Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

The following table summarizes the individual components of unamortized regulatory assets and liabilities as of December 31:



	Estimated Recovery Period	*	2013			2012
			(In thousands)
Regulatory assets:
Deferred income taxes	**		$	125,607		$	121,781
Pension and postretirement benefits (a)	(e)		105,123			166,477
Taxes recoverable from customers (a)	Over plant lives		18,266			9,078
Manufactured gas plant sites remediation (a)	Up to 4 years		15,797			15,828
Natural gas costs recoverable through rate adjustments (b)	Up to 28 months		12,060			2,981
Long-term debt refinancing costs (a)	Up to 25 years		8,697			9,144
Costs related to identifying generation development (a)	Up to 13 years		4,512			5,773
Other (a) (b)	Largely within 1- 5 years		15,311			20,132
Total regulatory assets			305,373			351,194
Regulatory liabilities:
Plant removal and decommissioning costs (c)			308,431			296,037
Deferred income taxes**			64,914			82,077
Taxes refundable to customers (c)			20,180			24,212
Natural gas costs refundable through rate adjustments (d)			16,932			35,328
Other (c) (d)			21,868			12,828
Total regulatory liabilities			432,325			450,482
Net regulatory position			$	(126,952	)	$	(99,288	)

* Estimated recovery period for regulatory assets currently being recovered in rates charged to customers.

** Represents deferred income taxes related to regulatory assets and liabilities. The deferred income tax assets are not earning a rate of return.

(a) Included in deferred charges and other assets - other on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

(b) Included in prepayments and other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

(d) Included in other accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

(e) Recovered as expense is incurred.

The regulatory assets are expected to be recovered in rates charged to customers. A portion of the Company's regulatory assets are not earning a return; however, these regulatory assets are expected to be recovered from customers in future rates. Excluding deferred income taxes, as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, approximately $163.7 million and $215.6 million, respectively, of regulatory assets were not earning a rate of return.

If, for any reason, the Company's regulated businesses cease to meet the criteria for application of regulatory accounting for all or part of their operations, the regulatory assets and liabilities relating to those portions ceasing to meet such criteria would be removed from the balance sheet and included in the statement of income as an extraordinary item in the period in which the discontinuance of regulatory accounting occurs.