REGULATORY ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Regulated Operations [Abstract]

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

REGULATORY ASSETS:

The Company records regulatory assets with respect to its Distribution segment operations, which have been classified as discontinued operations as of December 31, 2012. See Note 3.  Although Panhandle’s natural gas transmission systems and storage operations are subject to the jurisdiction of FERC in accordance with the Natural Gas Act of 1938 and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, it does not currently apply regulatory accounting policies in accounting for its operations.  In 1999, prior to its acquisition by Southern Union, Panhandle discontinued the application of regulatory accounting policies primarily due to the level of discounting from tariff rates and its inability to recover specific costs.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had $123 million of regulatory assets included in the consolidate balance sheet as non-current assets held for sale. At December 31, 2011, the company had $57 million in regulatory assets, $37 million of which are being recovered through current rates.