NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which revises current guidance (Topic 840) regarding accounting for leases. Revisions include requiring a lessee to recognize a lease asset and a lease liability on its balance sheet for each lease, including operating leases, with an initial term greater than 12 months. In addition, required quantitative and qualitative disclosures related to lease agreements were expanded. For lessors however, accounting for leases is largely unchanged from previous provisions of GAAP. This guidance will be effective for our financial statements for periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those annual periods. Companies are able to elect several practical expedients to aid in the transition to Topic 842. The following three practical expedients must all be elected together, and we intend to elect these practical expedients to aid in our implementation of Topic 842.


•	An entity need not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases.


•	An entity need not reassess the lease classification for any expired or existing leases (that is, all existing leases that were classified as operating leases in accordance with Topic 840, Leases, will continue to be classified as operating leases, and all existing leases that were classified as capital leases in accordance with Topic 840 will continue to be classified as capital leases).


•	An entity need not reassess initial direct costs for any existing leases.

Other practical expedients that can be elected individually, and that we are still assessing as part of our implementation of Topic 842, are as follows:


•	An entity may use hindsight in determining the lease term and in assessing impairment of the entity’s right-of-use assets.


•	An entity may elect, by class of underlying asset, to account for the nonlease components in a contract as part of the single lease component to which they are related.

In January 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-01, Leases (Topic 842): Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842, which is an amendment to ASU 2016-02. Land easements (also commonly referred to as rights of way) represent the right to use, access or cross another entity's land for a specified purpose. This new guidance permits an entity to elect a transitional practical expedient, to be applied consistently, to not evaluate under Topic 842 land easements that were already in existence or had expired at the time of the entity's adoption of Topic 842. Once Topic 842 is adopted, an entity is required to apply Topic 842 prospectively to all new (or modified) land easements to determine whether the arrangement should be accounted for as a lease. ASU 2018-01 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. We intend to elect this practical expedient.

In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, "Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements," which amends ASU 2016-02 and allows entities the option to initially apply Topic 842 at the adoption date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. We are in the process of finalizing our inventory of leases, which includes continuing to monitor activities of the FASB as well as utility industry implementation guidance. We also continue to document technical accounting issues, analyze financial reporting implications and implement required changes to internal controls and processes. We plan to adopt Topic 842 effective January 1, 2019, using the optional transition method to apply the new guidance as of January 1, 2019, rather than as of the earliest period presented. Upon adoption, we do expect an increase in assets and liabilities (which we are still in the process of quantifying), although we do not expect the guidance to have a significant impact on our results of operations or cash flows.

Financial Instruments Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. This ASU introduces a new impairment model known as the current expected credit loss model. The ASU requires a financial asset measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. Previously, recognition of the full amount of credit losses was generally delayed until the loss was probable of occurring. We are currently assessing the effects this guidance may have on our financial statements.