New accounting standards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]

Recently adopted accounting standards

ASU 2014-09 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on accounting for revenue from contracts with customers. The guidance provides for a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry specific guidance. In August 2015, the FASB issued guidance deferring the effective date of the revenue guidance and allowing entities to

early adopt. With this decision, the guidance was effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. Entities had the option of using either a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach to adopting the guidance. Under the modified retrospective approach, an entity recognizes the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance with an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption.

The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective approach. The Company elected the practical expedient to not disclose the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of the end of the reporting period, along with an explanation of when such revenue would be expected to be recognized. This practical expedient was used since the performance obligations are part of contracts with an original duration of one year or less. The Company also elected the practical expedient to recognize the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that the Company otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. Upon completion of the Company's evaluation of contracts and methods of revenue recognition under the previous accounting guidance, the Company did not identify any material cumulative effect adjustments to be made to retained earnings. In addition, the Company has expanded revenue disclosures, both quantitatively and qualitatively, related to the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers, as discussed in Note 8. The Company reviewed its revenue streams to evaluate the impact of this guidance and did not identify a significant change in the timing of revenue recognition, results of operations, financial position or cash flows. The Company reviewed its internal controls related to revenue recognition and disclosures and concluded that the guidance impacted certain business processes and controls. As such, the Company developed modifications to its internal controls for certain topics under the guidance as they apply to the Company and such modifications were not deemed to be significant. Results for reporting periods beginning after December 31, 2017, are presented under the new guidance, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with historic accounting for revenue recognition.

Under the modified retrospective approach, the guidance was applied only to contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018. Therefore, the Company recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance with an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at January 1, 2018. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, there were no material impacts to the financial statements as a result of applying the guidance. The cumulative effect of the changes made to the Consolidated Balance Sheet were as follows:



	December 31, 2017		Adjustments			January 1, 2018
	(In thousands)
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Other accrued liabilities	$	186,010	$	903		$	186,913
Deferred credits and other liabilities:
Deferred income taxes	347,271		(332		)	346,939
Other	1,179,140		399			1,179,539
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Retained earnings	1,040,748		(970		)	1,039,778

The cumulative effect adjustment is related to prepaid natural gas transportation to storage contracts where a separate performance obligation existed and has not yet been satisfied. As such, these contracts were still open and met the criteria for a cumulative effect adjustment.

ASU 2016-15 - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance to clarify the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. The guidance is intended to standardize the presentation and classification of certain transactions, including cash payments for debt prepayment or extinguishment, proceeds from insurance claim settlements and distributions from equity method investments. In addition, the guidance clarifies how to classify transactions that have characteristics of more than one class of cash flows. The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2018, on a prospective basis. The guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's statement of cash flows.

ASU 2017-01 - Clarifying the Definition of a Business In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions or disposals of assets or businesses. The guidance provides a screen to determine when an integrated set of assets and activities is not a business. The guidance also affects other aspects of accounting, such as determining reporting units for goodwill testing and whether an entity has acquired or sold a business. The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2018, on a prospective basis. The guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's results of operations, financial position, cash flows or disclosures.

ASU 2017-07 - Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost In March 2017, the FASB issued guidance to improve the presentation of net periodic pension and net periodic postretirement benefit costs. The guidance required the service cost component to be presented in the income statement in the same line item or items as other compensation costs arising from services performed during the period. Other components of net periodic benefit cost shall be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside a subtotal of income from operations. The guidance also only allows the service cost component to be capitalized.

The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2018, on a retrospective basis. The guidance required the reclassification of all components of net periodic benefit costs, except for the service cost component, from operating expenses to other income on the Consolidated Statements of Income with no impact to earnings. As a result of the retrospective application of this change in accounting guidance, the Company reclassified $1.5 million and $4.5 million from operation and maintenance expense to other income on the Consolidated Statements of Income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The Company also reclassified unrealized gains on investments used to satisfy obligations under the defined benefit plans of $2.6 million and $7.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, which were included in operation and maintenance expense, to other income on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.

ASU 2018-02 - Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income In February 2018, the FASB issued guidance that allows an entity to reclassify the stranded tax effects resulting from the newly enacted federal corporate income tax rate from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings. The guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, including interim periods, with early adoption permitted. The guidance can be applied using one of two methods. One method is to record the reclassification of the stranded income taxes at the beginning of the period of adoption. The other method is to apply the guidance retrospectively to each period in which the income tax effects of the TCJA are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The Company early adopted the guidance on January 1, 2018, and elected to reclassify the stranded income taxes at the beginning of the period. During the first quarter of 2018, the Company reclassified $7.9 million of stranded tax expense from accumulated other comprehensive loss to retained earnings. The guidance did not have a material effect on the Company's results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.

Recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted

ASU 2016-02 - Leases In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance regarding leases. The guidance requires lessees to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use asset on the balance sheet for operating and financing leases. The guidance remains largely the same for lessors, although some changes were made to better align lessor accounting with the new lessee accounting and to align with the revenue recognition standard. The guidance also requires additional disclosures, both quantitative and qualitative, related to operating and finance leases for the lessee and sales-type, direct financing and operating leases for the lessor. This guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted.

