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FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Financial Instruments, Owned, at Fair Value [Abstract]  
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS:
RESTRICTED INVESTMENTS — SJI and SJG maintain margin accounts with certain counterparties to support their risk management activities associated with hedging commodities. The balances required to be held in these margin accounts increase as the net value of the outstanding energy-related contracts with the respective counterparties decrease.

The following table provides SJI's (including SJG) and SJG's balances of Restricted Investments as well as presents a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the condensed consolidated balance sheets that total to the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):
As of September 30, 2021
Balance Sheet Line ItemSJISJG
Cash and Cash Equivalents$25,415 $1,986 
Restricted Investments34 34 
   Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows$25,449 $2,020 
As of December 31, 2020
Balance Sheet Line ItemSJISJG
Cash and Cash Equivalents$34,045 $1,598 
Restricted Investments7,786 4,826 
   Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows$41,831 $6,424 

The carrying amounts of the Restricted Investments for both SJI and SJG approximate their fair values at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, which would be included in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy (see Note 13).


ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES - Accounts receivable are recorded gross on the condensed consolidated balance sheets with allowance for credit losses shown as a separate line item titled Provision for Uncollectibles. A summary of changes in the allowance for credit losses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 is as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended
September 30,		Nine Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
SJI (includes SJG and all other consolidated subsidiaries):
Balance at beginning of period$42,233 $30,410 $30,582 $19,829 
Provision for expected credit losses2,375 5,416 7,621 19,994 
Regulated assets (a)(293)— 8,982 — 
Recoveries of accounts previously written off414 126 772 688 
Uncollectible accounts written off(1,664)(2,935)(4,892)(7,494)
Balance at end of period$43,065 $33,017 $43,065 $33,017 
SJG:
Balance at beginning of period$21,706 $14,472 $17,359 $14,032 
Provision for expected credit losses1,411 4,783 5,529 8,255 
Regulated assets (a)1,059 — 3,030 — 
Recoveries of accounts previously written off400 4 503 295 
Uncollectible accounts written off(702)(2,422)(2,547)(5,745)
Balance at end of period$23,874 $16,837 $23,874 $16,837 
(a) Deferral of incremental costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic as a regulatory asset, resulting from a July 2, 2020 BPU Order (see Note 8). ETG’s incremental costs were lower during the third quarter 2021 resulting from lower allowance for credit losses due to seasonality, resulting in the negative balance for SJI during the three months ended September 30, 2021.

NOTES RECEIVABLE-AFFILIATES - The carrying amounts of the Note Receivable-Affiliates balances approximate their fair values at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, which would be included in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. See Note 3 for information about these balances and Note 13 for information about the fair value hierarchy.

CONTRACT RECEIVABLES - SJG provides financing to customers for the purpose of attracting conversions to natural gas heating systems from competing fuel sources. The terms of these loans call for customers to make monthly payments over periods ranging from five to ten years, with no interest. The carrying amounts of such loans were $1.8 million and $2.5 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The current portion of these receivables is reflected in Accounts Receivable and the non-current portion is reflected in Contract Receivables on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The carrying amounts noted above are net of unamortized discounts resulting from imputed interest. The amount of such discounts and the annualized amortization to interest is not material to SJI's or SJG's consolidated financial statements.

In addition, as part of the EET program, SJG provides funding to customers to upgrade equipment for the purpose of promoting energy efficiency. The terms of these loans range from two to ten years. The carrying amounts of such loans were $53.0 million and $46.4 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. On the condensed consolidated balance sheets of SJI and SJG, the current portion of EET loans receivable totaled $7.1 million and $6.4 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, and is reflected in Accounts Receivable; and the non-current portion totaled $45.9 million and $40.0 million as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, and is reflected in Contract Receivables.

Given the risk of uncollectibility is low due to the oversight and preapproval required by the BPU, no allowance for credit loss has been recognized on the above-mentioned receivables. There have been no material impacts to this risk of uncollectibility as a result of COVID-19.

The carrying amounts of these receivables approximate their fair value at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, which would be included in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy (see Note 13).

CREDIT RISK - As of September 30, 2021, SJI had approximately $10.5 million, or 5.9%, of the current and noncurrent Derivatives – Energy Related Assets transacted with one counterparty. This counterparty is investment-grade rated.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS NOT CARRIED AT FAIR VALUE - The fair value of a financial instrument is the market price to sell an asset or transfer a liability at the measurement date. The carrying amounts of SJI's and SJG's financial instruments approximate their fair values at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, except as noted below (in thousands):
September 30, 2021December 31, 2020
SJI (includes SJG and all consolidated entities)
Estimated fair values of long-term debt$3,604,517 $3,152,224 
Carrying amounts of long-term debt, including current maturities (A)$3,261,945 $2,919,201 
Net of:
   Unamortized debt issuance costs $39,465 $29,574 
   Unamortized debt discounts$5,157 $5,224 
SJG
Estimated fair values of long-term debt$1,171,515 $1,197,052 
Carrying amounts of long-term debt, including current maturities$1,049,551 $1,069,089 
Net of:
   Unamortized debt issuance costs$8,895 $9,357 
(A) SJI Long-Term Debt on the consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 includes $5.6 million and $3.1 million of finance leases, respectively.

For Long-Term Debt (including current maturities), in estimating the fair value, SJI and SJG use the present value of remaining cash flows at the balance sheet date. SJI and SJG based the estimates on interest rates available at the end of each period for debt with similar terms and maturities (Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy, see Note 13).