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Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Principles of Consolidation

The Company consolidates all entities in which it has a controlling financial interest. All significant intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated. The Company uses proportionate consolidation when accounting for drilling arrangements related to oil and gas producing properties accounted for under the full cost method of accounting.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Regulation

The Company is subject to regulation by certain state and federal authorities. The Company has accounting policies which conform to GAAP, as applied to regulated enterprises, and are in accordance with the accounting requirements and ratemaking practices of the regulatory authorities. Reference is made to Note F — Regulatory Matters for further discussion.

Allowance For Uncollectible Accounts

Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts

The allowance for uncollectible accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in the existing accounts receivable. The allowance is determined based on historical experience, the age of customer accounts, other specific information about customer accounts, and the economic environment. Account balances are charged off against the allowance twelve months after the account is final billed or when it is anticipated that the receivable will not be recovered. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expected increase in customer non-payment, the Company has increased the bad debt reserve to account for the modestly higher receivable balances in the Utility segment.

Activity in the allowance for uncollectible accounts are as follows:


	Year Ended September 30
	2021		2020		2019
	(Thousands)
Balance at Beginning of Year	$	22,810	$	25,788	$	24,537
Additions Charged to Costs and Expenses	14,940		12,339		10,184
Add: Discounts on Purchased Receivables	1,168		1,353		1,707
Deduct: Net Accounts Receivable Written-Off	7,279		16,670		10,640
Balance at End of Year	$	31,639	$	22,810	$	25,788

Regulatory Mechanisms

The Company’s rate schedules in the Utility segment contain clauses that permit adjustment of revenues to reflect price changes from the cost of purchased gas included in base rates. Differences between amounts currently recoverable and actual adjustment clause revenues, as well as other price changes and pipeline and storage company refunds not yet includable in adjustment clause rates, are deferred and accounted for as either unrecovered purchased gas costs or amounts payable to customers. Such amounts are generally recovered from (or passed back to) customers during the following fiscal year.

Estimated refund liabilities to ratepayers represent management’s current estimate of such refunds. Reference is made to Note F — Regulatory Matters for further discussion.

The impact of weather on revenues in the Utility segment’s New York rate jurisdiction is tempered by a WNC, which covers the eight-month period from October through May. The WNC is designed to adjust the rates of retail customers to reflect the impact of deviations from normal weather. Weather that is warmer than normal results in a surcharge being added to customers’ current bills, while weather that is colder than normal results in a refund being credited to customers’ current bills. Since the Utility segment’s Pennsylvania rate jurisdiction does not have a WNC, weather variations have a direct impact on the Pennsylvania rate jurisdiction’s revenues.

The impact of weather normalized usage per customer account in the Utility segment’s New York rate jurisdiction is tempered by a revenue decoupling mechanism. The effect of the revenue decoupling mechanism is to render the Company financially indifferent to throughput decreases resulting from conservation. Weather normalized usage per account that exceeds the average weather normalized usage per customer account results in a refund being credited to customers’ bills. Weather normalized usage per account that is below the average weather normalized usage per account results in a surcharge being added to customers’ bills. The surcharge or credit is calculated over a twelve-month period ending March 31st, and applied to customer bills annually, beginning July 1st.

In the Pipeline and Storage segment, the allowed rates that Supply Corporation and Empire bill their customers are based on a straight fixed-variable rate design, which allows recovery of all fixed costs, including return on equity and income taxes, through fixed monthly reservation charges. Because of this rate design, changes in throughput due to weather variations do not have a significant impact on the revenues of Supply Corporation or Empire.

Asset Acquisition and Business Combination Accounting

In accordance with authoritative guidance issued by the FASB that clarifies the definition of a business, when the Company executes an acquisition, it will perform an initial screening test as of the acquisition date that, if met, results in the conclusion that the set of activities and assets is not a business. If the initial screening test is not met, the Company evaluates whether the set is a business based on whether there are inputs and a substantive process in place. The definition of a business impacts whether the Company consolidates an acquisition under business combination guidance or asset acquisition guidance.

When the Company acquires assets and liabilities deemed to be an asset acquisition, the fair value of the purchase consideration, including the transaction costs of the asset acquisition, is assumed to be equal to the fair value of the net assets acquired. The purchase consideration, including the transaction costs, is allocated to the individual assets and liabilities assumed based on their relative fair values. Transaction costs associated with asset acquisitions are capitalized as part of the costs of the group of assets acquired.

