DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company is subject to commodity price risk due to fluctuations in the market price of natural gas, SRECs and electricity. To manage this risk, the Company enters 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, SRECs and electricity. 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 on 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 or to elect NPNS as appropriate, changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments are recorded as a component of gas purchases or operating revenues, as appropriate for NJRES, on 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 along with purchases of natural gas. 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 of the effective portion of the hedge are recorded in OCI. When the foreign exchange contracts are settled and the related purchases are recognized in income, realized gains and (losses) are recognized in gas purchases on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

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 differences between the fair value of the amount borrowed and the fair value of the amount that will ultimately be repaid, based on changes in the forward price for natural gas prices at the borrowed location over 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 Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, with changes in value recognized in current period earnings.

Changes in fair value of NJNG's financial derivative instruments are recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. 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 for gas service.

The Company elects NPNS accounting treatment on all physical commodity contracts at NJNG. These contracts are accounted for on an accrual basis. Accordingly, physical purchases are recognized in regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets when the contract settles and the natural gas is delivered and amortized in current period earnings based on the current BPU BGSS factor.

NJRCEV hedges certain of its expected production of SRECs through forward and futures contracts. The contracts require the Company to physically deliver the SRECs upon settlement. The Company elects NPNS accounting treatment on all SREC forward and futures contracts it enters into. NJRCEV recognizes the related revenue upon transfer of the SREC certificate to the counterparty.

Fair Value of Derivatives

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



			Fair Value
			December 31, 2014						September 30, 2014
(Thousands)	Balance Sheet Location	Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives			Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
NJRES:
Foreign currency contracts	Derivatives - current		$	—		$	204		$	—		$	155
Fair value of derivatives designated as hedging instruments			$	—		$	204		$	—		$	155

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
NJNG:
Financial commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		$	62		$	18,914		$	2,525		$	2,205
	Derivatives - noncurrent		—			—			82			25
NJRES:
Physical forward commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		14,769			24,993			15,391			30,778
	Derivatives - noncurrent		544			1,034			35			132
Financial commodity contracts	Derivatives - current		127,507			47,314			46,307			46,725
	Derivatives - noncurrent		6,263			4,489			5,537			6,533
Fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments			$	149,145		$	96,744		$	69,877		$	86,398
Total fair value of derivatives			$	149,145		$	96,948		$	69,877		$	86,553

At December 31, 2014, the gross notional amount of the foreign currency transactions was approximately $6.2 million, and ineffectiveness in the hedge relationship is immaterial to the financial results of NJR.

Offsetting of Derivatives

NJR transacts under master netting arrangements or equivalent agreements that allow it to offset derivative assets and liabilities with the same counterparty, however NJR's policy is to present its derivative assets and liabilities on a gross basis in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The following table summarizes the reported gross amounts, the amounts that NJR has the right to offset but elects not to, financial collateral, as well as the net amounts NJR could present in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets but elects not to.



(Thousands)	Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets ⁽¹⁾			Offsetting Derivative Instruments ⁽²⁾				Financial Collateral Received/Pledged ⁽³⁾				Net Amounts ⁽⁴⁾
As of December 31, 2014:
Derivative assets:
NJRES
Physical forward commodity contracts		$	15,313		$	(6,054	)		$	—			$	9,259
Financial commodity contracts		133,770			(51,803		)		(53,821		)		28,146
Total NJRES		$	149,083		$	(57,857	)		$	(53,821	)		$	37,405
NJNG
Financial commodity contracts		$	62		$	(62	)		$	—			$	—
Derivative liabilities:
NJRES
Physical forward commodity contracts		$	26,027		$	(6,054	)		$	(1,200	)		$	18,773
Financial commodity contracts		51,803			(51,803		)		—				—
Foreign currency contracts		204			—				—				204
Total NJRES		$	78,034		$	(57,857	)		$	(1,200	)		$	18,977
NJNG
Financial commodity contracts		$	18,914		$	(62	)		$	(18,852	)		$	—

