Derivative Instruments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

BVES has purchased power under long-term contracts at a fixed cost over three- and five-year terms depending on the amount of power and the period during which the power is purchased under the contracts. These long-term contracts are subject to the accounting guidance for derivatives and require mark-to-market derivative accounting.

Among other things, the CPUC authorized the use of a regulatory asset and liability memorandum account to offset the mark-to-market entries required by the accounting guidance. Accordingly, all unrealized gains and losses generated from the purchased power contracts are deferred on a monthly basis into a non-interest-bearing regulatory memorandum account that tracks the changes in fair value of the derivative throughout the terms of the contracts. As a result, these unrealized gains and losses did not impact Registrant’s earnings. As of June 30, 2023, there was a $4.7 million purchase power contract derivative asset at fair value, with a corresponding regulatory liability recorded in the derivative instrument memorandum account as a result of fixed prices under BVES's purchase power contracts being lower than future energy prices. The notional volume of derivatives remaining under these long-term contracts as of June 30, 2023 was 157,571 megawatt hours.

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements applies to all financial assets and financial liabilities that are measured and reported on a fair value basis. Under the accounting guidance, Registrant has made 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).

To value the purchase power contracts, Registrant utilizes various inputs that include quoted market prices for energy over the duration of the contracts. The market prices used to determine the fair value for this derivative instrument were estimated based on independent sources such as broker quotes and publications that are not observable in or corroborated by the market. When such inputs have a significant impact on the measurement of fair value, the instruments are categorized as Level 3. Accordingly, the valuation of the derivatives on Registrant’s purchased power contract has been classified as Level 3 for all periods presented.

The following table presents changes in the fair value of the Level 3 derivatives for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. The change in fair value was due to the change in market energy prices during the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.


	For The Three Months Ended June 30,				For The Six Months Ended June 30,
(dollars in thousands)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Fair value at beginning of the period	$	6,669	$	7,020	$	11,847	$	4,441
Unrealized (losses) gains on purchased power contracts	(2,012)		1,094		(7,190)		3,673
Fair value at end of the period	$	4,657	$	8,114	$	4,657	$	8,114