SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

REVENUE BASED TAXES

REVENUE BASED TAXES - SJG collects certain revenue-based energy taxes from its customers. Such taxes include New Jersey State Sales Tax, Transitional Energy Facility Assessment (TEFA) and Public Utilities Assessment (PUA). State sales tax is recorded as a liability when billed to customers and is not included in revenue or operating expenses. TEFA and PUA are included in both revenues and cost of sales, and totaled $0.7 million and $0.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, and $4.0 million and $5.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. TEFA, which accounts for the majority of the revenue based taxes, is subject to a planned phase-out which decreased rates by 25% effective January 1, 2012.

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS — Other than as described below, no new accounting pronouncement issued or effective during 2011 and 2012 had, or is expected to have, a material impact on the condensed financial statements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS. This ASU amends Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820 to include a consistent definition of the term “fair value” and set forth common requirements for measuring fair value and disclosing information about fair value measurements in financial statements. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this guidance modified the disclosures around fair value, but did not have an impact on the Company's financial statement results.

In June 2011, the FASB has issued ASU No. 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income.  This ASU allows an entity the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements.  In both choices, an entity is required to present each component of net income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income.  ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity.  In January 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for the Presentation of Reclassification Adjustments Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which defers the provisions related to the presentation of reclassification adjustments. The other portions of the ASU remain unchanged and are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company's financial statement results.

In January 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, Enhanced Disclosure Requirements Concerning Offsetting of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. This ASU amends ASC 210-20 to add disclosure requirements in respect of the offsetting of financial assets and financial liabilities. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2013. Management does not anticipate the adoption of this guidance to have an impact on the Company's financial statement results.

FAIR VALUE

(A)  Available-for-Sale Securities include securities that are traded in active markets and securities that are not traded publicly.  The securities traded in active markets are valued using the quoted principal market close prices that are provided by the trustees and are categorized in Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.  The remaining securities consist of funds that are not publicly traded.  These funds, which consist of stocks and bonds that are traded individually in active markets, are valued using quoted prices for similar assets and are categorized in Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

(B)  Derivatives – Energy Related Assets and Liabilities are traded in both exchange-based and non-exchange-based markets. Exchange-based contracts are valued using unadjusted quoted market sources in active markets and are categorized in Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy. Certain non-exchange-based contracts are valued using indicative price quotations available through brokers or over-the-counter, on-line exchanges and are categorized in Level 2. These price quotations reflect the average of the bid-ask mid-point prices and are obtained from sources that management believes provide the most liquid market. Management reviews and corroborates the price quotations to ensure the prices are observable which includes consideration of actual transaction volumes, market delivery points, bid-ask spreads and contract duration.

(C)  Derivatives – Other, include interest rate swaps that are valued using quoted prices on commonly quoted intervals, which are interpolated for periods different than the quoted intervals, as inputs to a market valuation model.  Market inputs can generally be verified and model selection does not involve significant management judgment.