Fair Value of Financial Instruments:

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Fair Value of Financial Instruments:

For cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and short-term debt, the carrying amount is assumed to approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of the amounts. Investments held in a Rabbi Trust for the supplemental executive retirement plan are measured at fair value and totaled $8.7 million as of September 30, 2014. All equity investments in the Rabbi Trust are Level 1 investments in mutual funds. The investments held in the Rabbi Trust are included in Other Property and Investments on Registrant's balance sheets.

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements applies to all financial assets and financial liabilities that are being measured and reported on a fair value basis. Under the accounting guidance, GSWC makes fair value measurements that are classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

Level 2: Quoted prices in markets that are not active or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; or

Level 3: Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (i.e., supported by little or no market activity).

The table below estimates the fair value of long-term debt held by GSWC. The fair values as of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 have been determined using rates for similar financial instruments of the same duration utilizing level 2 methods and assumptions. The interest rates used for the September 30, 2014 valuation decreased as compared to December 31, 2013, increasing the fair value of long-term debt as of September 30, 2014. Changes in the assumptions will produce differing results.



	September 30, 2014				December 31, 2013
(dollars in thousands)	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Financial liabilities:
Long-term debt—GSWC	$	317,099	$	419,881	$	332,377	$	412,590

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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