Commitment & Contingencies (Disclosure)	3 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2014
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure Text Block	9. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities Long-term Contracts We routinely enter into long-term gas supply commodity and capacity commitments and other agreements that commit future cash flows to acquire services we need in our business. These commitments include pipeline and storage capacity contracts and gas supply contracts to provide service to our customers and telecommunication and information technology contracts and other purchase obligations. Costs arising from the gas supply commodity and capacity commitments, while significant, are pass-through costs to our customers and are generally fully recoverable through our PGA procedures and prudence reviews in North Carolina and South Carolina and under the TIP in Tennessee. The time periods for pipeline and storage capacity contracts are up to twenty-two years. The time periods for gas supply contracts are up to nine months. The time periods for the telecommunications and technology outsourcing contracts, maintenance fees for hardware and software applications, usage fees, local and long-distance costs and wireless service are up to four years. Other purchase obligations consist primarily of commitments for pipeline products, vehicles, equipment and contractors. Certain storage and pipeline capacity contracts require the payment of demand charges that are based on rates approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in order to maintain our right to access the natural gas storage or the pipeline capacity on a firm basis during the contract term. The demand charges that are incurred in each period are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income as part of gas purchases and included in “Cost of Gas.” Leases We lease certain buildings, land and equipment for use in our operations under noncancelable operating leases. We account for these leases by recognizing the future minimum lease payments as expense on a straight-line basis over the respective minimum lease terms under current accounting guidance. Legal We have only routine litigation in the normal course of business. We do not expect any of these routine litigation matters to have a material effect, either individually or in the aggregate, on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Letters of Credit We use letters of credit to guarantee claims from self-insurance under our general and automobile liability policies. We had $1.8 million in letters of credit that were issued and outstanding as of January 31, 2014. Additional information concerning letters of credit is included in Note 5 to the condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q. Environmental Matters Our three regulatory commissions have authorized us to utilize deferral accounting in connection with environmental costs. Accordingly, we have established regulatory assets for actual environmental costs incurred and for estimated environmental liabilities recorded. There were no material changes in the status of environmental-related matters during the three months ended January 31, 2014. As of January 31, 2014, our estimated undiscounted environmental liability totaled $1.3 million and consisted of $1.1 million for manufactured gas production sites for which we retain remediation responsibility, $.1 million for groundwater remediation at our Huntersville LNG site, and $.1 million for LNG facilities and underground storage tanks not yet remediated. The costs we reasonably expect to incur are estimated using assumptions based on actual costs incurred, the timing of future payments and inflation factors, among others. Further evaluation of environmental liabilities could significantly affect recorded amounts; however, we believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Additional information concerning commitments and contingencies is set forth in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements of our Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2013.

Commitment & Contingencies (Disclosure)

3 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2014

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure Text Block

9. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Long-term Contracts

We routinely enter into long-term gas supply commodity and capacity commitments and other agreements that commit future cash flows to acquire services we need in our business. These commitments include pipeline and storage capacity contracts and gas supply contracts to provide service to our customers and telecommunication and information technology contracts and other purchase obligations. Costs arising from the gas supply commodity and capacity commitments, while significant, are pass-through costs to our customers and are generally fully recoverable through our PGA procedures and prudence reviews in North Carolina and South Carolina and under the TIP in Tennessee. The time periods for pipeline and storage capacity contracts are up to twenty-two years. The time periods for gas supply contracts are up to nine months. The time periods for the telecommunications and technology outsourcing contracts, maintenance fees for hardware and software applications, usage fees, local and long-distance costs and wireless service are up to four years. Other purchase obligations consist primarily of commitments for pipeline products, vehicles, equipment and contractors.

Certain storage and pipeline capacity contracts require the payment of demand charges that are based on rates approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in order to maintain our right to access the natural gas storage or the pipeline capacity on a firm basis during the contract term. The demand charges that are incurred in each period are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income as part of gas purchases and included in “Cost of Gas.”

Leases

We lease certain buildings, land and equipment for use in our operations under noncancelable operating leases. We account for these leases by recognizing the future minimum lease payments as expense on a straight-line basis over the respective minimum lease terms under current accounting guidance.

Legal

We have only routine litigation in the normal course of business. We do not expect any of these routine litigation matters to have a material effect, either individually or in the aggregate, on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Letters of Credit

We use letters of credit to guarantee claims from self-insurance under our general and automobile liability policies. We had $1.8 million in letters of credit that were issued and outstanding as of January 31, 2014. Additional information concerning letters of credit is included in Note 5 to the condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q.

Environmental Matters

Our three regulatory commissions have authorized us to utilize deferral accounting in connection with environmental costs. Accordingly, we have established regulatory assets for actual environmental costs incurred and for estimated environmental liabilities recorded. There were no material changes in the status of environmental-related matters during the three months ended January 31, 2014.

As of January 31, 2014, our estimated undiscounted environmental liability totaled $1.3 million and consisted of $1.1 million for manufactured gas production sites for which we retain remediation responsibility, $.1 million for groundwater remediation at our Huntersville LNG site, and $.1 million for LNG facilities and underground storage tanks not yet remediated. The costs we reasonably expect to incur are estimated using assumptions based on actual costs incurred, the timing of future payments and inflation factors, among others.

Further evaluation of environmental liabilities could significantly affect recorded amounts; however, we believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Additional information concerning commitments and contingencies is set forth in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements of our Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2013.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies.

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