REGULATION - REGULATORY FILINGS (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jul. 23, 2014 Subsequent Event [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 Medium-term Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 BGSS [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 SBC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 NJCEP [Member]	Jul. 23, 2014 NJ RISE Program [Member] Subsequent Event [Member]	Jul. 23, 2014 NJ RISE Program [Member] Subsequent Event [Member] project	Jun. 30, 2014 June 2013 USF Filing [Member] USF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 June 2013 BGSS/CIP Filing [Member] CIP [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 July 2013 SBC Filing [Member] SBC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 June 2014 BGSS/CIP Filing [Member] CIP [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 June 2014 USF Filing [Member] USF [Member]
Schedule of Regulatory [Line Items]
Percent of increase (decrease) for the average residential heating customer					(6.00%)	(0.20%)	1.90%			(0.50%)	(1.00%)		(4.30%)	0.40%
Annual recovery amount approved by the Board of Public Utilities												$ 18,700,000
Debt term	3 years	10 years
Maximum issuance amount				300,000,000
Maturity period				30 years
Renewal period			5 years
Capital investments approved by the Board of Public Utilities								$ 102,500,000
Capital investments period								5 years
Number of capital investment projects									6