SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Assets Held for Sale and Liabilities Held for Sale

As a result, SJI has recorded the following in Assets Held for Sale and Liabilities Held for Sale on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):

	2019		2018
Assets Held for Sale:
Current Assets	$	5,365	$	—
Net Utility Plant	18,692		—
Net Nonutility Property, Plant & Equipment	110,400		59,588
Goodwill	59		—
Regulatory Assets	415		—
Other Noncurrent Assets	8,509		—
Total Assets Held for Sale	$	143,440	$	59,588
Liabilities Held for Sale:
Current Liabilities	$	916	$	—
Asset Retirement Obligations	2,515		—
Regulatory Liabilities	2,583		—
Other Noncurrent Liabilities	29		—
Total Liabilities Held for Sale	$	6,043	$	—

Summarized operating results of the discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, were (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	2019		2018		2017
Loss before Income Taxes:
Sand Mining	$	(79)	$	(118)	$	(84)
Fuel Oil	(263)		(184)		(175)
Income Tax Benefits	70		62		173
Loss from Discontinued Operations — Net	$	(272)	$	(240)	$	(86)
Earnings Per Common Share from
Discontinued Operations — Net:
Basic and Diluted	$	—	$	—	$	—

Asset retirement obligation activity

ARO activity was as follows (in thousands):

SJI (includes SJG and all other consolidated subsidiaries):	2019		2018
AROs as of January 1,	$	80,163	$	59,497
Accretion	9,263		1,909
Additions (A)	175,082		297
Settlements	(14,437)		(3,402)
Revisions in Estimated Cash Flows (B)	13,879		21,862
ARO's as of December 31,	$	263,950	$	80,163
SJG:	2019		2018
AROs as of January 1,	$	79,890	$	58,714
Accretion	3,741		1,880
Additions	2,553		297
Settlements	(3,554)		(2,863)
Revisions in Estimated Cash Flows (B)	13,879		21,862
ARO's as of December 31,	$	96,509	$	79,890

(A) The additions in 2019 are related to the recording of ETG's ARO liability as part of purchase accounting (see Note 20).

(B) The revision in estimated cash flows reflects an increase in the retirement costs and inflation rate, partially offset by a decrease to the discount rate, to settle the ARO liability. Corresponding entries were made to Regulatory Assets and Utility Plant, thus having no impact on earnings.

Public utility property, plant, and equipment

Utility Plant balances and Nonutility Property and Equipment as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 were comprised of the following (in thousands):

	SJI (includes SJG and all other consolidated subsidiaries):				SJG
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Utility Plant
Production Plant	$	1,334	$	1,281	$	25	$	296
Storage Plant	84,611		92,769		61,936		61,996
Transmission Plant	332,049		326,906		305,459		306,654
Distribution Plant	3,973,466		3,466,101		2,441,342		2,212,831
General Plant	310,785		303,219		238,379		241,095
Other Plant	1,955		1,964		1,855		1,855
Utility Plant In Service	4,704,200		4,192,240		3,048,996		2,824,727
Construction Work In Progress	201,150		148,873		105,740		82,475
Total Utility Plant	$	4,905,350	$	4,341,113	$	3,154,736	$	2,907,202
Nonutility Property and Equipment
Solar Assets (A)	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Cogeneration Assets (B)	—		126,228		—		—
Other Assets	25,991		26,004		—		—
Total Nonutility Property and Equipment	$	25,991	$	152,232	$	—	$	—

(A) All remaining solar assets are recorded as Assets Held for Sale in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.

(B) All cogeneration assets are recorded as Assets Held for Sale in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2019.

Schedule of Asset Management Agreement Contract Purchase

The amounts received by ETG will be credited to its BGSS clause and returned to its ratepayers. The total purchase price was allocated as follows (in thousands):

Natural Gas in Storage	$	9,685
Intangible Asset	19,200
Profit Sharing - Other Liabilities	(17,546)
Total Consideration	$	11,339