in connection with anticipated capital expenditures, we have entered into interest rate options. Hedge accounting is not applied to our interest rate options. Consistent with our rate-making, unrealized gains or losses from the interest rate options are recorded as a regulatory asset. Within our nuclear decommissioning trust fund, derivatives including options, swaps and credit default swaps which are non-speculative, could be utilized to mitigate volatility associated with duration, default, yield curve and the interest rate risks of the portfolio. Consistent with our rate-making, unrealized gains or losses related to decommissioning trust fund are recorded as an increase or decrease in the associated regulatory asset or liability. We do not hold or enter into derivative transactions for trading or speculative purposes.

    We are exposed to credit risk as a result of entering into these hedging arrangements. Credit risk is the potential loss resulting from a counterparty's nonperformance under an agreement. We have established policies and procedures to manage credit risk through counterparty analysis, exposure calculation and monitoring, exposure limits, collateralization and certain other contractual provisions.

    It is possible that volatility in commodity prices and/or interest rates could cause us to have credit risk exposures with one or more natural gas counterparties, and we currently have credit risk exposure to our interest rate options counterparties. If such counterparties fail to perform their obligations, we could suffer a financial loss. However, as of December 31, 2012, all of the counterparties with transaction amounts outstanding under our hedging programs are rated investment grade by the major rating agencies or have provided a guaranty from one of their affiliates that is rated investment grade.

    We have entered into International Swaps and Derivatives Association agreements with our natural gas hedge and interest rate option counterparties that mitigate credit exposure by creating contractual rights relating to creditworthiness, collateral, termination and netting (which, in certain cases, allows us to use the net value of affected transactions with the same counterparty in the event of default by the counterparty or early termination of the agreement).

    Additionally, we have implemented procedures to monitor the creditworthiness of our counterparties and to evaluate nonperformance in valuing counterparty positions. We have contracted with a third party to assist in monitoring certain of our counterparties' credit standing and condition. Net liability positions are generally not adjusted as we use derivative transactions as hedges and have the ability and intent to perform under each of our contracts. In the instance of net asset positions, we consider general market conditions and the observable financial health and outlook of specific counterparties, forward looking data such as credit default swaps, when available, and historical default probabilities from credit rating agencies in evaluating the potential impact of nonperformance risk to derivative positions.

    The contractual agreements contain provisions that could require us or the counterparty to post collateral or credit support. The amount of collateral or credit support that could be required is calculated as the difference between the aggregate fair value of the hedges and pre-established credit thresholds. The credit thresholds are contingent upon each party's credit ratings from the major credit rating agencies. The collateral and credit support requirements vary by contract and by counterparty.

    Gas hedges.    Under the natural gas swap arrangements, we pay the counterparty a fixed price for specified natural gas quantities and receive a payment for such quantities based on a market price index. These payment obligations are netted, such that if the market price index is lower than the fixed price, we will make a net payment, and if the market price index is higher than the fixed price, we will receive a net payment.

    At December 31, 2012 and 2011 the estimated fair value of our natural gas contracts was a liability of approximately $1,085,000 and $7,220,000, respectively.

    As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, neither we nor any counterparties were required to post credit support or collateral under the natural gas swap agreements. If the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements were triggered on December 31, 2012 due to our credit rating being downgraded below investment grade, we would have been required to post letters of credit totaling up to $909,000 with our counterparties.

    The following table reflects the volume activity of our natural gas derivatives as of December 31, 2012 that is expected to settle or mature each year:

	Natural Gas Swaps
Year	(MMBTUs)
	(in millions)
2013	4.4
2014	1.0
Total	5.4

    Interest rate options.    We are exposed to the risk of rising interest rates due to the significant amount of new long-term debt we expect to incur in connection with anticipated capital expenditures, particularly the construction of Vogtle Units No. 3 and No. 4. In fourth quarter of 2011, we purchased interest rate options at a cost of $100,000,000 to hedge the interest rates on approximately $2.2 billion of the expected debt that will be used to finance the new Vogtle units.

    The interest rate options, commonly known as LIBOR swaptions, give us the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap in which we would pay a fixed rate and receive a floating LIBOR rate. However, the swaptions are required to be cash settled based on their value on the expiration date, thereby effectively capping our interest rates by offsetting the present value cost of an increase in interest rates above the fixed rate. The cash settlement value depends on the extent to which prevailing LIBOR swap rates exceed the fixed rate on the underlying swap, and the value would be zero if swap rates are at or below the fixed rate upon expiration. The fixed rates on the LIBOR swaptions we purchased were in the range of 150 to 200 basis points above LIBOR swap rates in effect as of December 31, 2012 and the weighted average fixed rate is 4.17%. The swaptions' expiration dates, which range from 2013 through 2017, are timed to match the borrowing schedule for the new Vogtle units that was in place when we implemented this hedging program.