When the Company acquires assets and liabilities deemed to be a business combination, the acquisition method is applied. Goodwill is measured as the fair value of the consideration transferred less the net recognized fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed, all measured at the acquisition date. Transaction costs that the Company incurs in connection with a business combination, such as finders’ fees, legal fees, due diligence fees and other professional and consulting fees are expensed as incurred.

Property, Plant And Equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment

In the Company’s Exploration and Production segment, oil and gas property acquisition, exploration and development costs are capitalized under the full cost method of accounting. Under this methodology, all costs associated with property acquisition, exploration and development activities are capitalized, including internal costs directly identified with acquisition, exploration and development activities. The internal costs that are capitalized do not include any costs related to production, general corporate overhead, or similar activities. The Company does not recognize any gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of oil and gas properties unless the gain or loss would significantly alter the relationship between capitalized costs and proved reserves of oil and gas attributable to a cost center. The Company's capitalized costs relating to oil and gas producing activities,

net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization, were $1.9 billion and $1.8 billion at September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. For further discussion of capitalized costs, refer to Note N — Supplementary Information for Oil and Gas Producing Activities.

Capitalized costs are subject to the SEC full cost ceiling test. The ceiling test, which is performed each quarter, determines a limit, or ceiling, on the amount of property acquisition, exploration and development costs that can be capitalized. The ceiling under this test represents (a) the present value of estimated future net cash flows, excluding future cash outflows associated with settling asset retirement obligations that have been accrued on the balance sheet, using a discount factor of 10%, which is computed by applying prices of oil and gas (as adjusted for hedging) to estimated future production of proved oil and gas reserves as of the date of the latest balance sheet, less estimated future expenditures, plus (b) the cost of unproved properties not being depleted, less (c) income tax effects related to the differences between the book and tax basis of the properties. The gas and oil prices used to calculate the full cost ceiling are based on an unweighted arithmetic average of the first day of the month oil and gas prices for each month within the twelve-month period prior to the end of the reporting period. If capitalized costs, net of accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization and related deferred income taxes, exceed the ceiling at the end of any quarter, a permanent non-cash impairment is required to be charged to earnings in that quarter. For the first quarter ended December 31, 2020, a pre-tax impairment charge of $76.2 million was recognized. A deferred income tax benefit of $21.0 million related to the non-cash impairment charge was also recognized during the quarter ended December 31, 2020. No additional ceiling test impairment charges were recorded during the year ended September 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2021, the ceiling exceeded the book value of the oil and gas properties by approximately $842.1 million. In adjusting estimated future net cash flows for hedging under the ceiling test at September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, estimated future net cash flows were decreased by $76.1 million, increased by $180.0 million and decreased by $17.7 million, respectively.

The principal assets of the Utility, Pipeline and Storage and Gathering segments, consisting primarily of gas distribution pipelines, transmission pipelines, storage facilities, gathering lines and compressor stations, are recorded at historical cost. Despite the economic conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no indications of any impairments to property, plant and equipment in the Utility, Pipeline and Storage and Gathering segments at September 30, 2021. Management will continue to monitor the situation on a quarterly basis.

Maintenance and repairs of property and replacements of minor items of property are charged directly to maintenance expense. The original cost of the regulated subsidiaries’ property, plant and equipment retired, and the cost of removal less salvage, are charged to accumulated depreciation.

Depreciation, Depletion And Amortization

Depreciation, Depletion and AmortizationFor oil and gas properties, depreciation, depletion and amortization is computed based on quantities produced in relation to proved reserves using the units of production method. The cost of unproved oil and gas properties is excluded from this computation. Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense for oil and gas properties was $177.1 million, $166.8 million and $149.9 million for the years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For all other property, plant and equipment, depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method in amounts sufficient to recover costs over the estimated service lives of property in service. The following is a summary of depreciable plant by segment:


	As of September 30
	2021		2020
	(Thousands)
Exploration and Production	$	6,827,122	$	6,384,086
Pipeline and Storage	2,467,891		2,418,265
Gathering	932,583		849,204
Utility	2,306,603		2,234,433

