Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Operations: American States Water Company (“AWR”) is the parent company of Golden State Water Company (“GSWC”) and American States Utility Services, Inc. (“ASUS”) (and its subsidiaries, Fort Bliss Water Services Company (“FBWS”), Terrapin Utility Services, Inc. (“TUS”), Old Dominion Utility Services, Inc. (“ODUS”), Palmetto State Utility Services, Inc. (“PSUS”) and Old North Utility Services, Inc. (“ONUS”)).  AWR and its subsidiaries may be collectively referred to herein as “Registrant” or “the Company.”  The subsidiaries of ASUS may be collectively referred to herein as the “Military Utility Privatization Subsidiaries.”

GSWC is a public utility engaged principally in the purchase, production, distribution and sale of water in California serving approximately 257,000 water customers. GSWC also distributes electricity in several San Bernardino Mountain communities serving approximately 24,000 electric customers through its Bear Valley Electric Service (“BVES”) division. Although Registrant has a diversified base of residential, industrial and other customers, revenues derived from commercial and residential water customers accounted for approximately 90% of total water revenues in 2013, 2012 and 2011. The California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) regulates GSWC’s water and electric business, including properties, rates, services, facilities and other matters, and transactions by GSWC with its affiliates. AWR’s assets and operating income are primarily those of GSWC.

ASUS, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, operates, maintains and performs construction activities (including renewal and replacement capital work) on water and/or wastewater systems at various United States military bases pursuant to 50-year firm fixed-price contracts. These contracts are subject to periodic price redeterminations and modifications for changes in circumstances and changes in laws and regulations.

There is no direct regulatory oversight by the CPUC over AWR or the operation, rates or services provided by ASUS or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

Basis of Presentation:  The consolidated financial statements and notes thereto are being presented in a combined report being filed by two separate Registrants: AWR and GSWC. References in this report to “Registrant” are to AWR and GSWC, collectively, unless otherwise specified.

The consolidated financial statements of AWR include the accounts of AWR and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly-owned. These financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated in the AWR consolidated financial statements. 

Related Party Transactions:

Related Party Transactions:  GSWC and ASUS provide and receive various services to and from their parent, AWR.  Any transactions between GSWC and AWR or ASUS are governed by the CPUC’s affiliate transaction rules.  In addition, AWR has a $100.0 million syndicated credit facility. AWR borrows under this facility and provides funds to its subsidiaries, including GSWC, in support of their operations. Any amounts owed to AWR for borrowings under this facility are included in inter-company payables on GSWC’s balance sheet. The interest rate charged to GSWC and other affiliates is sufficient to cover AWR’s interest cost under the credit facility. GSWC also allocates certain corporate office administrative and general costs to its affiliate, ASUS, using allocation factors mandated by the CPUC.

During 2013, AWR issued an interest bearing promissory note (the "Note") to GSWC for $20.0 million which expires on May 23, 2018. Under the terms of the Note, AWR may borrow from GSWC amounts up to $20.0 million for working capital purposes. As of December 31, 2013, $500,000 is outstanding under this Note, which has been reflected as a current note receivable on GSWC's balance sheet as of December 31, 2013. This Note is expected to be repaid by AWR within one year.

AWR owns all of the outstanding common shares of GSWC and ASUS. ASUS owns all of the outstanding common stock of the Military Utility Privatization Subsidiaries.

Utility Accounting:

Utility Accounting:  Registrant’s accounting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, including the accounting principles for rate-regulated enterprises, which reflect the ratemaking policies of the CPUC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. GSWC has incurred various costs and received various credits reflected as regulatory assets and liabilities. Accounting for such costs and credits as regulatory assets and liabilities is in accordance with the guidance for accounting for the effects of certain types of regulation.  This guidance sets forth the application of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for those companies whose rates are established by or are subject to approval by an independent third-party regulator.

Under such accounting guidance, rate regulated entities defer costs and credits on the balance sheet as regulatory assets and liabilities when it is probable that those costs and credits will be recognized in the ratemaking process in a period different from the period in which they would have been reflected in income by an unregulated company. These regulatory

assets and liabilities are then recognized in the income statement in the period in which the same amounts are reflected in the rates charged for service. The amounts included as regulatory assets and liabilities that will be collected over a period exceeding one year are classified as long-term assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2013 and 2012.

