SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

The following table summarizes the demand charges, which are net of capacity releases, and are included as a component of natural gas purchases on the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended September 30:


(Millions)	2022		2021		2020
Energy Services	$	95.4	$	120.5	$	121.8
Natural Gas Distribution	170.3		123.2		131.9
Total	$	265.7	$	243.7	$	253.7

Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment was comprised of the following as of September 30:


(Thousands)	Estimated
Property Classifications	Useful Lives	2022		2021
Distribution facilities	10 to 54 years	$	2,797,936	$	2,558,651
Transmission facilities	28 to 42 years	649,241		643,942
Storage facilities	35 to 86 years	85,449		79,892
Solar property	20 to 35 years	710,224		675,376
Storage and transportation property	5 to 50 years	850,186		433,678
All other property	5 to 40 years	60,914		57,968
Construction work in progress		361,766		547,542
Total property, plant and equipment		5,515,716		4,997,049
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(865,790)		(783,536)
Property, plant and equipment, net		$	4,649,926	$	4,213,513

Schedule of Capitalized Amounts Associated with Debt and Equity Component of AFUDC

Capitalized and deferred interest include the following for the fiscal years ended September 30:


($ in thousands)	2022						2021						2020
AFUDC:	NJNG			Adelphia Gateway			NJNG			Adelphia Gateway			NJNG			Adelphia Gateway
Debt	$	1,648		$	4,019		$	5,648		$	2,101		$	5,134		$	1,394
Equity	4,169			7,074			16,605			3,698			14,599			2,454
Total	$	5,817		$	11,093		$	22,253		$	5,799		$	19,733		$	3,848
Weighted average interest rate	4.91		%	8.28		%	5.97		%	8.28		%	6.79		%	8.28		%

Schedule of Restricted Cash

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets to the total amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, as of September 30:


(Thousands)	2022		2021		2020
Balance Sheet
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,107	$	4,749	$	117,012
Restricted cash in other noncurrent assets	$	345	$	1,294	$	2,411
Statements of Cash Flow
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	1,452	$	6,043	$	119,423

Schedule of Gas in Storage

The following table summarizes natural gas in storage, at average cost by company, as of September 30:


	2022				2021
($ in thousands)	Natural Gas in Storage			Bcf	Natural Gas in Storage			Bcf
Natural Gas Distribution		$	191,175	29.0		$	115,824	27.6
Energy Services		82,469		10.8		77,782		18.8
Total		$	273,644	39.8		$	193,606	46.4

Schedule of Software Costs Included in the Consolidated Financial Statements

The following table presents the software costs included in the Consolidated Financial Statements, as of September 30:


(Thousands)	2022		2021
Balance Sheets
Utility plant, at cost	$	40,437	$	16,543
Construction work in progress	$	14,381	$	7,801
Nonutility plant and equipment, at cost	$	344	$	338
Construction work in progress	$	—	$	8
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, utility plant	$	(3,361)	$	(1,333)
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, nonutility plant and equipment	$	(25)	$	(29)
Software costs	$	6,120	$	5,582
Statements of Operations
Operation and maintenance (1)	$	11,141	$	9,141
Depreciation and amortization	$	2,024	$	1,078

(1)During fiscal 2022 and 2021, $452,000 and 447,000, respectively, was amortized from software costs into O&M.

Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense

The estimated future amortization expense as of September 30, is as follows:


(Thousands)
2023	$	2,271
2024	$	77
2025	$	—
2026	$	—
2027	$	—

Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table presents the changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of related tax effects, as of September 30:


(Thousands)	Cash Flow Hedges		Postemployment Benefit Obligation			Total
Balance at September 30, 2020	$	(10,397)	$	(33,918)		$	(44,315)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
Other comprehensive income, before reclassifications, net of tax of $0, $(1,618) and $(1,618), respectively	—		5,494			5,494
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(350), $(957) and $(1,307), respectively	1,021		3,272		(1)	4,293
Net current-period other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(350), $(2,575) and $(2,925), respectively	1,021		8,766			9,787
Balance at September 30, 2021	$	(9,376)	$	(25,152)		$	(34,528)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
Other comprehensive income, before reclassifications, net of tax of $0, $(7,727) and $(7,727), respectively	—		25,580			25,580
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(317), $(930) and $(1,247), respectively	1,054		3,068		(1)	4,122
Net current-period other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(317), $(8,657) and $(8,974), respectively	1,054		28,648			29,702
Balance at September 30, 2022	$	(8,322)	$	3,496		$	(4,826)

(1)Included in the computation of net periodic pension cost, a component of operations and maintenance expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. For more details, see Note 11. Employee Benefit Plans.