DEBT

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

DEBT

9. DEBT

NJR and NJNG finance working capital requirements and capital expenditures through various short-term debt and long-term financing arrangements, including a commercial paper program and committed unsecured credit facilities.

Credit Facilities and Short-term Debt

A summary of NJR's credit facility and term loan credit agreement and NJNG's commercial paper program and credit facility are as follows:

(Thousands)	March 31, 2023			September 30, 2022			Expiration Dates
NJR
Bank revolving credit facility (1)	$	650,000		$	650,000		September 2027
Notes outstanding at end of period	$	187,650		$	200,150
Weighted average interest rate at end of period	5.96		%	3.97		%
Amount available at end of period (2)	$	457,177		$	440,177
Bank term loan credit agreement	$	—		$	150,000		February 2023
Loans outstanding at end of period	$	—		$	150,000
Weighted average interest rate at end of period	—		%	3.81		%
Amount available at end of period	$	—		$	—
NJNG
Bank revolving credit facility (3)	$	250,000		$	250,000		September 2027
Commercial paper and notes outstanding at end of period	$	—		$	73,800
Weighted average interest rate at end of period	—		%	3.34		%
Amount available at end of period (4)	$	249,269		$	175,469

(1)Committed credit facilities, which require commitment fees of 0.10 percent on the unused amounts.

(2)Letters of credit outstanding total $5.2 million at March 31, 2023 and $9.7 million at September 30, 2022, which reduces the amount available by the same amount.

(3)Committed credit facilities, which require commitment fees of 0.075 percent on the unused amounts.

(4)Letters of credit outstanding total $731,000 at both March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2022, which reduces the amount available by the same amount.

Amounts available under credit facilities are reduced by bank or commercial paper borrowings, as applicable, and any outstanding letters of credit. Neither NJNG nor the results of its operations are obligated or pledged to support the NJR credit facility or term loan.

On February 7, 2023, NJR's 364-day $150 million term loan credit agreement, that was entered into in February 2022, expired. The Company had $50 million that was borrowed on February 9, 2022 and $100 million that was borrowed on February 14, 2022, which was paid in full at expiration of the term loan agreement.

Long-term Debt

NJR

On October 24, 2022, NJR entered into a Note Purchase Agreement, which closed on December 15, 2022, under which NJR issued $50 million, Series 2022B senior notes at a fixed rate of 6.14 percent, maturing in 2032. The senior notes are unsecured and guaranteed by certain unregulated subsidiaries of NJR.

NJNG

On October 24, 2022, NJNG entered into a Note Purchase Agreement under which it sold $125 million of its senior notes at an interest rate of 5.47 percent, maturing in 2052.

NJNG received $8.4 million and $17.3 million during the six months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, in connection with the sale leaseback of its natural gas meters. NJNG records a financing obligation and has the option to purchase the meters back at fair value upon expiration of the lease. NJNG exercised an early purchase option with respect to meter leases by making a final principal payment of $1.1 million during the six months ended March 31, 2022. There was no early purchase option exercised during the six months ended March 31, 2023.

Clean Energy Ventures

Clean Energy Ventures enters into transactions to sell the commercial solar assets concurrent with agreements to lease the assets back over a period of five to 15 years. These transactions are treated as financing obligations for accounting purposes and are typically secured by the renewable energy facility asset and its future cash flows from SRECs, TRECs and energy sales. ITCs and other tax benefits associated with these solar projects are transferred to the buyer, if applicable; however, the lease payments are structured so that Clean Energy Ventures is compensated for the transfer of the related tax incentives. Clean Energy Ventures continues to operate the solar assets, including related expenses, and retain the revenue generated from SRECs, TRECs and energy sales, and has the option to renew the lease or repurchase the assets sold at the end of the lease term. During the six months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, Clean Energy Ventures received proceeds of $61.8 million and $3.3 million, respectively, in connection with the sale leaseback of commercial solar assets. The proceeds received were recognized as a financing obligation on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

In April 2023, Clean Energy Ventures received additional proceeds of $89.9 million in connection with the sale leaseback of two commercial solar assets.