As of September 30, 2014:
Derivative assets:
NJRES
Physical forward commodity contracts		$	15,426		$	(11,531	)		$	—			$	3,895
Financial commodity contracts		51,844			(51,844		)		—				—
Total NJRES		$	67,270		$	(63,375	)		$	—			$	3,895
NJNG
Financial commodity contracts		$	2,607		$	(2,230	)		$	(377	)		$	—
Derivative liabilities:
NJRES
Physical forward commodity contracts		$	30,910		$	(12,058	)		$	(1,200	)		$	17,652
Financial commodity contracts		53,258			(51,844		)		(1,414		)		—
Foreign currency contracts		155			—				—				155
Total NJRES		$	84,323		$	(63,902	)		$	(2,614	)		$	17,807
NJNG
Financial commodity contracts		$	2,230		$	(2,230	)		$	—			$	—


(1)	Derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis in the balance sheet as the Company does not elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20.


(2)	Offsetting derivative instruments include: transactions with NAESB netting election, transactions held by FCM's with net margining and transactions with ISDA netting.


(3)	Financial collateral includes cash balances at FCMs as well as cash received from or pledged to other counterparties.


(4)	Net amounts represent presentation of derivative assets and liabilities if the Company were to elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20.

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 or (losses) on the financial transactions that are economic hedges of the cost of the purchased gas are recognized prior to the gains or (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 or (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
		December 31,
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:		2014			2013
NJRES:
Physical commodity contracts	Operating revenues	$	16,091		$	(82	)
Physical commodity contracts	Gas purchases	(19,856		)	(24,993		)
Financial commodity contracts	Gas purchases	117,721			(40,070		)
Total unrealized and realized gains (losses)		$	113,956		$	(65,145	)

The table above does not include (losses) gains associated with NJNG's financial derivatives that totaled $(19) million and $6.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. These derivatives are part of NJNG's risk management activities that relate to its natural gas purchases and BGSS incentive programs. 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 resulting in no impact to earnings.

As previously noted, NJRES designates its foreign exchange contracts as cash flow hedges, therefore, changes in fair value of the effective portion of the hedges are recorded in OCI and, upon settlement of the contracts, realized gains and (losses) are reclassified from OCI to gas purchases on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The following table reflects the effect of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges on OCI as of December 31:



(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)
	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended					Three Months Ended
	December 31,						December 31,					December 31,
Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships:	2014			2013			2014			2013		2014		2013
Foreign currency contracts	$	(24	)	$	(151	)	$	(25	)	$	97	$	—	$	—


(1)	The settlement of foreign currency transactions over the next 12 months is expected to result in the reclassification of $(204,000) from OCI into earnings. The maximum tenor is April 2015.

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



		Volume (Bcf)
		December 31, 2014		September 30, 2014
NJNG	Futures	21.5		17.3
	Options	0.5		—
NJRES	Futures	(83.2	)	(62.1	)
	Options	1.2		1.2
	Physical	67.6		28.6

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 exchange requirements and a variable amount based on a daily mark-to-market. The Company maintains separate broker margin accounts for NJNG and NJRES. The balances by company, are as follows:



(Thousands)	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2014			September 30, 2014
NJNG	NJNG Broker margin - Current assets	$	19,761		$	1,057
NJRES	NJRES Broker margin - Current (liabilities) assets	$	(38,972	)	$	26,282

Wholesale Credit Risk

NJNG and NJRES are exposed to credit risk as a result of their wholesale marketing activities. In addition, NJRCEV engages in SREC sales. As a result of the inherent volatility in the prices of natural gas commodities, derivatives and SRECs, 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 ISDA and the 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 December 31, 2014. Internally-rated exposure applies to counterparties that are not rated by S&P or 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 and/or financial derivative commodity contract that has settled 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		$	213,274
Noninvestment grade		27,262
Internally rated investment grade		36,961
Internally rated noninvestment grade		14,233
Total		$	291,730

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. In addition, 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 December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2014, was $223,000 and $39,000, respectively, for which the Company had not posted collateral. If all thresholds related to the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements had been invoked on December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2014, the Company would have been required to post an additional $178,000 and $7,000, respectively, to its counterparties. These amounts differ from the respective net derivative liabilities reflected on 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, as previously discussed.