XML 69 R34.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.3.0.15

Income Tax Expense (Tables) | 9 Months Ended
--- | ---
Sep. 30, 2011
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
Income Tax Expense [Table Text Block] |
| Quarter Ended |  | Nine Months Ended
| September 30, |  | September 30,
| 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2011 |  | 2010
Millions |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Current Tax Expense (Benefit) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Federal (a) | — |  |  | $(31.7) |  | — |  |  | $(24.5)
State (a) | $(0.1) |  | 1.0 |  | $0.1 |  | — |
Total Current Tax Expense (Benefit) | (0.1) |  | (30.7) |  | 0.1 |  | (24.5)
Deferred Tax Expense |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Federal (b) | 8.5 |  | 41.0 |  | 19.3 |  | 59.0
State (b) | 4.5 |  | 1.2 |  | 6.0 |  | 6.7
Investment Tax Credit Amortization | (0.2) |  | (0.3) |  | (0.7) |  | (0.7)
Total Deferred Tax Expense | 12.8 |  | 41.9 |  | 24.6 |  | 65.0
Total Income Tax Expense | $12.7 |  | $11.2 |  | $24.7 |  | $40.5
(a) | For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, the federal and state current tax expense (benefit) of zero and ($0.1) million, respectively, (zero and $0.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2011) is due to a net operating loss (NOL) which resulted primarily from the bonus depreciation provision of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The 2011 federal and state NOL will be carried forward to offset future taxable income. For the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010, we recorded a federal current tax benefit as a result of tax planning initiatives and the bonus depreciation provision in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The 2010 federal NOL was partially utilized by carrying it back against prior years’ income with the remainder carried forward to offset future years’ income.
(b) | The nine months ended September 30, 2011, includes a second quarter income tax benefit of $2.9 million related to the MPUC approval of our request to defer the retail portion of the tax charge taken in 2010 as a result of PPACA and a first quarter benefit for the reversal of a $6.2 million deferred tax liability related to a revenue receivable that Minnesota Power agreed to forgo as part of a stipulation and settlement agreement in its 2010 rate case. Included in the nine months ended September 30, 2010, is a first quarter charge of $4.0 million as a result of PPACA. (See Note 6. Regulatory Matters.)

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_IncomeTaxDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Publisher FASB -Number -Article -Subparagraph -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Paragraph 9 -Section 50 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32639-109319 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfComponentsOfIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration