Intangible assets and goodwill

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Intangible assets consist of the following:



2017
	Cost		Accumulated amortization		Net book value
Power sales contracts	$	70,929	$	46,263	$	24,666
Customer relationships	33,619		11,085		22,534
Interconnection agreements	17,790		882		16,908
	$	122,338	$	58,230	$	64,108


6.	Intangible assets and goodwill (continued)



2016
	Cost			Accumulated amortization		Net book value
Power sales contracts	$	72,207		$	44,641	$	27,566
Customer relationships	35,979			10,999		24,980
Interconnection agreements	13,000		—	557		12,443
	$	121,186		$	56,197	$	64,989

Estimated amortization expense for intangible assets for the next year is $3,540, $3,390 in year two, $3,380 in year three, $3,040 in year four and $2,720 in year five.

All goodwill pertains to the Liberty Utilities Group. Changes in goodwill are as follows:




Balance, January 1, 2016	$	110,493
Business acquisitions	210,463
Foreign exchange	(14,315		)
Balance, December 31, 2016	$	306,641
Business acquisitions (note 3(a))	1,010,273
Divestiture of operating entity (note 23(a))	(35,107		)
Foreign exchange	(85,573		)
Balance, December 31, 2017	$	1,196,234

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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