Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Provisions for Federal and State Income Taxes

Provisions for Federal and State Income Taxes reflected as operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 are shown in the table below:

	($000’s)
	2017		2016		2015
Current Income Tax Provision
Federal	$	—	$	—	$	—
State		—		—		3,530
Total Current Income Taxes		—		—		3,530
Deferred Income Provision
Federal		13,675		11,209		12,413
State		3,862		4,145		(500	)
Total Deferred Income Taxes		17,537		15,354		11,913
Total Income Tax Expense	$	17,537	$	15,354	$	15,443

Differences Between Provisions for Income Taxes and Provisions Calculated at Statutory Federal Tax Rate

The differences between the Company’s provisions for Income Taxes and the provisions calculated at the statutory federal tax rate, expressed in percentages, are shown below:

	2017			2016			2015
Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate		34	%		34	%		34	%
Income Tax Effects of:
State Income Taxes, net		6			4			5
Utility Plant Differences		(1	)		(1	)		(2	)
Tax Credits		(1	)		(1	)		(1	)
Other, net		—			—			1
Effective Income Tax Rate		38	%		36	%		37	%

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Temporary differences which gave rise to deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2017 and 2016, are shown below:

Temporary Differences (000’s)	2017		2016
Deferred Tax Assets
Retirement Benefit Obligations	$	38,915	$	56,804
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards		12,686		23,921
Tax Credit Carryforwards		3,536		3,365
Other, net		1,155		1,426
Total Deferred Tax Assets	$	56,292	$	85,516
Deferred Tax Liabilities
Utility Plant Differences	$	127,932	$	169,240
Regulatory Assets & Liabilities		9,323		10,594
Other, net		1,894		3,629
Total Deferred Tax Liabilities		139,149		183,463
Net Deferred Tax Liabilities	$	82,857	$	97,947