All Other and Corporate	13,585		20,372
	$	12,547,784	$	11,906,360

Average depreciation, depletion and amortization rates are as follows:


	Year Ended September 30
	2021			2020			2019
Exploration and Production, per Mcfe(1)	$	0.56		$	0.71		$	0.73
Pipeline and Storage	2.6		%	2.4		%	2.2		%
Gathering	3.6		%	3.2		%	3.6		%
Utility	2.7		%	2.7		%	2.7		%

All Other and Corporate	3.4		%	3.6		%	1.8		%

(1)Amounts include depletion of oil and gas producing properties as well as depreciation of fixed assets. As disclosed in Note N — Supplementary Information for Oil and Gas Producing Activities, depletion of oil and gas producing properties amounted to $0.54, $0.69 and $0.71 per Mcfe of production in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Goodwill

The Company has recognized goodwill of $5.5 million as of September 30, 2021 and 2020 on its Consolidated Balance Sheets related to the Company’s acquisition of Empire in 2003. The Company accounts for goodwill in accordance with the current authoritative guidance, which requires the Company to test goodwill for impairment annually. At September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the fair value of Empire was greater than its book value. As such, the goodwill was not considered impaired at those dates. Going back to the origination of the goodwill in 2003, the Company has never recorded an impairment of its goodwill balance.

Financial Instruments

The Company uses a variety of derivative financial instruments to manage a portion of the market risk associated with fluctuations in the price of gas and oil and to manage a portion of the risk of currency fluctuations associated with transportation costs denominated in Canadian currency. These instruments include natural gas price swap agreements and no cost collars, crude oil price swap agreements, and foreign currency forward contracts. The Company accounts for these instruments as cash flow hedges for which the fair value of the instrument is recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as either an asset or a liability labeled Fair Value of Derivative Financial Instruments. Reference is made to Note I — Fair Value Measurements for further discussion concerning the fair value of derivative financial instruments.

For cash flow hedges, the offset to the asset or liability that is recorded is a gain or loss recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The gain or loss recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) remains there until the hedged transaction occurs, at which point the gains or losses are reclassified to operating revenues or purchased gas expense on the Consolidated Statements of Income. Reference is made to Note J — Financial Instruments for further discussion concerning cash flow hedges.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) and changes for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, net of related tax effects, are as follows (amounts in parentheses indicate debits) (in thousands):


	Gains and Losses on Derivative Financial Instruments		Funded Status of the Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Plans		Total
Year Ended September 30, 2021
Balance at October 1, 2020	$	(24,865)	$	(89,892)	$	(114,757)
Other Comprehensive Gains and Losses Before Reclassifications	(486,343)		13,790		(472,553)
Amounts Reclassified From Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	61,246		12,467		73,713

Balance at September 30, 2021	$	(449,962)	$	(63,635)	$	(513,597)
Year Ended September 30, 2020
Balance at October 1, 2019	$	34,675	$	(86,830)	$	(52,155)
Other Comprehensive Gains and Losses Before Reclassifications	7,284		(14,857)		(7,573)
Amounts Reclassified From Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	(67,774)		11,795		(55,979)
Cumulative Effect of Adoption of Authoritative Guidance for Hedging	950		—		950


Balance at September 30, 2020	$	(24,865)	$	(89,892)	$	(114,757)

The amounts included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) related to the funded status of the Company’s pension and other post-retirement benefit plans consist of prior service costs and accumulated losses. The total amount for prior service cost was $0.7 million and $0.9 million at September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The total amount for accumulated losses was $62.9 million and $89.0 million at September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

In August 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which changes the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity's risk management activities and to simplify the application of hedge accounting. The Company adopted this authoritative guidance effective October 1, 2019, recognizing a cumulative effect adjustment that decreased retained earnings by $1.0 million and increased accumulated other comprehensive income by the same amount.

