RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

16. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Effective April 1, 2020, NJNG entered into a 5-year agreement for 3 Bcf of firm storage capacity with Steckman Ridge, which expires on March 31, 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, NJNG incurs demand fees, at market rates, of approximately $9.3 million annually, a portion of which is eliminated in consolidation. These fees are recoverable through NJNG’s BGSS mechanism and are included as a component of regulatory assets.

Energy Services may periodically enter into storage or park and loan agreements with its affiliated FERC-jurisdictional natural gas storage facility, Steckman Ridge. As of December 31, 2020, Energy Services has entered into transactions with Steckman Ridge for varying terms, all of which expire by October 31, 2021.

Demand fees, net of eliminations, associated with Steckman Ridge were as follows:


	Three Months Ended
	December 31,
(Thousands)		2020		2019
Natural Gas Distribution		$	1,568	$	1,494
Energy Services		166		30
Total		$	1,734	$	1,524

The following table summarizes demand fees payable to Steckman Ridge as of:


(Thousands)	December 31, 2020		September 30, 2020
Natural Gas Distribution	$	775	$	775
Energy Services	90		16
Total	$	865	$	791

NJNG and Energy Services have entered into various asset management agreements, the effects of which are eliminated in consolidation. Under the terms of these agreements, NJNG releases certain transportation and storage contracts to Energy Services. As of December 31, 2020, NJNG and Energy Services had three asset management agreements with expiration dates ranging from October 31, 2021 through March 31, 2021.

NJNG has entered into a 15-year transportation precedent agreement for committed capacity of 180,000 Dths per day and NJRES has entered into a 5-year, 50,000 Dths per day transportation precedent agreement with PennEast, both to commence when PennEast is placed in service.

NJNG has entered into a transportation precedent agreement with Adelphia Gateway for committed capacity of 130,000 Dths per day, which expires in October 2026.

Energy Services has a 5-year agreement for 3 Bcf of firm storage capacity with Leaf River, which is eliminated in consolidation and expires in March 2024.