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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Significant Accounting Policies  
Consolidation Policy Text Block

NOTE 1. GENERAL

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION

2012 Business Segment Realignment

Effective January 1, 2012, management realigned some of the company's major subsidiaries to better fit its strategic direction and to enhance the management and integration of our assets. This realignment resulted in a change in reportable segments in 2012. In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP), historical information for Sempra Energy has been restated in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and these Notes to reflect the effect of this change. All discussions of our operating units and reportable segments in these Notes reflect the new segments and operating structure.

Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Sempra Energy, a California-based Fortune 500 holding company, and its consolidated subsidiaries and a variable interest entity (VIE). Sempra Energy's principal operating units are

  • San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas);
  • Sempra International, which includes our Sempra South American Utilities and Sempra Mexico reportable segments; and

  • Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, which includes our Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas reportable segments.

We provide descriptions of each of our segments in Note 11.

We refer to SDG&E and SoCalGas collectively as the California Utilities, which do not include the utilities in our Sempra International and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power operating units. Sempra Global is the holding company for most of our subsidiaries that are not subject to California utility regulation. All references in these Notes to “Sempra International,“Sempra U.S. Gas & Power” and their respective reportable segments are not intended to refer to any legal entity with the same or similar name.

Sempra Energy uses the equity method to account for investments in affiliated companies over which we have the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control. We discuss our investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries in Note 4 herein and Note 4 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

SDG&E

SDG&E's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include its accounts and the accounts of a VIE of which SDG&E is the primary beneficiary, as we discuss in Note 5 under Variable Interest Entities. SDG&E's common stock is wholly owned by Enova Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Energy.

SoCalGas

SoCalGas' Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include its subsidiaries, which comprise less than one percent of its consolidated financial position and results of operations. SoCalGas' common stock is wholly owned by Pacific Enterprises (PE), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Energy.

 

New Accounting Standards Policy

NOTE 2. NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

We describe below recent pronouncements that have had or may have a significant effect on our financial statements. We do not discuss recent pronouncements that are not anticipated to have an impact on or are unrelated to our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.

SEMPRA ENERGY, SDG&E AND SOCALGAS

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-04, “Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) (ASU 2011-04): ASU 2011-04 amends Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, and provides changes in the wording used to describe the requirements for measuring fair value and disclosing information about fair value measurement. ASU 2011-04 results in common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements under both GAAP and IFRSs.

ASU 2011-04 expands fair value measurement disclosures for Level 3 instruments to require

  • quantitative information about the unobservable inputs
  • a description of the valuation process
  • a qualitative discussion about the sensitivity of the measurements

We adopted ASU 2011-04 on January 1, 2012 and it did not affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The required disclosure is provided in Note 8.

ASU 2011-05, “Presentation of Comprehensive Income (ASU 2011-05) and ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 (ASU 2011-12): ASU 2011-05 amends ASC Topic 220, Comprehensive Income, and eliminates the option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of changes in equity. The ASU allows an entity an option to present the components of net income and other comprehensive income in one continuous statement, referred to as the statement of comprehensive income, or in two separate, but consecutive, statements.

ASU 2011-05 does not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income, when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income, or the earnings per share computation.

ASU 2011-12 defers the requirement to separately present on the face of the statement of operations or statement of comprehensive income reclassification adjustments for items that are reclassified from other comprehensive income to net income.

We adopted ASU 2011-05 on January 1, 2012 and have elected to present the components of net income and other comprehensive income in two separate, but consecutive, statements.

ASU 2011-11, “Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities (ASU 2011-11): In order to allow for balance sheet comparison between GAAP and IFRSs, ASU 2011-11 requires enhanced disclosures related to financial assets and liabilities eligible for offsetting in the statement of financial position. An entity will have to disclose both gross and net information about financial instruments and transactions subject to a master netting arrangement and eligible for offset, including cash collateral received and posted.

We will adopt ASU 2011-11 on January 1, 2013 as required and do not expect it to affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We will provide the additional disclosure in our 2013 interim financial statements.

Consolidation Variable Interest Entity Policy VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES (VIE) We consolidate a VIE if we are the primary beneficiary of the VIE. Our determination of whether we are the primary beneficiary is based upon qualitative and quantitative analyses, which assess the purpose and design of the VIE; the nature of the VIE’s risks and the risks we absorb; the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE; and the obligation to absorb losses or right to receive benefits that could be significant to the VIE.
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Goodwill Policy GOODWILL Goodwill is the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable net assets of acquired companies measured at the time of acquisition. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested annually on October 1 for impairment. Impairment of goodwill occurs when the carrying amount (book value) of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value. If the carrying value of the reporting unit, including goodwill, exceeds its fair value, and the book value of goodwill is greater than its fair value on the test date, we record a goodwill impairment loss.
Earnings Per Share Policy Text Block

EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table provides the per share computations for our earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. Basic earnings per common share (EPS) is calculated by dividing earnings attributable to common stock by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS includes the potential dilution of common stock equivalent shares that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock.