In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 - Leases: Targeted Improvements, an accounting standard update to ASU 2016-02. This ASU provides an entity the option to adopt the guidance using one of two modified retrospective approaches. An entity can adopt the guidance using the modified retrospective transition approach beginning in the earliest year presented in the financial statements. This method of adoption would require the restatement of prior periods reported and the presentation of lease disclosures under the new guidance for all periods reported. The additional transition method of adoption introduced by ASU 2018-11, allows entities the option to apply the guidance on the date of adoption by recognizing a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings during the period of adoption and does not require prior comparative periods to be restated. The Company is planning to adopt the standard on January 1, 2019, utilizing the practical expedient that allows the Company to not reassess whether an expired or existing contract contains a lease, the classification of leases or initial direct costs, as well as the additional transition method of adoption applied on the date of adoption. The Company also plans to adopt a short-term leasing policy as the lessee where leases with a term of 12 months or less will not be included on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

The Company formed a lease implementation team and is currently in the contract review and assessment phase to identify and evaluate contracts containing leases. Additionally, the team is implementing new and revising existing software to meet the reporting and disclosure requirements of the standard. The Company also has started to assess the impact the standard will have on its processes and internal controls and is identifying new and updating current processes. During the assessment phase, the Company is using various analytic methodologies to ensure the completeness of the lease inventory. The Company expects that most of the current operating leases will be subject to the guidance and recognized as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets upon adoption. During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company will engage internal auditors to review and assess the completeness of the lease inventory and the effectiveness of the revised and new internal controls. The Company continues to evaluate the impact the new guidance will have on lease contracts where the Company is the lessor and, at this time, does not anticipate a significant impact.

In January 2018, the FASB issued a practical expedient for land easements under the new lease guidance. The practical expedient permits an entity to elect the option to not evaluate land easements under the new guidance if they existed or expired before the adoption of the new lease guidance and were not previously accounted for as leases under the previous lease guidance. Once an entity adopts the new guidance, the entity should apply the new guidance on a prospective basis to all new or modified land easements. The Company is currently planning to adopt this practical expedient. The Company continues to monitor other

industry-specific issues as it relates to the regulated businesses but does not expect these issues to have a material impact on the Company's results of operations, financial position or disclosures.

ASU 2017-04 - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance on simplifying the test for goodwill impairment by eliminating Step 2, which required an entity to measure the amount of impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of such goodwill. This guidance requires entities to perform a quantitative impairment test, previously Step 1, to identify both the existence of impairment and the amount of impairment loss by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount. Entities will continue to have the option of performing a qualitative assessment to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The guidance also requires additional disclosures if an entity has one or more reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts of net assets. The guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, and must be applied on a prospective basis with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on its results of operations, financial position, cash flows and disclosures.

ASU 2018-07 - Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting In June 2018, the FASB issued guidance on simplifying the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment transactions by expanding the scope of ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. The guidance will require nonemployee share-based payment awards be measured at the grant-date fair value of the equity instruments at the grant date. The guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, including interim periods, and must be applied using a modified retrospective approach with early adoption permitted. The modified retrospective approach requires an entity to record a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the year of adoption. The Company is evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on its results of operations, financial position, cash flows and disclosures.

ASU 2018-13 - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on modifying the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements as part of the disclosure framework project. The guidance modifies, among other things, the disclosures required for Level 3 fair value measurements, including the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs. The guidance removes, among other things, the disclosure requirement to disclose transfers between Levels 1 and 2. The guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, including interim periods, with early adoption permitted. Level 3 fair value measurement disclosures should be applied prospectively while all other amendments should be applied retrospectively. The Company is evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on its disclosures.

ASU 2018-14 - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on modifying the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans as part of the disclosure framework project. The guidance removes disclosures that are no longer considered cost beneficial, clarifies the specific requirements of disclosures and adds disclosure requirements identified as relevant. The guidance adds, among other things, the requirement to include an explanation for significant gains and losses related to changes in benefit obligations for the period. The guidance removes, among other things, the disclosure requirement to disclose the amount of net periodic benefit costs to be amortized over the next fiscal year from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and the effects a one percentage point change in assumed health care cost trend rates will have on certain benefit components. The guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2021, and must be applied on a retrospective basis with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on the its disclosures.

ASU 2018-15 - Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on the accounting for implementation costs of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract. The guidance aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract similar to the costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software and such capitalized costs to be expensed over the term of the hosting arrangement. Costs incurred during the preliminary and postimplementation stages should continue to be expensed as activities are performed. The capitalized costs are required to be presented on the balance sheet in the same line the prepayment for the fees associated with the hosting arrangement would be presented. In addition, the expense related to the capitalized implementation costs should be presented in the same line on the income statement as the fees associated with the hosting element of the arrangements. The guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, including interim periods, and may be applied on a retrospective or a prospective basis with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on the its results of operations, financial position, cash flows and disclosures.

SEC File Number S7-15-16 - Disclosure Update and Simplification In October 2018, the SEC published guidance in the Federal Register on disclosure updates and simplifications. The guidance removes disclosures that are no longer considered cost beneficial, duplicative of GAAP required disclosures, clarifies the specific requirements of disclosures and adds disclosure requirements identified as relevant. The amendments are intended to facilitate disclosure of information to investors and simplify the compliance without significantly altering the total mix of information provided to investors. The guidance will be effective for the Company on November 5, 2018, including interim periods, and must be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is

evaluating the effects the adoption of the new guidance will have on its disclosures, various sections of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and future reports on Form 10-Q.