DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are subject to commodity price risk due to fluctuations in the market price of natural gas. To manage this risk, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries enter into a variety of derivative instruments including, but not limited to, futures contracts, physical forward contracts, financial options and swaps to economically hedge the commodity price risk associated with its existing and anticipated commitments to purchase and sell natural gas. In addition, the Company may utilize foreign currency derivatives as cash flow hedges of Canadian dollar denominated gas purchases. These contracts, with a few exceptions as described below, are accounted for as derivatives. Accordingly, all of the financial and certain of the Company's physical derivative instruments are recorded at fair value in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. For a more detailed discussion of the Company's fair value measurement policies and level disclosures associated with the NJR's derivative instruments (see Note 5. Fair Value).

Since the Company chooses not to designate its financial commodity and physical forward commodity derivatives as accounting hedges, changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments are concurrently recorded as a component of gas purchases or operating revenues, as appropriate for NJRES, in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as unrealized gains or losses. For NJRES at settlement, realized gains and losses on all financial derivative instruments are recognized as a component of gas purchases and realized gains and losses on all physical derivatives follow the presentation of the related unrealized gains and losses as a component of either gas purchases or operating revenues.

NJRES also enters into natural gas transactions in Canada and, consequently, is exposed to fluctuations in the value of Canadian currency relative to the US dollar. NJRES utilizes foreign currency derivatives to lock in the currency translation rate associated with natural gas transactions denominated in Canadian currency. The derivatives may include currency forwards, futures, or swaps and are accounted for as derivatives. These derivatives are being used to hedge future forecasted cash payments associated with transportation and storage contracts. The Company has designated these foreign currency derivatives as cash flow hedges of that exposure, and expects the hedge relationship to be highly effective throughout the term. Since NJRES designates its foreign exchange contracts as cash flow hedges, changes in fair value are recorded in other comprehensive income (OCI). When the foreign exchange contracts are settled, realized gains and losses are recognized in gas purchases in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Realized and unrealized gains and losses related to NJR Energy's financial derivatives, which have expired, were recorded as a component of operating revenues during fiscal 2010.

Changes in fair value of NJNG's derivative instruments, however, are recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as NJNG has received regulatory approval to defer and to recover these amounts through future BGSS rates as an increase or decrease to the cost of natural gas in NJNG's tariff.

As a result of NJRES entering into transactions to borrow gas, commonly referred to as “park and loans,” an embedded derivative is created related to potential differences between the fair value of the amount borrowed and the fair value of the amount that may ultimately be repaid, based on changes in forward natural gas prices during the contract term. This embedded derivative is accounted for as a forward sale in the month in which the repayment of the borrowed gas is expected to occur, and is considered a derivative transaction that is recorded at fair value on the balance sheet, with changes in value recognized in current period earnings.

The Company elects normal purchase/normal sale accounting treatment on all physical commodity contracts at NJNG. These contracts are accounted for on an accrual basis. Accordingly, gains (losses) are recognized in earnings when the contract settles and the natural gas is delivered.

Fair Value of Derivatives

The following table reflects the fair value of NJR's derivative assets and liabilities recognized in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of:



			Fair Value
			June 30, 2011						September 30, 2010
(Thousands)	Balance Sheet Location	Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives			Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
NJRES:
Foreign exchange contracts	Derivatives - current		$	107		$	—		$	15		$	—
	Derivatives - noncurrent		82			—			10			—
Fair value of derivatives designated as hedging instruments			$	189		$	—		$	25		$	—

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
NJNG:
Financial commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		$	5,338		$	13,020		$	9,952		$	24,724
	Derivatives - noncurrent		—			—			—			1,725
NJRES:
Physical forward commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		19,439			5,219			18,566			5,879
	Derivatives - noncurrent		3,734			989			5,482			179
Financial commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		34,134			26,899			106,653			47,844
	Derivatives - noncurrent		1,265			3,040			2,465			3,736
Fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments			$	63,910		$	49,167		$	143,118		$	84,087
Total fair value of derivatives			$	64,099		$	49,167		$	143,143		$	84,087

At June 30, 2011, the notional amount of the foreign currency transactions was approximately $2.6 million, and ineffectiveness in the hedge relationship is immaterial to the financial results of NJR.

