Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

The major components of depreciable plant and equipment as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:

	2016		2015
Equipment	$	269,734	254,940
Transmission and distribution	1,204,520		1,108,659
Office buildings and other structures	79,762		74,722
Total depreciable plant and equipment	$	1,554,016	1,438,321

Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated service lives of the assets, ranging from 5 to 75 years. The estimated service lives of depreciable plant and equipment are as follows:

	Useful Lives
Equipment	5 to 35 years
Transmission and distribution plant	35 to 75 years
Office buildings and other structures	7 to 50 years

Schedule of Real Estate Investments

The major components of real estate investments as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 are as follows:

	2016		2015
Land	$	15,218	17,297
Buildings and improvements	46,826		57,015
Intangibles	149		149
Total real estate investment	$	62,193	74,461

Depreciation on real estate investments is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from 7 to 39 years. The estimated service lives of depreciable real estate investments are as follows:

	Useful Lives
Buildings and improvements	7 to 39 years
Intangibles	7 to 12 years

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases

The following schedule shows the future minimum rental payments to be received from third parties under operating leases that have remaining noncancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2016:

Year ending December 31:	Rental Revenue
2017	$	4,753
2018	3,924
2019	3,609
2020	3,302
2021	2,441
Thereafter	7,947

Schedule of Balancing and Memorandum Accounts

San Jose Water Company met the recognition requirements for certain of its balancing and memorandum accounts and certain amounts subject to balancing and memorandum accounts and recorded revenue and regulatory assets as follows:

	For the year ended December 31, 2016
	Beginning Balance			Revenue Increase (Reduction)		Refunds (Collections)		Surcharge Offset		Ending Balance
Memorandum accounts:
2014 WCMA	$	2,944		188		(3,132	)	—		—
2015 WCMA	5,372			211		(3,994	)	—		1,589
2016 WCMA	—			16,708		—		(16,708	)	—
All others	594			1,756		418		—		2,768
Total memorandum accounts	$	8,910		18,863		(6,708	)	(16,708	)	4,357
Balancing accounts:
Water supply costs	2,771			1,620		799		—		5,190
Drought surcharges	(359		)	—		(24,037	)	16,708		(7,688	)
Pension	(552		)	1,120		(2,577	)	—		(2,009	)
2012 General Rate Case true-up	33,070			—		(12,388	)	—		20,682
2015 General Rate Case true-up	—			8,767		(3,239	)	—		5,528
All others	1,366			(483	)	(1,034	)	—		(151	)
Total balancing accounts	$	36,296		11,024		(42,476	)	16,708		21,552
Total	$	45,206		29,887		(49,184	)	—		25,909

	For the year ended December 31, 2015
	Beginning Balance			Revenue Increase (Reduction)		Refunds (Collections)		Surcharge Offset		Ending Balance
Memorandum accounts:
2014 WCMA	$	—		2,981		(37	)	—		2,944
2015 WCMA	—			17,511		—		(12,139	)	5,372
All others	(1,377		)	1,494		477		—		594
Total memorandum accounts	$	(1,377	)	21,986		440		(12,139	)	8,910
Balancing accounts:
Water supply costs	890			2,025		(144	)	—		2,771
Drought surcharges	—			—		(12,498	)	12,139		(359	)
Pension	1,412			(924	)	(1,040	)	—		(552	)
2012 General Rate Case true-up	44,400			1,937		(13,267	)	—		33,070
All others	1,736			(293	)	(77	)	—		1,366
Total balancing accounts	$	48,438		2,745		(27,026	)	12,139		36,296
Total	$	47,061		24,731		(26,586	)	—		45,206

	For the year ended December 31, 2014
	Beginning Balance			Revenue Increase (Reduction)		Refunds (Collections)		Surcharge Offset	Ending Balance
Memorandum accounts:
All others	$	(1,896	)	341		178		—	(1,377	)
Total memorandum accounts	$	(1,896	)	341		178		—	(1,377	)
Balancing accounts:
Water supply costs	(2,378		)	3,353		(85	)	—	890
Pension	9,734			(7,705	)	(617	)	—	1,412
2012 General Rate Case true-up	—			46,456		(2,056	)	—	44,400
All others	2,229			(447	)	(46	)	—	1,736
Total balancing accounts	$	9,585		41,657		(2,804	)	—	48,438
Total	$	7,689		41,998		(2,626	)	—	47,061

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

Regulatory assets and liabilities are comprised of the following as of December 31:

	2016		2015
Regulatory assets:
Income tax temporary differences, net	$	10,139	8,184
Postretirement pensions and other medical benefits	109,795		109,168
Balancing and memorandum accounts, net	25,909		45,206
Other, net	5,930		6,005
Total regulatory assets, net in Consolidated Balance Sheets	$	151,773	168,563
Less: current regulatory asset, net	16,064		16,542
Total regulatory assets, net, less current portion	$	135,709	152,021

Schedule of Estimated Refunds of Advances for Construction and Contributions in Aid of Construction

Estimated refunds for the next five years and thereafter are shown below:

	Estimated Refunds
2017	$	2,726
2018	2,726
2019	2,726
2020	2,726
2021	2,726
Thereafter	54,251

Schedule of Asset Retirement Obligations

For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the asset retirement obligation is as follows:

	2016			2015
Retirement obligation	$	4,835		4,249
Discount rate	6		%	6	%
Present value, recorded as a liability	1,966			1,961
Deferred tax	1,352			1,348
Regulatory asset	$	3,318		3,309