    We paid the entire premiums at the time we entered into these interest rate option transactions and have no additional payment obligations. However, upon expiration of the interest rate options, each counterparty will be obligated to pay us the cash value of the interest rate options, if any. These derivatives are recorded at fair value and hedge accounting is not applied. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the fair value of these interest rate options was approximately $25,783,000 and $69,446,000, respectively. To manage our credit exposure to these counterparties, we negotiated credit support provisions that require each counterparty to provide us collateral in the form of cash or securities to the extent that the value of the interest rate options outstanding for that counterparty exceeds a certain threshold. The collateral thresholds range from $0 to $10,000,000 depending on each counterparty's credit rating. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, we held $8,950,000 and $43,070,000 of funds posted as collateral by the counterparties, respectively. The collateral received is recorded as restricted cash on our consolidated balance sheet. The liability associated with the collateral is recorded as an offset to the fair values of the interest rate options, which are recorded within other deferred charges on the consolidated balance sheet, resulting in a net carrying amount of the interest rate options of $16,833,000 and $26,376,000 at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

    We are deferring gains or losses from the change in fair value of each interest rate option and related carrying and other incidental costs in accordance with our rate-making treatment. The deferred costs and deferred gains, if any, from the settlement of the interest rate options will be amortized and collected in rates over the life of the $2.2 billion of debt that we hedged with the swaptions.

    We estimate the value of the LIBOR swaptions utilizing an option pricing model based on several inputs including the notional amount, the forward LIBOR swap rates, the option volatility, the fixed rate on the underlying swap, the time to expiration, the term of the underlying swap and discount rates, as well as credit attributes, including the credit spread of the counterparty and the amount of credit support that is available for each swaption. The fair value of the swaptions is sensitive to certain of these inputs, especially option volatility. We are able to effectively observe all of these factors using a variety of market sources except for the credit spreads of certain counterparties and the option volatility. We are able to estimate option volatility implied by valuations we obtain from various sources, but the valuations, and therefore the implied option volatilities vary considerably from one source to another. Since valuations of comparable instruments are generally not publicly available, we have categorized these LIBOR swaptions as Level 3. We considered both any intrinsic value and the remaining time value associated with the derivatives and considered counterparty credit risk in our determination of all estimated fair values. We believe the estimated fair values for the LIBOR swaptions we hold are based on the most accurate information available for these types of derivative contracts.

    The following table reflects the notional amount of forecasted debt issuances we have hedged in each year with LIBOR swaptions as of December 31, 2012.

Year		LIBOR Swaption Notional Dollar Amount
		(in thousands)
2013	$	754,452
2014		563,425
2015		470,625
2016		310,533
2017		80,169
Total	$	2,179,204

    The table below reflects the fair value of derivative instruments and their effect on our consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

	Balance Sheet Location		Fair Value
			2012		2011
			(dollars in thousands)
Designated as hedge:
Liabilities
Natural gas swaps	Other current liabilities	$	–	$	7,220
Not designated as hedge:
Assets
Nuclear decommissioning trust	Nuclear Decommissioning trust fund	$	–	$	(982	)
Interest rate options	Other deferred charges	$	25,783	$	69,446
Liabilities
Natural gas swaps	Other current liabilities	$	1,085	$	–

    The following table presents the realized gains and (losses) on derivative instruments recognized in margin for the year ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

	Consolidated Statement of Revenues and Expenses Location		2012			2011			2010
			(dollars in thousands)
Designated as hedge:
Natural Gas Swaps	Fuel	$	–		$	195		$	–
Natural Gas Swaps	Fuel		–			(4,151	)		(19,734	)
		$	–		$	(3,956	)	$	(19,734	)
Not designated as hedge:
Natural Gas Swaps	Fuel	$	2,338		$	–		$	–
Natural Gas Swaps	Fuel		(10,483	)		–			–
		$	(8,145	)	$	–		$	–

    The following table presents the unrealized gains and (losses) on derivative instruments deferred on the balance sheet at December 31, 2012 and 2011.

	Consolidated Balance Sheet Location		2012			2011			2010
Designated as hedge:
Natural Gas Swaps	Accounts receivable	$	–		$	(7,220	)	$	(2,054	)
Total designated as hedge
Not designated as hedge:
Natural Gas Swaps	Regulatory asset	$	(1,085	)	$	–		$	–
Nuclear Decommissioning Trust	Regulatory asset		–			3,602			2,689
Nuclear Decommissioning Trust	Regulatory asset		–			(2,557	)		(2,564	)
Interest Rate Options	Regulatory asset		(74,217	)		(30,554	)		–
Total not designated as hedge		$	(75,302	)	$	(29,509	)	$	125