NJRES utilizes financial derivatives to economically hedge the gross margin associated with the purchase of physical gas for injection into storage and the subsequent sale of physical gas at a later date. The gains (losses) on the financial transactions that are economic hedges of the cost of the purchased gas are recognized prior to the gains (losses) on the physical transaction, which are recognized in earnings when the natural gas is sold. Therefore, mismatches between the timing of the recognition of realized gains or losses on the financial derivative instruments and gains (losses) associated with the actual sale of the natural gas that is being economically hedged along with fair value changes in derivative instruments creates volatility in the results of NJRES, although the Company's intended economic results relating to the entire transaction are unaffected.

The following table reflects the effect of derivative instruments on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as of:



(Thousands)	Location of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives
		Three Months Ended					Nine Months Ended
		June 30,					June 30,
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:		2011		2010			2011			2010
NJRES:
Physical commodity contracts	Operating revenues	$	5,044	$	12,890		$	29,881		$	35,564
Physical commodity contracts	Gas purchases	4,639		(12,110		)	(1,467		)	(11,956		)
Financial commodity contracts	Gas purchases	8,703		(11,449		)	(19,072		)	53,668
Subtotal NJRES		18,386		(10,669		)	9,342			77,276
NJR Energy:
Financial commodity contracts	Operating revenues	—		421			—			(6,085		)
Total NJRES and NJR Energy unrealized and realized gains (losses)		$	18,386	$	(10,248	)	$	9,342		$	71,191

Not included in the previous table, are (losses) gains associated with NJNG's financial derivatives that totaled $(2.1) million and $12.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively and $(7) million and $(27) million for the nine months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. These derivatives are part of its regulated risk management activities that serve to mitigate BGSS costs passed on to its customers. As these transactions are entered into pursuant to and recoverable through regulatory riders, any changes in the value of NJNG's financial derivatives are deferred in regulatory assets or liabilities and there is no impact to earnings.

As noted above, NJRES designates its foreign exchange contracts as cash flow hedges, therefore, changes in fair value are recorded in OCI and, upon settlement of the contracts, realized gains and losses are reclassified from OCI to gas purchases in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The following tables reflect the effect of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges on OCI:



(Thousands)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives (Effective Portion)					Amount of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI (Effective Portion)				Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized on Derivative (Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing)
	Three Months Ended					Three Months Ended				Three Months Ended
	June 30,					June 30,				June 30,
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships:	2011		2010 ⁽¹⁾			2011		2010 ⁽¹⁾		2011		2010 ⁽¹⁾
Foreign currency contracts	$	3	$	(144	)	$	32	$	5	$	—	$	—
Total	$	3	$	(144	)	$	32	$	5	$	—	$	—


(1)	NJRES began hedging its foreign currency exposure in May 2010, therefore, amounts for the three months ended June 30, 2010 only include gains and losses for May 2010 through June 2010 and is not comparative to the three months ended June 30, 2011.



(Thousands)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives (Effective Portion) ⁽¹⁾					Amount of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from OCI into Income (Effective Portion)				Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized on Derivative (Ineffective Portion and Amount Excluded from Effectiveness Testing)
	Nine Months Ended					Nine Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	June 30,					June 30,				June 30,
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships:	2011		2010 ⁽²⁾			2011		2010 ⁽²⁾		2011		2010 ⁽²⁾
Foreign currency contracts	$	164	$	(144	)	$	91	$	5	$	—	$	—
Total	$	164	$	(144	)	$	91	$	5	$	—	$	—


(1)	The settlement of foreign currency transactions over the next 12 months is expected to result in the reclassification of $107,000 from OCI into earnings. The maximum tenor is April 2013.


(2)	NJRES began hedging its foreign currency exposure in May 2010, therefore, amounts for the nine months ended June 30, 2010 only include gains and losses for May 2010 through June 2010 and is not comparative to the nine months ended June 30, 2011.

