Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Note 4 - Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Water Supply - Middlesex has an agreement with the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA) for the purchase of untreated water through November 30, 2023, which provides for an average purchase of 27.0 million gallons a day (mgd). Pricing is set annually by the NJWSA through a public rate making process. The agreement has provisions for additional pricing in the event Middlesex overdrafts or exceeds certain monthly and annual thresholds.

Middlesex also has an agreement with a non-affiliated NJBPU-regulated water utility for the purchase of treated water. This agreement, which expires February 27, 2026, provides for the minimum purchase of 3.0 mgd of treated water with provisions for additional purchases if needed.

Tidewater contracts with the City of Dover, Delaware to purchase treated water of 15.0 million gallons annually.

Purchased water costs are shown below:

	(Millions of Dollars)
	Years Ended December 31,
	2022		2021		2020
Untreated	$	3.2	$	3.3	$	3.4
Treated		3.9		3.6		3.6
Total Costs	$	7.1	$	6.9	$	7.0

Leases - The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at the inception of the lease. Generally, a lease agreement exists if the Company determines that the arrangement gives the Company control over the use of an identified asset and obtains substantially all of the benefits from the identified asset.

The Company has entered into an operating lease of office space for administrative purposes, expiring in 2030. The Company has not entered into any finance leases. The exercise of a lease renewal option for the Company’s administrative offices is solely at the discretion of the Company.

The right-of-use (ROU) asset recorded represents the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liability represents the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company’s operating lease does not provide an implicit discount rate and as such the Company used an estimated incremental borrowing rate (4.03%) based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.

Given the impacts of accounting for regulated operations, and the resulting recognition of expense at the amounts recovered in customer rates, expenditures for operating leases are consistent with lease expense and was $0.8 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Information related to operating lease ROU assets is as follows:

	(In Millions)
	December 31,
	2022			2021
ROU Asset at Lease Inception	$	7.3		$	7.3
Accumulated Amortization		(3.5	)		(2.8	)
Current ROU Asset	$	3.8		$	4.5

The Company’s future minimum operating lease commitments as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:

	(In Millions)
	December 31, 2022
2023		0.8
2024		0.8
2025		0.8
2026		0.9
2027		0.9
Thereafter		1.8
Total Lease Payments	$	6.0
Imputed Interest		(1.6	)
Present Value of Lease Payments		4.4
Less Current Portion*		(0.7	)
Non-Current Lease Liability	$	3.7

* Included in Other Current Liabilities        

Construction –The Company has projected to spend approximately $102 million in 2023, $86 million in 2024 and $78 million in 2025 on its construction program. The Company has entered into several contractual construction agreements that in total obligate it to expend an estimated $16.8 million in the future. The actual amount and timing of capital expenditures is dependent on the need for replacement of existing infrastructure, customer growth, residential new home construction and sales, project scheduling, supply chain issues and continued refinement of project scope and costs and could be impacted if the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continues for an extended period of time (for further discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on the Company, see Note 1(s) COVID-19). There is no assurance that projected customer growth and residential new home construction and sales will occur.

Contingencies – Based on our operations in the heavily-regulated water and wastewater industries, the Company is routinely involved in disputes, claims, lawsuits and other regulatory and legal matters, including responsibility for fines and penalties relative to regulatory compliance. At this time, Management does not believe the final resolution of any such matters, whether asserted or unasserted, will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, the Company maintains business insurance coverage that may mitigate the effect of any current or future loss contingencies.

PFOA Matter - In November 2021, the Company was served with two PFOA-related class action lawsuits seeking restitution for medical, water replacement and other related costs and economic damages. These lawsuits are in the early stages of the legal process and their ultimate resolution cannot be predicted at this time. The Company’s insurance provider has acknowledged coverage of potential liability resulting from these lawsuits (for further discussion of this matter, see Note 1(t) Regulatory Notice of Non-Compliance).

Change in Control Agreements – The Company has Change in Control Agreements with its executive officers that provide compensation and benefits in the event of termination of employment in connection with a change in control of the Company.