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REGULATORY ASSETS AND REGULATORY LIABILITIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Regulatory Assets and Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]  
REGULATORY ASSETS AND REGULATORY LIABILITIES
REGULATORY ASSETS AND REGULATORY LIABILITIES:

There have been no significant changes to the nature of the Company’s regulatory assets and liabilities since December 31, 2015, which are described in Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of SJI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Regulatory Assets consisted of the following items (in thousands):

 
June 30, 2016
 
December 31, 2015
Environmental Remediation Costs:
 
 
 
Expended - Net
$
50,650

 
$
42,032

Liability for Future Expenditures
152,349

 
123,194

Deferred Asset Retirement Obligation Costs
42,912

 
42,430

Deferred Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Costs
79,779

 
79,779

Deferred Gas Costs - Net

 
2,701

Conservation Incentive Program Receivable
21,766

 
2,624

Deferred Interest Rate Contracts
10,363

 
7,631

Energy Efficiency Tracker

 
496

Pipeline Supplier Service Charges
2,943

 
3,776

Pipeline Integrity Cost
4,447

 
4,596

AFUDC - Equity Related Deferrals
11,938

 
11,423

Other Regulatory Assets
3,217

 
2,752

 
 
 
 
Total Regulatory Assets
$
380,364

 
$
323,434



ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COSTS - SJG has two regulatory assets associated with environmental costs related to the cleanup of 12 sites where SJG or its predecessors previously operated gas manufacturing plants. The first asset, "Environmental Remediation Cost: Expended - Net," represents what was actually spent to clean up the sites, less recoveries through the Remediation Adjustment Clause (RAC) and insurance carriers. These costs meet the deferral requirements of GAAP, as the BPU allows SJG to recover such expenditures through the RAC. The other asset, "Environmental Remediation Cost: Liability for Future Expenditures," relates to estimated future expenditures required to complete the remediation of these sites. SJG recorded this estimated amount as a regulatory asset with the corresponding current and noncurrent liabilities on the balance sheets under the captions "Current Liabilities" and "Deferred Credits and Other Noncurrent Liabilities." The BPU allows SJG to recover the deferred costs over seven-year periods after they are spent. The increase from December 31, 2015 is a result of expenditures made during the first six months of 2016 and an increase in the expected future expenditures for remediation activities, primarily due to an increase in the scope of the remediation at a site related to additional contamination being discovered.

DEFERRED GAS COSTS - NET - See discussion under "Deferred Revenues - Net" below.

CONSERVATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM (CIP) RECEIVABLE – The CIP tracking mechanism adjusts earnings when actual usage per customer experienced during the period varies from an established baseline usage per customer. Actual usage per customer was less than the established baseline during the 2015 - 2016 winter season and, more notably, during the first six months of 2016, resulting in an increase in the receivable. This is primarily the result of warm weather experienced in the region.

Regulatory Liabilities consisted of the following items (in thousands):

 
June 30, 2016
 
December 31, 2015
Excess Plant Removal Costs
$
31,078

 
$
32,644

Deferred Revenues - Net
18,631

 

Societal Benefit Costs
8,233

 
10,197

Energy Efficiency Tracker
2,068

 

 
 
 
 
Total Regulatory Liabilities
$
60,010

 
$
42,841


 
DEFERRED REVENUES - NET - Over/under collections of gas costs are monitored through SJG's BGSS mechanism. Net under collected gas costs are classified as a regulatory asset and net over collected gas costs are classified as a regulatory liability. Derivative contracts used to hedge natural gas purchases are also included in the BGSS, subject to BPU approval. The BGSS changed from a $2.7 million regulatory asset at December 31, 2015 to a $18.6 million regulatory liability at June 30, 2016 primarily due to the gas costs recovered from customers exceeding the actual cost of the commodity.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY TRACKER (EET) - This regulatory liability primarily represents energy efficiency measures installed in customer homes and businesses. The change from a $0.5 million regulatory asset at December 31, 2015 to a $2.1 million regulatory liability at June 30, 2016 is due to recoveries being greater than the cost of, and allowed return on, investments in the Energy Efficiency Programs. In February 2016, the BPU approved a $7.9 million revenue decrease to SJG’s EET (see Note 7).