Reclassifications Out Of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Reclassifications Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The details about the reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 are as follows (amounts in parentheses indicate debits to the income statement) (in thousands):


Details About Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Components	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the Year Ended September 30,		Affected Line Item in the Statement Where Net Income is Presented
	2021	2020
Gains (Losses) on Derivative Financial Instrument Cash Flow Hedges:
Commodity Contracts	($83,973)	$93,691	Operating Revenues
Commodity Contracts	—	661	Purchased Gas
Foreign Currency Contracts	262	(1,057)	Operating Revenues
Amortization of Prior Year Funded Status of the Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Plans:
Prior Service Cost	(208)	(237)	(1)
Net Actuarial Loss	(16,021)	(15,124)	(1)
	(99,940)	77,934	Total Before Income Tax
	26,227	(21,955)	Income Tax Expense
	($73,713)	$55,979	Net of Tax

(1)These accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost. Refer to Note K — Retirement Plan and Other Post-Retirement Benefits for additional details.

Gas Stored Underground

Gas Stored Underground In the Utility segment, gas stored underground in the amount of $33.7 million is carried at lower of cost or net realizable value, on a LIFO method. Based upon the average price of spot market gas purchased in September 2021, including transportation costs, the current cost of replacing this inventory of gas stored underground exceeded the amount stated on a LIFO basis by approximately $74.1 million at September 30, 2021.

Materials, Supplies and Emission Allowances

The components of the Company's materials, supplies and emission allowances are as follows:


	Year Ended September 30
	2021		2020
	(Thousands)
Materials and Supplies — at average cost	$	34,880	$	33,859
Emission Allowances	18,680		18,018
	$	53,560	$	51,877

Unamortized Debt Expense

Costs associated with the reacquisition of debt related to rate-regulated subsidiaries are deferred and amortized over the remaining life of the issue or the life of the replacement debt in order to match regulatory

treatment. At September 30, 2021, the remaining weighted average amortization period for such costs was approximately 6 years.

Income Taxes

The Company and its subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. State tax returns are filed on a combined or separate basis depending on the applicable laws in the jurisdictions where tax returns are filed.

The Company follows the asset and liability approach in accounting for income taxes, which requires the recognition of deferred income taxes for the expected future tax consequences of net operating losses, credits and temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided on deferred tax assets if it is determined, within each taxing jurisdiction, that it is more likely than not that the asset will not be realized.

The Company reports a liability or a reduction of deferred tax assets for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. When applicable, the Company recognizes interest relating to uncertain tax positions in Other Interest Expense and penalties in Other Income (Deductions).

Consolidated Statement Of Cash Flows

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

The components, as reported on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets, of the total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash presented on the Statement of Cash Flows are as follows (in thousands):


	Year Ended September 30
	2021		2020		2019		2018

Cash and Temporary Cash Investments	$	31,528	$	20,541	$	20,428	$	229,606
Hedging Collateral Deposits	88,610		—		6,832		3,441
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash	$	120,138	$	20,541	$	27,260	$	233,047

The Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity date of generally three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company’s restricted cash is composed entirely of amounts reported as Hedging Collateral Deposits on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Hedging Collateral Deposits is an account title for cash held in margin accounts funded by the Company to serve as collateral for hedging positions. In accordance with its accounting policy, the Company does not offset hedging collateral deposits paid or received against related derivative financial instruments liability or asset balances.

Other Current Assets

The components of the Company’s Other Current Assets are as follows:


	Year Ended September 30
	2021		2020
	(Thousands)
Prepayments	$	14,164	$	12,851
Prepaid Property and Other Taxes	14,788		14,269

State Income Taxes Receivable	1,502		3,828

Regulatory Assets	29,206		16,609
	$	59,660	$	47,557

Other Accruals And Current Liabilities

Other Accruals and Current Liabilities

The components of the Company’s Other Accruals and Current Liabilities are as follows:


	Year Ended September 30
	2021		2020
	(Thousands)
Accrued Capital Expenditures	$	42,541	$	33,344
Regulatory Liabilities	60,860		44,890

Federal Income Taxes Payable	154		163

Liability for Royalty and Working Interests	31,483		15,665
Non-Qualified Benefit Plan Liability	15,408		14,460
Other	43,723		31,654
	$	194,169	$	140,176

Customer Advances

The Company, primarily in its Utility segment, has balanced billing programs whereby customers pay their estimated annual usage in equal installments over a twelve-month period. Monthly payments under the balanced billing programs are typically higher than current month usage during the summer months. During the winter months, monthly payments under the balanced billing programs are typically lower than current month usage. At September 30, 2021 and 2020, customers in the balanced billing programs had advanced excess funds of $17.2 million and $15.3 million, respectively.

