10-K - SCANA Corporation
10-K - SCANA Corporation
10-K - SCANA Corporation
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Table of Contents<br />
Purchase Commitments<br />
The Company is obligated for purchase commitments that expire at various dates through 2034. Amounts expended under<br />
forward contracts for natural gas purchases, gas transportation capacity agreements, coal supply contracts, nuclear fuel contracts,<br />
construction projects and other commitments totaled $1.7 billion in 2011, $1.9 billion in 20<strong>10</strong> and $1.7 billion in 2009. Future<br />
payments under such purchase commitments are as follows:<br />
Forward contracts for natural gas purchases include customary “make-whole” or default provisions, but are not considered to<br />
be “take-or-pay” contracts.<br />
Guarantees<br />
Millions of dollars<br />
2012 $ 1,542<br />
2013 1,037<br />
2014 897<br />
2015 804<br />
2016 801<br />
Thereafter 1,<strong>10</strong>8<br />
Total $ 6,189<br />
The Company issues guarantees on behalf of its consolidated subsidiaries to facilitate commercial transactions with third<br />
parties. These guarantees are in the form of performance guarantees, primarily for the purchase and transportation of natural gas,<br />
standby letters of credit issued by financial institutions and credit support for certain tax-exempt bond issues. The Company is not<br />
required to recognize a liability for guarantees issued on behalf of its subsidiaries unless it becomes probable that performance under<br />
the guarantees will be required. The Company believes the likelihood that it would be required to perform or otherwise incur any<br />
losses associated with these guarantees is remote; therefore, no liability for these guarantees has been recognized. To the extent that a<br />
liability subject to a guarantee has been incurred, the liability is included in the consolidated financial statements. At December 31,<br />
2011, the maximum future payments (undiscounted) that the Company could be required to make under guarantees totaled $1.5<br />
billion.<br />
Asset Retirement Obligations<br />
The Company recognizes a liability for the fair value of an ARO when incurred if the fair value of the liability can be<br />
reasonably estimated. Uncertainty about the timing or method of settlement of a conditional ARO is factored into the measurement of<br />
the liability when sufficient information exists, but such uncertainty is not a basis upon which to avoid liability recognition.<br />
The legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived tangible assets that results from their acquisition,<br />
construction, development and normal operation relate primarily to the Company’s regulated utility operations. As of December 31,<br />
2011, the Company has recorded an ARO of approximately $124 million for nuclear plant decommissioning (see Note 1) and an ARO<br />
of approximately $349 million for other conditional obligations related to generation, transmission and distribution properties,<br />
including gas pipelines. All of the amounts recorded are based upon estimates which are subject to varying degrees of imprecision,<br />
particularly since such payments will be made many years in the future.<br />
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending aggregate carrying amount of asset retirement obligations is as follows:<br />
Millions of dollars 2011 20<strong>10</strong><br />
Beginning balance $ 497 $ 477<br />
Liabilities incurred 1 1<br />
Liabilities settled (4) (1)<br />
Accretion expense 23 25<br />
Revisions in estimated cash flows (44) (5)<br />
Ending Balance $ 473 $ 497<br />
86