NJNG and NJRES had the following outstanding long (short) derivatives as of:



		Volume (Bcf)
		June 30, 2011		September 30, 2010
NJNG	Futures	(2.5	)	20.8
	Swaps	10.7		(8.7	)
NJRES	Futures	(13.6	)	(13.0	)
	Swaps	(16.1	)	(7.3	)
	Options	—		0.6
	Physical	72.1		36.1

Broker Margin

Generally, exchange-traded futures contracts require posted collateral, referred to as margin, usually in the form of cash. The amount of margin required is comprised of a fixed initial amount based on the contract and a variable amount based on market price movements from the initial trade price. The Company maintains broker margin accounts for NJNG and NJRES. The balances by company are as follows:



(Thousands)	Balance Sheet Location	June 30, 2011		September 30, 2010
NJNG broker margin deposit	Broker margin - Current assets	$	13,034	$	19,241
NJRES broker margin deposit	Broker margin - Current assets (liabilities)	$	14,292	$	(28,459	)

Wholesale Credit Risk

NJNG and NJRES are exposed to credit risk as a result of their wholesale marketing activities. As a result of the inherent volatility in the prices of natural gas commodities and derivatives, the market value of contractual positions with individual counterparties could exceed established credit limits or collateral provided by those counterparties. If a counterparty failed to perform the obligations under its contract (e.g., failed to deliver or pay for natural gas), then the Company could sustain a loss.

NJR monitors and manages the credit risk of its wholesale marketing operations through credit policies and procedures that management believes reduce overall credit risk. These policies include a review and evaluation of current and prospective counterparties' financial statements and/or credit ratings, daily monitoring of counterparties' credit limits and exposure, daily communication with traders regarding credit status and the use of credit mitigation measures, such as collateral requirements and netting agreements. Examples of collateral include letters of credit and cash received for either prepayment or margin deposit. Collateral may be requested due to NJR's election not to extend credit or because exposure exceeds defined thresholds. Most of NJR's wholesale marketing contracts contain standard netting provisions. These contracts include those governed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). The netting provisions refer to payment netting, whereby receivables and payables with the same counterparty are offset and the resulting net amount is paid to the party to which it is due.

The following is a summary of gross credit exposures grouped by investment and noninvestment grade counterparties, as of June 30, 2011. Internally-rated exposure applies to counterparties that are not rated by Standard & Poor's (S&P) or Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's). In these cases, the company's or guarantor's financial statements are reviewed, and similar methodologies and ratios used by S&P and/or Moody's are applied to arrive at a substitute rating. Gross credit exposure is defined as the unrealized fair value of physical and financial derivative commodity contracts plus any outstanding wholesale receivable for the value of natural gas delivered for which payment has not yet been received. The amounts presented below have not been reduced by any collateral received or netting and exclude accounts receivable for NJNG retail natural gas sales and services.



(Thousands)	Gross Credit Exposure
Investment grade		$	164,598
Noninvestment grade		10,567
Internally rated investment grade		47,772
Internally rated noninvestment grade		11,327
Total		$	234,264

Conversely, certain of NJNG's and NJRES' derivative instruments are linked to agreements containing provisions that would require cash collateral payments from the Company if certain events occur. These provisions vary based upon the terms in individual counterparty agreements and can result in cash payments if NJNG's credit rating were to fall below its current level. NJNG's credit rating, with respect to S&P, reflects the overall corporate credit profile of NJR. Specifically, most, but not all, of these additional payments will be triggered if NJNG's debt is downgraded by the major credit agencies, regardless of investment grade status. As well, some of these agreements include threshold amounts that would result in additional collateral payments if the values of derivative liabilities were to exceed the maximum values provided for in relevant counterparty agreements. Other provisions include payment features that are not specifically linked to ratings, but are based on certain financial metrics.

Collateral amounts associated with any of these conditions, are determined based on a sliding scale and are contingent upon the degree to which the Company's credit rating and/or financial metrics deteriorate, and the extent to which liability amounts exceed applicable threshold limits. The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that were in a liability position on June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010, is $1.3 million and $7.4 million, respectively, for which the Company had not posted any collateral. If all the thresholds related to the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements had been invoked on June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010, the Company would have been required to post an additional $200,000 and $5.5 million, respectively, to its counterparties. These amounts differ from the respective net derivative liabilities reflected in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets because the agreements also include clauses, commonly known as “Rights of Offset,” that would permit the Company to offset its derivative assets against its derivative liabilities for determining additional collateral to be posted.