The dilution from common stock options is based on the treasury stock method. Under this method, proceeds based on the exercise price plus unearned compensation and windfall tax benefits recognized and minus tax shortfalls recognized are assumed to be used to repurchase shares on the open market at the average market price for the period. The windfall tax benefits are tax deductions we would receive upon the assumed exercise of stock options in excess of the deferred income taxes we recorded related to the compensation expense on the stock options. Tax shortfalls occur when the assumed tax deductions are less than recorded deferred income taxes. The calculation excludes options for which the exercise price on common stock was greater than the average market price during the period (out-of-the-money options).

The dilution from unvested restricted stock awards (RSAs) and restricted stock units (RSUs) is also based on the treasury stock method.

Derivatives Policy Text Block

NOTE 7. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

We use derivative instruments primarily to manage exposures arising in the normal course of business. Our principal exposures are commodity market risk and benchmark interest rate risk. We may also manage foreign exchange rate exposures using derivatives. Our use of derivatives for these risks is integrated into the economic management of our anticipated revenues, anticipated expenses, assets and liabilities. Derivatives may be effective in mitigating these risks (1) that could lead to declines in anticipated revenues or increases in anticipated expenses, or (2) that our asset values may fall or our liabilities increase. Accordingly, our derivative activity summarized below generally represents an impact that is intended to offset associated revenues, expenses, assets or liabilities that are not presented below.

We record all derivatives at fair value on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We designate each derivative as (1) a cash flow hedge, (2) a fair value hedge, or (3) undesignated. Depending on the applicability of hedge accounting and, for the California Utilities and other operations subject to regulatory accounting, the requirement to pass impacts through to customers, the impact of derivative instruments may be offset in other comprehensive income (cash flow hedge), on the balance sheet (fair value hedges and regulatory offsets), or recognized in earnings. We classify cash flows from the settlements of derivative instruments as operating activities on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

In certain cases, we apply the normal purchase or sale exception to derivative accounting and have other commodity contracts that are not derivatives. These contracts are not recorded at fair value and are therefore excluded from the disclosures below.

HEDGE ACCOUNTING

We may designate a derivative as a cash flow hedging instrument if it effectively converts anticipated revenues or expenses to a fixed dollar amount. We may utilize cash flow hedge accounting for derivative commodity instruments and interest rate instruments. Designating cash flow hedges is dependent on the business context in which the instrument is being used, the effectiveness of the instrument in offsetting the risk that a given future revenue or expense item may vary, and other criteria.

We may designate an interest rate derivative as a fair value hedging instrument if it effectively converts our own debt from a fixed interest rate to a variable rate. The combination of the derivative and debt instruments results in fixing that portion of the fair value of the debt that is related to benchmark interest rates. Designating fair value hedges is dependent on the instrument being used, the effectiveness of the instrument in offsetting changes in the fair value of our debt instruments, and other criteria.

ENERGY DERIVATIVES

Our market risk is primarily related to natural gas and electricity price volatility and the specific physical locations where we transact. We use energy derivatives to manage these risks. The use of energy derivatives in our various businesses depends on the particular energy market, and the operating and regulatory environments applicable to the business.

INTEREST RATE DERIVATIVES

We are exposed to interest rates primarily as a result of our current and expected use of financing. We periodically enter into interest rate derivative agreements intended to moderate our exposure to interest rates and to lower our overall costs of borrowing. We utilize interest rate swaps typically designated as fair value hedges, as a means to achieve our targeted level of variable rate debt as a percent of total debt. In addition, we may utilize interest rate swaps, which are typically designated as cash flow hedges, to lock in interest rates on outstanding debt or in anticipation of future financings.

FOREIGN CURRENCY DERIVATIVES

We are exposed to exchange rate movements primarily as a result of our Mexican subsidiaries, which have U.S. dollar denominated receivables and payables (monetary assets and liabilities) that give rise to Mexican currency exchange rate movements for Mexican income tax purposes. These subsidiaries also have deferred income tax assets and liabilities that are denominated in the Mexican peso, which must be translated into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. From time to time, we may utilize short-term foreign currency derivatives at our subsidiaries and at the consolidated level as a means to manage the risk of exposure to significant fluctuations in our income tax expense from these impacts.

Legal Costs Policy Text Block

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We accrue losses for legal proceedings when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amounts of the loss can be reasonably estimated. However, the uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings make it difficult to estimate with reasonable certainty the costs and effects of resolving these matters. Accordingly, actual costs incurred may differ materially from amounts accrued, may exceed applicable insurance coverages and could materially adversely affect our business, cash flows, results of operations, and financial condition. Unless otherwise indicated, we are unable to estimate reasonably possible losses in excess of any amounts accrued.

 

LIFO Inventory Policy Text Block

TEMPORARY LIFO LIQUIDATION

SoCalGas values natural gas inventory by the last-in first-out (LIFO) method. As inventories are sold, differences between the LIFO valuation and the estimated replacement cost are reflected in customer rates. Temporary LIFO liquidation represents the difference between the carrying value of natural gas inventory withdrawn during the period for delivery to customers and the projected cost of the replacement of that inventory during summer months.

Noncontrolling Interest Policy

Ownership interests that are held by owners other than Sempra Energy and SDG&E in subsidiaries or entities consolidated by them are accounted for and reported as noncontrolling interests. As a result, noncontrolling interests are reported as a separate component of equity on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Net income or loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests is separately identified on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, and comprehensive income attributable to the noncontrolling interests is separately identified on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.