Asset Retirement Obligations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Asset Retirement Obligation Disclosure [Abstract]

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset Retirement Obligations During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company revised its cost estimates for existing Asset Retirement Obligations (ARO) at Cholla related to updated estimates for the closure of ponds and

facilities, which resulted in an increase to the ARO of approximately $28 million. (See additional details in Notes 4 and 8.)

The following schedule shows the change in our asset retirement obligations for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 (dollars in thousands): 

	2021
Asset retirement obligations at January 1, 2021	$	705,083
Changes attributable to:
Accretion expense	28,541
Settlements	(3,225)
Estimated cash flow revisions	27,678
Asset retirement obligations at September 30, 2021	$	758,077

In accordance with regulatory accounting, APS accrues removal costs for its regulated utility assets, even if there is no legal obligation for removal.  See detail of regulatory liabilities in Note 4.