Property and Depreciation:

Property and Depreciation: GSWC capitalizes, as utility plant, the cost of construction and the cost of additions, betterments and replacements of retired units of property. Such cost includes labor, material and certain indirect charges. Water systems acquired are recorded at estimated original cost of utility plant when first devoted to utility service and the applicable accumulated depreciation is recorded to accumulated depreciation. The difference between the estimated original cost, less accumulated depreciation, and the purchase price, if recognized by the regulator, is recorded as an acquisition adjustment within utility plant. At December 31, 2013, utility plant includes a net credit acquisition adjustment of $8.8 million for GSWC, which is being amortized over approximately 30 years as permitted by the CPUC. Amortization of the acquisition adjustments totaled $427,000 for 2013 and $374,000 for 2012 and 2011.

Depreciation is computed on the straight-line, remaining-life basis, group method, based on depreciable plant in accordance with the applicable ratemaking process. The aggregate composite rate for depreciation for GSWC’s water distribution unit approximated 3.4% for 2013, 3.7% for 2012 and 3.8% for 2011, and approximately 3.4% for its electric unit for 2013, 3.6% for 2012 and 3.7% for 2011.  Depreciation computed on GSWC’s transportation equipment is recorded in other operating expenses and totaled $877,000, $1.8 million and $2.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred.  Replaced or retired property costs, including cost of removal, are charged to the accumulated provision for depreciation.  Property owned and depreciation recorded by ASUS and its subsidiaries are not material to Registrant’s financial statements.

Estimated useful lives of GSWC’s utility plant, as authorized by the CPUC, are as follows:

Source of water supply	30 years to 50 years
Pumping	25 years to 40 years
Water treatment	20 years to 35 years
Transmission and distribution	25 years to 55 years
Generation	40 years
Other plant	7 years to 40 years

Asset Retirement Obligations:

Asset Retirement Obligations:  GSWC has a legal obligation for the retirement of its wells, which by law need to be properly capped at the time of removal.  As such, GSWC incurs asset retirement obligations.  GSWC records the fair value of a liability for these asset retirement obligations in the period in which they are incurred. When the liability is initially recorded, GSWC capitalizes the cost by increasing the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset. Over time, the liability is accreted to its present value each period, and the capitalized cost is depreciated over the useful life of the related asset. Upon settlement of the liability, GSWC either settles the obligation for its recorded amount or incurs a gain or loss upon settlement. Retirement costs have historically been recovered through rates subsequent to the retirement costs being incurred. Accordingly, GSWC’s asset retirement obligations are reflected as a regulatory asset. GSWC also reflects the gain or loss at settlement as a regulatory asset or liability on the balance sheet.

With regards to removal costs associated with certain other long-lived assets, such as water mains, distribution and transmission assets, asset retirement obligations have not been recognized as GSWC believes that it will not be obligated to retire these assets. There are no CPUC rules or regulations that require GSWC to remove any of its other long-lived assets. In addition, GSWC’s water pipelines are not subject to regulation by any federal regulatory agency. GSWC has franchise agreements with various municipalities in order to use the public right of way for utility purposes (i.e., operate water distribution and transmission assets), and if certain events occur in the future, could be required to remove or relocate certain of its pipelines. However, it is not possible to estimate an asset retirement amount since the timing and the amount of assets that may be required to be removed, if any, is not known.

Amounts recorded for asset retirement obligations are subject to various assumptions and determinations, such as determining whether a legal obligation exists to remove assets, and estimating the fair value of the costs of removal, when final removal will occur and the credit-adjusted risk-free interest rates to be utilized on discounting future liabilities. Changes that may arise over time with regard to these assumptions will change amounts recorded in the future. Estimating the fair value of the costs of removal were determined based on third party costs.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets:

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets: Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be fully recoverable in accordance with accounting guidance for impairment or disposal of long-lived assets.  Registrant would recognize an impairment loss on its regulated assets only if the carrying value amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable from customer rates authorized by the CPUC.  Impairment loss is measured as the excess of the carrying value over the amounts recovered in customer rates.  During the year ended December 31, 2012, a $416,000 impairment loss was recorded in operating expenses as a result of the disallowance of certain capital costs by the CPUC as more fully discussed in Note 2. 

