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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | 3 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES BASIS OF PRESENTATION – These notes are an integral part of the accompanying unaudited financial statements of Spire Inc. (Spire or the Company), as well as Spire Missouri Inc. (Spire Missouri or the Missouri Utilities) and Spire Alabama Inc. (Spire Alabama). Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and the subsidiaries of Spire EnergySouth Inc. (Spire EnergySouth) are collectively referred to as the Utilities. The subsidiaries of Spire EnergySouth are Spire Gulf Inc. and Spire Mississippi Inc. The accompanying unaudited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim financial information with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S‑X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the disclosures required for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary for the fair presentation of the results of operations for the periods presented. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Notes to Financial Statements contained in Spire’s, Spire Missouri’s and Spire Alabama’s combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017. The consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of Spire include the accounts of the Company and all its subsidiaries. Transactions and balances between consolidated entities have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements of Spire. In compliance with GAAP, transactions between Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama and their affiliates, as well as intercompany balances on their balance sheets, have not been eliminated from their separate financial statements. At the end of December 2017, a subsidiary of the Company acquired an 80% voting interest in Ryckman Creek Resources, LLC, which owns and operates a natural gas storage facility in Wyoming. The transaction was valued at $26.0, subject to customary post-closing adjustments, and was completed with $16.0 of cash and a $10.0 promissory note. A tentative purchase price allocation to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017. Management is evaluating the fair value accounting impacts, and any related adjustments will be recorded later this year. Results of operations will be included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2018; results since the acquisition in the first quarter were not material. NATURE OF OPERATIONS – Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a public utility holding company. The Company has two reportable segments: Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. The Gas Utility segment consists of the regulated natural gas distribution operations of the Company and is the core business segment of Spire in terms of revenue and earnings generation. The Gas Utility segment is comprised of the operations of: the Missouri Utilities, serving St. Louis and eastern Missouri (Spire Missouri East) and Kansas City and western Missouri (Spire Missouri West); Spire Alabama, serving central and northern Alabama; and the subsidiaries of Spire EnergySouth, serving southern Alabama and south-central Mississippi. The Gas Marketing segment includes Spire’s primary non-utility business, Spire Marketing Inc. (Spire Marketing), which provides non-regulated natural gas services. The activities of other subsidiaries are reported as Other and are described in Note 9, Information by Operating Segment. Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama each have a single reportable segment. The Company’s earnings are primarily derived from its Gas Utility segment. Due to the seasonal nature of the Utilities’ business, earnings are typically concentrated during the heating season of November through April each fiscal year. As a result, the interim statements of income for Spire, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are not necessarily indicative of annual results or representative of succeeding quarters of the fiscal year. REVENUE RECOGNITION – The Utilities read meters and bill customers on monthly cycles. The Missouri Utilities, Spire Gulf and Spire Mississippi record their gas utility revenues from gas sales and transportation services on an accrual basis that includes estimated amounts for gas delivered but not yet billed. The accruals for unbilled revenues are reversed in the subsequent accounting period when meters are actually read and customers are billed. The amounts of accrued unbilled revenues for Spire Missouri at December 31, 2017, September 30, 2017, and December 31, 2016, were $116.2, $30.1, and $103.5, respectively. Spire Alabama records natural gas distribution revenues in accordance with the tariff established by the Alabama Public Service Commission (APSC). Unbilled revenue is accrued in an amount equal to the related gas cost, as profit margin is not considered earned until billed. The amounts of accrued unbilled revenues for Spire Alabama at December 31, 2017, September 30, 2017, and December 31, 2016 were $13.2, $1.9, and $22.0, respectively. Spire’s other subsidiaries, including Spire Marketing, record revenues when earned, either when the product is delivered or when services are performed. In the course of its business, Spire Marketing enters into commitments associated with the purchase or sale of natural gas. Certain of their derivative natural gas contracts are designated as normal purchases or normal sales and, as such, are excluded from the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. Those contracts are accounted for as executory contracts and recorded on an accrual basis. Revenues and expenses from such contracts are recorded using a gross presentation. Contracts not designated as normal purchases or normal sales are recorded as derivatives with changes in fair value recognized in earnings in the periods prior to physical delivery. Certain of Spire Marketing’s wholesale purchase and sale transactions are classified as trading activities for financial reporting purposes. Under GAAP, revenues and expenses associated with trading activities are presented on a net basis in Gas Marketing Operating Revenues (or expenses, if negative) in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. This net presentation has no effect on operating income or net income. GROSS RECEIPTS AND SALES TAXES – Gross receipts taxes associated with the Company’s natural gas utility services are imposed on the Utilities and billed to their customers. The revenue and expense amounts are recorded gross in the “Operating Revenues” and “Taxes, other than income taxes” lines, respectively, in the statements of income. The following table presents gross receipts and sales taxes recorded as revenues:
| Three Months Ended December 31,
| 2017 |  | 2016
Spire | $ | 23.1 |  |  | $ | 19.4 |
Spire Missouri | 16.2 |  |  | 14.1 |
Spire Alabama | 5.6 |  |  | 4.2 |
