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Investment in ATC | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2015
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract] |
Investment in ATC [Text Block] | INVESTMENT IN ATC Our wholly-owned subsidiary, ALLETE Transmission Holdings, owns approximately 8 percent of ATC, a Wisconsin-based utility that owns and maintains electric transmission assets in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. We account for our investment in ATC under the equity method of accounting. As of December 31, 2015, our equity investment in ATC was $124.5 million ($121.1 million at December 31, 2014). On January 29, 2016, we invested an additional $1.2 million in ATC. In total, we expect to invest approximately $6.2 million throughout 2016.
ALLETE’s Investment in ATC |  |
Year Ended December 31 | 2015 | 2014
Millions |  |
Equity Investment Beginning Balance |  | $121.1 |  |  | $114.6 |
Cash Investments | 1.6 |  | 3.9 |
Equity in ATC Earnings | 16.3 |  | 19.6 |
Distributed ATC Earnings | (14.5 | ) | (17.0 | )
Equity Investment Ending Balance |  | $124.5 |  |  | $121.1 |
ATC Summarized Financial Data |  |
Balance Sheet Data |  |
As of December 31 | 2015 | 2014
Millions |  |
Current Assets |  | $80.5 |  |  | $66.4 |
Non-Current Assets | 3,957.6 |  | 3,728.7 |
Total Assets |  | $4,038.1 |  |  | $3,795.1 |
Current Liabilities |  | $330.3 |  |  | $313.1 |
Long-Term Debt | 1,800.0 |  | 1,701.0 |
Other Non-Current Liabilities | 245.0 |  | 163.8 |
Members’ Equity | 1,662.8 |  | 1,617.2 |
Total Liabilities and Members’ Equity |  | $4,038.1 |  |  | $3,795.1 |
Income Statement Data |  |  |
Year Ended December 31 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013
Millions |  |  |
Revenue |  | $615.8 |  |  | $635.0 |  |  | $626.3 |
Operating Expense | 319.3 |  | 307.4 |  | 295.1 |
Other Expense | 96.1 |  | 88.9 |  | 83.6 |
Net Income |  | $200.4 |  |  | $238.7 |  |  | $247.6 |
ALLETE’s Equity in Net Income |  | $16.3 |  |  | $19.6 |  |  | $20.3 |
Our equity earnings in ATC for the year ended December 31, 2015, were $16.3 million and reflected a $5.2 million reduction related to complaints filed with the FERC by several customer groups located within the MISO service area; of which $2.4 million was attributable to ATC’s change in estimate of a refund liability relating to prior years. The groups requested, among other things, a reduction in the base return on equity used by MISO transmission owners, including ATC, to 9.15 percent. ATC's current authorized return on equity is 12.2 percent. On February 12, 2015, an additional complaint was filed with the FERC seeking an order to further reduce the base return on equity to 8.67 percent. On December 29, 2015, a federal administrative law judge ruled that the MISO transmission users have been charged an unreasonable base return on equity and proposed a reduction to 10.32 percent, subject to approval or adjustment by the FERC. A final decision from the FERC on the administrative law judge’s recommendation is currently expected in 2016. We own approximately 8 percent of ATC and estimate that for every 50 basis point reduction in ATC’s allowed return on equity our equity earnings in ATC would be impacted annually by approximately $0.5 million on an after-tax basis ($0.9 million pre-tax).

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- Definition The entire disclosure for equity method investments and joint ventures. Equity method investments are investments that give the investor the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of an investee. Joint ventures are entities owned and operated by a small group of businesses as a separate and specific business or project for the mutual benefit of the members of the group. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 35 -Paragraph 35 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49116238&loc=d3e32847-111569 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 210.5-02.12) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 35 -Paragraph 32 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49116238&loc=d3e32787-111569 + Details
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