Goodwill:

Goodwill:  At December 31, 2013 and 2012, AWR had approximately $1.1 million of goodwill included in “Other Property and Investments.”  The $1.1 million goodwill arose from ASUS’s acquisition of a subcontractor’s business.  In accordance with the accounting guidance for testing goodwill, AWR annually assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. For 2013, AWR’s assessment of qualitative factors did not indicate that an impairment had occurred for the goodwill amount of $1.1 million at ASUS.

Cash and Cash Equivalents:

Cash and Cash Equivalents: Cash and cash equivalents include short-term cash investments with an original maturity of three months or less. At times, cash and cash equivalent balances may be in excess of federally insured limits. Cash and cash equivalents are held with financial institutions with high credit standings.

Accounts Receivable:

Accounts Receivable:  Accounts receivable is reported on the balance sheet net of any allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is Registrant’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in Registrant’s existing accounts receivable from its water and electric customers, and is determined based on historical write-off experience and the aging of account balances. Registrant reviews the allowance for doubtful accounts quarterly. Account balances are written off against the allowance when it is probable the receivable will not be recovered. When utility customers request extended payment terms, credit is extended based on regulatory guidelines, and collateral is not required. Other accounts receivable consist of amounts due from third parties (non-utility customers) for various reasons, including amounts due from contractors, amounts due under settlement agreements, and amounts due from the U.S. government or other third-party prime government contractors pursuant to contracts or modifications thereto or agreements to operate and maintain, and/or provide construction services for the water and/or wastewater systems at military bases. The allowance for these other accounts receivable is based on Registrant’s evaluation of the receivable portfolio under current conditions and a review of specific problems and such other factors that, in Registrant’s judgment, should be considered in estimating losses. 

Materials and Supplies:

Materials and Supplies: Materials and supplies are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is computed using average cost.

Interest:

Interest: Interest incurred during the construction of capital assets has generally not been capitalized for financial reporting purposes as such policy is not followed in the ratemaking process. Interest expense is generally recovered through the regulatory process.  However, the CPUC has authorized certain capital projects to be filed for revenue recovery with advice letters when those projects are completed. During the time that such projects are under development and construction, GSWC may accrue an allowance for funds used during construction (“AFUDC”) on the incurred expenditures to offset the cost of financing project construction.

Water and Electric Operating Revenues:

Water and Electric Operating Revenues: GSWC records water and electric utility operating revenues when the service is provided to customers. Revenues include amounts billed to customers on a cycle basis based on meter reading for services provided and unbilled revenues representing estimated amounts to be billed for usage from the last meter reading date to the end of the accounting period. The unbilled revenues are based on historic customer usage to estimate unbilled usage.  Flat-rate customers are billed in advance at the beginning of the service period. Revenue from flat-rate customers is deferred and adjustments are calculated to determine the revenue related to the applicable period.

Alternative-Revenue Program:

Alternative-Revenue Programs:  As authorized by the CPUC, GSWC records in revenues the difference between the adopted level of volumetric revenues as authorized by the CPUC for metered accounts (volumetric revenues) and the actual volumetric revenues recovered in customer rates.  If this difference results in an under-collection of revenues, GSWC records the additional revenue only to the extent that they are expected to be collected within 24 months following the year in which they are recorded in accordance with the accounting guidance for alternative-revenue programs.

Other Operating Revenues:

Contracted Services Revenues:  Revenues from ASUS contract operations and maintenance agreements are recognized on a monthly basis when services have been rendered to the customers under such agreements. Revenues from firm, fixed-price construction contracts are recognized based on the percentage-of-completion method of accounting.  In accordance with GAAP, revenue recognition under the percentage-of-completion method requires ASUS to estimate the progress toward completion on a contract in terms of efforts (such as costs incurred) or in terms of results achieved (such as units constructed).  These approaches are used because management considers them to be the best available measure of progress on these contracts. Revenues from cost-plus-profit contracts of ASUS are recognized on the basis of costs incurred during the period plus the profit earned, measured by the cost-to-cost method.

Construction costs for ASUS include all direct material and labor costs charged by subcontractors and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as indirect labor, supplies, and tools. The factors considered in including such costs in revenues and expenses are that ASUS and/or its subsidiaries: (i) are the primary obligor in these arrangements with the U.S. government and the third party prime contractors; (ii) have latitude in establishing pricing, and (iii) bear credit risk in the collection of receivables.  Administrative and general costs are charged to expense as incurred.  Precontract costs for ASUS, which consist of design and engineering labor costs, are deferred if they are probable of recovery and are expensed as incurred if they are not probable of recovery.  Deferred precontract costs have been immaterial to date. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined.