Customer Security Deposits

The Company, primarily in its Utility and Pipeline and Storage segments, oftentimes requires security deposits from marketers, producers, pipeline companies, and commercial and industrial customers before providing services to such customers. At September 30, 2021 and 2020, the Company had received customer security deposits amounting to $19.3 million and $17.2 million, respectively.

Earnings Per Common Share

Earnings Per Common ShareBasic earnings per common share is computed by dividing income or loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per common share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. For purposes of determining earnings per common share, the potentially dilutive securities the Company had outstanding were SARs, restricted stock units and performance shares. For the years ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2019, the diluted weighted average shares outstanding shown on the Consolidated Statements of Income reflects the potential dilution as a result of these securities as determined using the Treasury Stock Method. SARs, restricted stock units and performance shares that are antidilutive are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per common share. There were 320,222 securities excluded as being antidilutive for the year ended September 30, 2021 and 242,302 securities excluded as being antidilutive for the year ended September 30, 2019. As the Company recognized a net loss for the year ended September 30, 2020, the aforementioned potentially dilutive securities, amounting to 411,890 securities, were not recognized in the diluted earnings per share calculation for 2020.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has various stock award plans which provide or provided for the issuance of one or more of the following to key employees: SARs, incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units or performance shares. The Company follows authoritative guidance which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation cost at fair value for all share-based payments. SARs and stock options under all plans have exercise prices equal to the average market price of

Company common stock on the date of grant, and generally no SAR or stock option is exercisable less than one year or more than ten years after the date of each grant. The Company has chosen the Black-Scholes-Merton closed form model to calculate the compensation expense associated with SARs and stock options. For all Company stock awards, forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

Restricted stock is subject to restrictions on vesting and transferability. Restricted stock awards entitle the participants to full dividend and voting rights. The market value of restricted stock on the date of the award is recorded as compensation expense over the vesting period. Certificates for shares of restricted stock awarded under the Company’s stock award plans are held by the Company during the periods in which the restrictions on vesting are effective. Restrictions on restricted stock awards generally lapse ratably over a period of not more than ten years after the date of each grant.

Restricted stock units also are subject to restrictions on vesting and transferability. Restricted stock units represent the right to receive shares of common stock of the Company (or the equivalent value in cash or a combination of cash and shares of common stock of the Company, as determined by the Company) at the end of a specified time period. The restricted stock units do not entitle the participants to dividend and voting rights. The accounting for restricted stock units is the same as the accounting for restricted stock awards, except that the fair value at the date of grant of the restricted stock units (represented by the market value of Company common stock on the date of the award) must be reduced by the present value of forgone dividends over the vesting term of the award. The fair value of restricted stock units on the date of award is recorded as compensation expense over the vesting period.

Performance shares are an award constituting units denominated in common stock of the Company, the number of which may be adjusted over a performance cycle based upon the extent to which performance goals have been satisfied. Earned performance shares may be distributed in the form of shares of common stock of the Company, an equivalent value in cash or a combination of cash and shares of common stock of the Company, as determined by the Company. The performance shares do not entitle the participant to receive dividends during the vesting period. For performance shares based on a return on capital goal, the fair value at the date of grant of the performance shares is determined by multiplying the expected number of performance shares to be issued by the market value of Company common stock on the date of grant reduced by the present value of forgone dividends. For performance shares based on a total shareholder return goal, the Company uses the Monte Carlo simulation technique to estimate the fair value price at the date of grant.

Refer to Note H — Capitalization and Short-Term Borrowings under the heading “Stock Award Plans” for additional disclosures related to stock-based compensation awards for all plans.

New Authoritative Accounting And Financial Reporting Guidance

New Authoritative Accounting and Financial Reporting Guidance

On October 1, 2020, the Company adopted authoritative guidance regarding the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost. The new guidance requires financial assets measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, which means that companies are required to recognize an allowance for credit losses for the difference between the amortized cost basis of the financial asset and the amount expected to be collected over the contractual life of the asset. Prior to adoption, the Company analyzed its financial assets measured at amortized cost, primarily trade receivables. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial statements.