OPERATIONS AND ORGANIZATION (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Goodwill

The Company owns Southwest Gas which owns and operates natural gas storage assets.  Due to a decrease in the demand for storage on these assets, the Company performed an interim impairment test on the assets of Southwest Gas during the three months ended September 30, 2019.  As a result of the interim impairment test, the Company recognized a goodwill impairment of $12 million related to Southwest Gas, primarily due to decreases in projected future revenues and cash flows.  No other impairments of the Company’s other assets were identified.  Subsequent to this impairment charge, the book value of the Company’s goodwill is zero.  The Company estimated the fair value of Southwest Gas by using the income approach. The income approach is based on the present value of future cash flows, which are derived from our long-term financial forecasts, and requires significant assumptions including, among others, a discount rate and a terminal value.

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited financial information included in this Form 10-Q has been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. In the opinion of the Company’s management, such financial information reflects all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and the results of operations for such interim periods in accordance with GAAP. All intercompany items and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates

The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP, which includes the use of estimates and assumptions made by management that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities that exist at the date of the consolidated financial statements. Although these estimates are based on management’s available knowledge of current and expected future events, actual results could be different from those estimates.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Change in Accounting Policy

Adoption of Lease Accounting Standard

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which has amended the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and introduced Topic 842, Leases. On January 1, 2019, the Company has adopted Topic 842, which is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2018. Topic 842 requires entities to recognize lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases with a term of more than one year, including operating leases, which historically were not recorded on the balance sheet in accordance with the prior standard.

To adopt Topic 842, the Company recognized a cumulative catch-up adjustment to the opening balance sheet as of January 1, 2019 related to certain leases that existed as of that date. As permitted, we have not retrospectively modified our consolidated financial statements for comparative purposes. The adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. As a result of adoption, we have recorded additional net right-of-use (“ROU”) lease assets and lease

liabilities of approximately $6 million and $6 million, respectively, as of January 1, 2019. In addition, we have updated our business processes, systems, and internal controls to support the on-going reporting requirements under the new standard.

To adopt Topic 842, the Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the standard. The expedient package allowed us not to reassess whether existing contracts contained a lease, the lease classification of existing leases and initial direct cost for existing leases. In addition to the package of practical expedients, the Company has elected not to capitalize amounts pertaining to leases with terms less than twelve months, to use the portfolio approach to determine discount rates, not to separate non-lease components from lease components and not to apply the use of hindsight to the active lease population.