REGULATED OPERATIONS – The Utilities account for their regulated operations in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 980, Regulated Operations. This topic sets forth the application of GAAP for those companies whose rates are established by or are subject to approval by an independent third-party regulator. The provisions of this accounting guidance require, among other things, that financial statements of a regulated enterprise reflect the actions of regulators, where appropriate. These actions may result in the recognition of revenues and expenses in time periods that are different than non-regulated enterprises. When this occurs, costs are deferred as assets in the balance sheet (regulatory assets) and recorded as expenses when those amounts are reflected in rates. In addition, regulators can impose liabilities upon a regulated company for amounts previously collected from customers and for recovery of costs that are expected to be incurred in the future (regulatory liabilities). Management believes that the current regulatory environment supports the continued use of these regulatory accounting principles and that all regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities are recoverable or refundable through the regulatory process. As authorized by the Missouri Public Service Commission (MoPSC), Mississippi Public Service Commission (MSPSC) and APSC, the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) clauses and Gas Supply Adjustment (GSA) riders allow the Utilities to pass through to customers the cost of purchased gas supplies. Regulatory assets and liabilities related to the PGA clauses and the GSA riders are both labeled Unamortized Purchased Gas Adjustments herein. See additional information about regulatory assets and liabilities in Note 3, Regulatory Matters. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES – Transactions between affiliates of the Company have been eliminated from the consolidated statements of Spire. Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama borrowed funds from the Company and incurred related interest, as reflected in their separate financial statements, and they participated in normal intercompany shared services transactions. In addition, Spire Missouri’s other transactions with affiliates included:
| Three Months Ended December 31,
| 2017 |  | 2016
Purchases of natural gas from Spire Marketing | $ | 22.3 |  |  | $ | 20.5 |
Sales of natural gas to Spire Marketing | 0.1 |  |  | 3.6 |
Transportation services received from Spire NGL Inc. | 0.3 |  |  | 0.3 |
ACCRUED CAPITAL EXPENDITURES – Accrued capital expenditures, shown in the following table, are excluded from capital expenditures in the statements of cash flows until paid.
| December 31, |  | September 30, |  | December 31,
| 2017 |  | 2017 |  | 2016
Spire | $ | 31.8 |  |  | $ | 41.0 |  |  | $ | 15.3 |
Spire Missouri | 15.2 |  |  | 28.9 |  |  | 6.8 |
Spire Alabama | 7.0 |  |  | 9.4 |  |  | 5.6 |
NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS – In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Under the new standard, an entity will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In doing so, companies may need to use more judgment and make more estimates than under current guidance. ASU No. 2014-09 also requires disclosures that will enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. Existing alternative revenue program guidance, though excluded by the FASB in updating specific guidance associated with revenue from contracts with customers, was relocated without substantial modification to accounting guidance for rate-regulated entities. It will require separate presentation of such revenues in the statement of income. Entities have the option of using either a full retrospective or modified retrospective approach to adopting this guidance. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, which made the guidance in ASU No. 2014-09 effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. In 2016 and 2017, the FASB issued related ASU Nos. 2016-08, 2016-10, 2016-11, 2016-12, 2016-20, and 2017-14, which further modified the standards for accounting for revenue. The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama have nearly completed their evaluation of their sources of revenue and related contracts, plan to adopt the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 using the modified retrospective approach, and expect no material effect on their financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which provides revised guidance concerning certain matters involving the recognition, measurement, and disclosure of financial instruments. It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Unrealized gains and losses on equity securities previously classified as available-for-sale will be recognized immediately in earnings rather than recorded in other comprehensive income. Entities will record a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which the guidance is adopted, which requires amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income for such equity securities to be reclassified to retained earnings. Based on an assessment of their current financial instruments, the Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama expect to adopt this standard in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 with no material impact. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. The new standard requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability for almost all lease contracts based on the present value of lease payments. There is an exemption for short-term leases. The ASU provides new guidelines for identifying and classifying a lease, and classification affects the pattern and income statement line item for the related expense. This update will be applied using a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. ASU No. 2018-01, issued in January 2018, clarifies the related transition and accounting for existing and new or modified land easements. The ASUs are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are currently assessing the timing and impacts of adopting these standards, which must be adopted by the first quarter of fiscal 2020. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The standard introduces new guidance for the accounting for credit losses on instruments within its scope, including trade receivables. It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and may be adopted a year earlier. The new guidance will be initially applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are currently assessing the timing and impacts of adopting this standard, which must be adopted by the first quarter of fiscal 2021. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates Step 2 of the goodwill test, where the measurement of a goodwill impairment loss was determined by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Upon adoption, a goodwill impairment will be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. This new guidance is required for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted. The Company and Spire Missouri do not expect this standard change to have a material impact on their financial statements and will adjust their goodwill impairment procedures accordingly upon adoption, no later than their annual tests for fiscal 2021. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, Compensation – Retirement Benefits: Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. The amended guidance requires that the service cost component of pension and postretirement benefit costs be presented within the same line item in the income statement as other compensation costs (except for the amount being capitalized), while other components are to be presented outside the subtotal of operating income and are no longer eligible for capitalization. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual periods. The amended guidance will be applied retrospectively for income statement presentation and prospectively for capitalization. The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are currently assessing the regulatory and other impacts of adopting this standard, which must be adopted by the first quarter of fiscal 2019. In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No.2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The amendments in this ASU more closely align the results of hedge accounting with risk management activities through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results in the financial statements. They are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years, and early application is permitted. The Company, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are currently assessing the effects of this new guidance, as well as the timing of adoption.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
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