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Regulatory assets and liabilities | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2025
Regulatory Assets and Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract] |
Regulatory assets and liabilities | Regulatory assets and liabilities The following table summarizes the individual components of unamortized regulatory assets and liabilities:
| Estimated Recovery or Refund Period as of September 30, 2025 | * | September 30, 2025 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2024
|  |  | (In thousands)
Regulatory assets: |  |  |  |  |
Current: |  |  |  |  |
Environmental compliance programs | Up to 1 year |  | $ | 69,646 |  | $ | 80,198 |  | $ | 76,964 |
Natural gas costs recoverable through rate adjustments | Up to 1 year |  | 34,325 |  | 111,946 |  | 91,091 |
Conservation programs | Up to 1 year |  | 27,405 |  | 19,059 |  | 19,123 |
Demand cost deferral | Up to 1 year |  | 15,287 |  | 13,898 |  | 5,237 |
Decoupling mechanisms | Up to 1 year |  | 9,716 |  | 4,795 |  | 6,767 |
Electric fuel and purchased power deferral | Up to 1 year |  | 9,644 |  | 4,497 |  | 9,662 |
Cost recovery mechanisms | Up to 1 year |  | 8,606 |  | 4,332 |  | 5,114 |
Other | Up to 1 year |  | 4,520 |  | 2,283 |  | 1,478 |
|  |  | 179,149 |  | 241,008 |  | 215,436 |
Noncurrent: |  |  |  |  |
Pension and postretirement benefits | ** |  | 142,064 |  | 142,511 |  | 142,064 |
Cost recovery mechanisms | Up to 24 years |  | 68,314 |  | 82,907 |  | 76,542 |
Plant costs/asset retirement obligations | Over plant lives |  | 46,334 |  | 45,249 |  | 47,042 |
Manufactured gas plant site remediation | - |  | 27,147 |  | 25,789 |  | 27,964 |
Taxes recoverable from customers | Over plant lives |  | 12,257 |  | 12,316 |  | 12,221 |
Covid-19 deferred costs | Up to 3 years |  | 3,863 |  | 3,857 |  | 4,167 |
Long-term debt refinancing costs | Up to 36 years |  | 1,571 |  | 2,159 |  | 2,011 |
Natural gas costs recoverable through rate adjustments | - |  | — |  | 11,707 |  | — |
Electric fuel and purchased power deferral | - |  | — |  | 8,335 |  | 4,349 |
Environmental compliance programs | - |  | — |  | 2,858 |  | — |
Other | Up to 14 years |  | 4,340 |  | 5,890 |  | 5,990 |
|  |  | 305,890 |  | 343,578 |  | 322,350 |
Total regulatory assets |  |  | $ | 485,039 |  | $ | 584,586 |  | $ | 537,786 |
Regulatory liabilities: |  |  |  |  |
Current: |  |  |  |  |
Environmental compliance programs | Up to 1 year |  | $ | 84,884 |  | $ | 77,392 |  | $ | 72,387 |
Natural gas costs refundable through rate adjustments | Up to 1 year |  | 43,373 |  | 54,197 |  | 45,427 |
Provision for rate refund | Up to 1 year |  | 4,358 |  | 8,868 |  | 3,677 |
Margin sharing | Up to 1 year |  | 3,831 |  | 3,945 |  | 4,156 |
Taxes refundable to customers | Up to 1 year |  | 2,325 |  | 2,195 |  | 2,163 |
Conservation programs | Up to 1 year |  | 1,108 |  | 2,662 |  | 2,082 |
Cost recovery mechanisms | Up to 1 year |  | 154 |  | 2,634 |  | 1,720 |
Other | Up to 1 year |  | 3,789 |  | 5,175 |  | 5,555 |
|  |  | 143,822 |  | 157,068 |  | 137,167 |
Noncurrent: |  |  |  |  |
Plant removal and decommissioning costs | Over plant lives |  | 228,982 |  | 224,839 |  | 217,603 |
Taxes refundable to customers | Over plant lives |  | 177,469 |  | 184,715 |  | 185,402 |
Cost recovery mechanisms | Up to 17 years |  | 38,426 |  | 28,397 |  | 30,354 |
Accumulated deferred investment tax credit | Over plant lives |  | 21,615 |  | 17,679 |  | 18,788 |
Pension and postretirement benefits | ** |  | 4,862 |  | 6,043 |  | 4,862 |
Other | Up to 13 years |  | 2,458 |  | 2,117 |  | 2,161 |
|  |  | 473,812 |  | 463,790 |  | 459,170 |
Total regulatory liabilities |  |  | $ | 617,634 |  | $ | 620,858 |  | $ | 596,337 |
Net regulatory position |  |  | $ | (132,595) |  | $ | (36,272) |  | $ | (58,551) |
*Estimated recovery or refund period for amounts currently being recovered or refunded in rates to customers. ** Recovered as expense is incurred or cash contributions are made. As of September 30, 2025 and 2024, and December 31, 2024, approximately $175.9 million, $178.8 million and $181.2 million, respectively, of regulatory assets were not earning a rate of return but are expected to be recovered from customers in future rates. These assets are largely comprised of the unfunded portion of pension and postretirement benefits, asset retirement obligations, certain pipeline integrity costs and the estimated future cost of manufactured gas plant site remediation. The Company is subject to environmental compliance regulations in certain states which require natural gas distribution companies to reduce overall GHG emissions to certain thresholds as established by each applicable state. Compliance with these standards may be achieved through increased energy efficiency and conservation measures, purchased emission allowances and offsets and purchases of low carbon fuels. Emission allowances are allocated by the respective states to the Company at no cost, of which a portion is required to be sold at auction in certain states. The compliance costs for these regulations and the revenues from the sale of the allocated emissions allowances are passed through to customers in rates and the Company has, accordingly, deferred the environmental compliance costs as a regulatory asset and proceeds from the sale of allowances as a regulatory liability. For a discussion of the Company's most recent cases by jurisdiction, see Note 17. 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 written off and included in the statement of income or accumulated other comprehensive loss in the period in which the discontinuance of regulatory accounting occurs.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for detailed information about regulatory assets and liabilities, including current and noncurrent assets created when regulatory agencies permit the deferral of costs to the balance sheet that would otherwise be required to appear on the company's income statement and would be charged against current expenses or revenues, as well as current and noncurrent liabilities created when regulatory agencies permit. + References No definition available. + Details
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