Credit Losses

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Credit Loss [Abstract]

CREDIT LOSSES

CREDIT LOSSES

The table below shows our gross third-party receivable balances and related allowance for credit losses.

(in millions)	December 31, 2023			December 31, 2022
Accounts receivable and unbilled revenues	$	617.5		$	632.3
Allowance for credit losses	44.5			49.7
Accounts receivable and unbilled revenues, net (1)	$	573.0		$	582.6
Total accounts receivable, net – past due greater than 90 days (1)	$	37.2		$	35.8
Past due greater than 90 days – collection risk mitigated by regulatory mechanisms (1)	94.1		%	97.5		%

(1)    Our exposure to credit losses for certain regulated utility customers is mitigated by a regulatory mechanism we have in place. Specifically, our residential tariffs include a mechanism for cost recovery or refund of uncollectible expense based on the difference between actual uncollectible write-offs and the amounts recovered in rates. As a result, at December 31, 2023, $342.5 million, or 59.8%, of our net accounts receivable and unbilled revenues balance had regulatory protections in place to mitigate the exposure to credit losses.

A rollforward of the allowance for credit losses is included below:

	Year Ended December 31
(in millions)	2023		2022		2021
Balance at January 1	$	49.7	$	51.4	$	59.3
Provision for credit losses	23.8		27.3		24.8
Provision for credit losses deferred for future recovery or refund	45.7		34.0		(0.3)
Write-offs charged against the allowance	(94.1)		(83.4)		(47.6)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off	19.4		20.4		15.2
Balance at December 31	$	44.5	$	49.7	$	51.4

The allowance for credit losses decreased during the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily related to lower customer energy costs (driven by the warmer weather during the fourth quarter of 2023 when compared to the same quarter in 2022 and lower natural gas prices), which contributed to a reduction in past due accounts receivable balances and a related decrease in the allowance for credit losses. Customer write-offs also contributed to the decrease in the allowance for credit losses. After a customer is disconnected for a period of time without payment on their account, we will write off that customer balance.

The allowance for credit losses decreased during the year ended December 31, 2022, driven by customer write-offs related to collection practices returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, including the restoration of our ability to disconnect customers. Partially offsetting the decrease in the allowance for credit losses, we believe that the high energy costs that customers were seeing, which were driven by high natural gas prices, contributed to higher past due accounts receivable balances and a related increase in the allowance of credit losses.

The allowance for credit losses decreased during the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily related to normal collection practices resuming in April 2021. Higher year-over-year natural gas prices drove an increase in gross accounts receivable balances, partially offsetting the decrease in the allowance for credit losses attributed to collection efforts.