Changes in job performance, job conditions, change orders and estimated profitability, including those arising from contract penalty provisions, and final contract settlements may result in revisions to costs and income for ASUS and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined.

The asset, “Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts,” represents revenues recognized in excess of amounts billed. The liability, “Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts,” represents billings in excess of revenues recognized.  Amounts expected to be earned/collected in the next 12-months have been classified as current.

Debt Issuance Costs and Redemption Premiums:

Debt Issuance Costs and Redemption Premiums: Original debt issuance costs are capitalized and amortized over the lives of the respective issues. Premiums paid on the early redemption of debt, which is reacquired through refunding, are deferred and amortized over the life of the debt issued to finance the refunding as Registrant normally receives recovery of these costs in rates.

Advances for Construction and Contributions in aid of Constructions:

Advances for Construction and Contributions in Aid of Construction: Advances for construction represent amounts advanced by developers for the cost to construct water system facilities in order to extend water service to their properties. Advances are generally refundable in equal annual installments, generally over 40 years. In certain instances, GSWC makes refunds on these advances over a specific period of time based on operating revenues related to the main or as new customers are connected to receive service from the main.  Utility plant funded by advances and contributions is excluded from rate base.  Generally, GSWC depreciates contributed property and amortizes contributions in aid of construction at the composite rate of the related property. Contributions in aid of construction are similar to advances, but require no refunding.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments:

Fair Value of Financial Instruments: For cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and short-term debt, the carrying amount is assumed to approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of the amounts. The table below estimates the fair value of long-term debt issued by GSWC. Rates available to GSWC at December 31, 2013 and 2012 for debt with similar terms and remaining maturities were used to estimate fair value for long-term debt. Changes in the assumptions will produce differing results.

	2013				2012
(dollars in thousands)	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Long-term debt—GSWC	$	332,377	$	412,590	$	335,791	$	456,792

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements applies to all financial assets and financial liabilities that are being measured and reported on a fair value basis. Under the accounting guidance, GSWC makes fair value measurements that are classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

Level 2: Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability, or

Level 3: Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (i.e., supported by little or no market activity).

Publicly issued notes, private placement notes and other long-term debt are measured using current U.S. corporate bond yields for similar debt instruments and are classified as Level 2. The following tables set forth by level, within the fair value hierarchy, GSWC’s long-term debt measured at fair value as of December 31, 2013:

(dollars in thousands)	Level 1	Level 2		Level 3	Total
Long-term debt—GSWC	—	$	412,590	—	$	412,590

Stock Awards

Stock Awards: AWR has issued stock awards to its employees under the 2000 Stock Incentive Plan, or 2000 employee plan, and the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, or 2008 employee plan, and to directors under the 2003 Non-Employee Directors Stock Plan, or 2003 directors plan, and the 2013 Non-Employee Directors Plan, or 2013 directors plan.   Registrant applies the provisions in the accounting guidance for share-based payments in accounting for all of its stock-based awards.

Sales and Use Taxes:

Sales and Use Taxes:  GSWC bills certain sales and use taxes levied by state or local governments to its customers. Included in these sales and use taxes are franchise fees, which GSWC pays to various municipalities (based on ordinances adopted by these municipalities) in order to use public right of way for utility purposes. GSWC bills these franchise fees to its customers based on a CPUC-authorized rate(s). These franchise fees, which are required to be paid regardless of GSWC’s ability to collect from the customer, are accounted for on a gross basis. GSWC’s franchise fees billed to customers and recorded as operating revenue were approximately $3.6 million, $3.4 million and $3.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. When GSWC acts as an agent and the tax is not required to be remitted if it is not collected from the customer, the taxes are accounted for on a net basis.

Depending on the state in which the operations are conducted, the Military Utility Privatization Subsidiaries are also subject to certain state non-income tax assessments generally computed on a “gross receipts” or “gross revenues” basis.  These non-income tax assessments are required to be paid regardless of the Military Utility Privatization Subsidiaries’ ability to be reimbursed by the U.S. government or the third party prime government contractors.  The non-income tax assessments are accounted for on a gross basis and totaled $864,000, $717,000 and $718,000 during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements:

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements:  Recent accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board did not or are not expected to have any impact on Registrant’s consolidated financial statements.