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Fair Value of Financial Instruments: (Tables) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2017
Fair value of financial instruments |
Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block] | 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 these items. Investments held in a Rabbi Trust for the supplemental executive retirement plan ("SERP") are measured at fair value and totaled $14.8 million as of September 30, 2017. 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 table below estimates the fair value of long-term debt held by GSWC. The fair values as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were 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, 2017 valuation decreased slightly as compared to December 31, 2016, increasing the fair value of long-term debt as of September 30, 2017. Changes in the assumptions will produce different results.
|  | September 30, 2017 |  | December 31, 2016
(dollars in thousands) |  | Carrying Amount |  | Fair Value |  | Carrying Amount |  | Fair Value
Financial liabilities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Long-term debt—GSWC (1) |  | $ | 325,275 |  |  | $ | 423,841 |  |  | $ | 325,582 |  |  | $ | 423,124 |
___________________ (1) Excludes debt issuance costs and redemption premiums.
GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY |
Fair value of financial instruments |
Schedule of estimates of the fair value of long-term debt | The table below estimates the fair value of long-term debt held by GSWC. The fair values as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were 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, 2017 valuation decreased slightly as compared to December 31, 2016, increasing the fair value of long-term debt as of September 30, 2017. Changes in the assumptions will produce different results.
|  | September 30, 2017 |  | December 31, 2016
(dollars in thousands) |  | Carrying Amount |  | Fair Value |  | Carrying Amount |  | Fair Value
Financial liabilities: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Long-term debt—GSWC (1) |  | $ | 325,275 |  |  | $ | 423,841 |  |  | $ | 325,582 |  |  | $ | 423,124 |

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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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- 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. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 820 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2155941 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of information pertaining to carrying amount and estimated fair value of short-term and long-term debt instruments or arrangements, including but not limited to, identification of terms, features, and collateral requirements. + References No definition available. + Details
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