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REGULATORY ASSETS AND REGULATORY LIABILITIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
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 SJG’s regulatory assets and liabilities since December 31, 2016, 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, 2016 and Note 4 to the Financial Statements in Item 8 of SJG’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. SJI has no regulatory assets or regulatory liabilities other than those of SJG.

SJI's and SJG's Regulatory Assets consisted of the following items (in thousands):
 
June 30, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
Environmental Remediation Costs:
 
 
 
Expended - Net
$
89,873

 
$
71,997

Liability for Future Expenditures
161,681

 
153,047

Deferred Asset Retirement Obligation Costs
42,716

 
43,014

Deferred Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Costs
85,693

 
85,693

Deferred Gas Costs - Net
3,598

 

Conservation Incentive Program Receivable
31,933

 
27,567

Societal Benefit Costs Receivable
443

 

Deferred Interest Rate Contracts
7,298

 
7,365

Energy Efficiency Tracker
511

 
219

Pipeline Supplier Service Charges
1,355

 
2,122

Pipeline Integrity Cost
5,061

 
4,810

AFUDC - Equity Related Deferrals
12,422

 
12,434

Other Regulatory Assets
2,728

 
2,478

 
 
 
 
Total Regulatory Assets
$
445,312

 
$
410,746



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" (both SJI and SJG), "Deferred Credits and Other Noncurrent Liabilities" (SJI) and "Regulatory and Other Noncurrent Liabilities" (SJG). The BPU allows SJG to recover the deferred costs over seven-year periods after they are spent. The increase from December 31, 2016 is a result of expenditures made during the first six months of 2017 and an increase in the expected future expenditures for remediation activities, primarily due to an increase in contractor costs at two of the sites currently under remediation.

DEFERRED GAS COSTS - NET - Over/Under collections of gas costs are monitored through SJG's Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) mechanism. Net undercollected gas costs are classified as a regulatory asset, and net overcollected 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 change in the BGSS from a $17.8 million regulatory liability at December 31, 2016 to a $3.6 million regulatory asset at June 30, 2017 was primarily due to an unfavorable court ruling related to a pricing dispute between SJG and a supplier (See Notes 11 and 16).

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 first six months of 2017, resulting in an increase in the receivable. This is primarily the result of warm weather experienced in the region.

SJI's and SJG's Regulatory Liabilities consisted of the following items (in thousands):

 
June 30, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
Excess Plant Removal Costs
$
24,655

 
$
28,226

Deferred Revenues - Net

 
17,800

Societal Benefit Costs

 
3,095

 
 
 
 
Total Regulatory Liabilities
$
24,655

 
$
49,121


 
DEFERRED REVENUES - NET - See discussion under "Deferred Gas Costs - Net" above.

SOCIETAL BENEFIT COSTS (SBC) - This regulatory asset primarily represents the deferred expenses incurred under the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, which is a mechanism designed to recover costs associated with energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Previous SBC rates produced recoveries greater than SBC costs, which resulted in the regulatory liability. The decrease in the liability from December 31, 2016 is due to an increase in rates.