Derivative Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

BVES had entered into long-term fixed price contracts to purchase power over three- and five-year terms. These long-term contracts will expire during the fourth quarter of 2024 and are subject to the accounting guidance for derivatives and require mark-to-market derivative accounting. In July 2023, the CPUC approved a new power purchase agreement between BVES and a third party to procure renewable portfolio standard eligible energy and renewable energy credits as a bundled product. BVES will begin taking power under this long-term contract during the fourth quarter of 2024 to replace the existing expiring contracts. The new contract provides for the purchase of electricity during a delivery period from November 1, 2024 through December 31, 2035. Under this contract, there is an embedded derivative that also requires mark-to-market accounting.

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 derivative instruments in purchase 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 do not impact Registrant’s earnings. As of September 30, 2023, there was a $1.5 million derivative asset at fair value for the derivatives in the power purchase contracts, with a corresponding regulatory liability recorded in the derivative instrument memorandum account as a result of overall 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 September 30, 2023 was 715,221 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 derivatives in the purchase power contracts, BVES 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 the derivative instruments 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 within BVES's purchase power contracts have 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 nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. The change in fair value was due to the change in market energy prices during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.


	For The Three Months Ended September 30,				For The Nine Months Ended September 30,
(dollars in thousands)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Fair value at beginning of the period	$	4,657	$	8,114	$	11,847	$	4,441
Unrealized (losses) gains on purchase power contracts	(3,132)		(545)		(10,322)		3,128
Fair value at end of the period	$	1,525	$	7,569	$	1,525	$	7,569