Derivative Instruments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

GSWC's electric division, BVES, purchases power under long-term contracts at a fixed cost depending on the amount of power and the period during which the power is purchased under such contracts. In December 2014, the CPUC approved an application that allowed BVES to enter into long-term purchased power contracts with energy providers, which BVES executed in December 2014. BVES began taking power under these long-term contracts effective January 1, 2015 at a fixed cost over three and five year terms depending on the amount of power and period during which the power is purchased under the contracts.

The long-term contracts executed in December 2014 are subject to the accounting guidance for derivatives and require mark-to-market derivative accounting. Among other things, the CPUC also authorized BVES to establish a regulatory asset and liability memorandum account to offset the mark-to-market entries required by the accounting guidance. Accordingly, all unrealized gains and losses generated from the purchased power contracts executed in December 2014 are deferred on a monthly basis into a non-interest bearing regulatory memorandum account that tracks the changes in fair value of the derivative throughout the term of the contract. As a result, these unrealized gains and losses do not impact GSWC’s earnings. The three year contract expired on December 31, 2017, and the five year term contract expires in November 2019. Registrant has received preliminary bids for new purchase power contracts and has filed an application with the CPUC to authorize GSWC to proceed with final bidding and selection. A final decision from the CPUC, as well as the execution of new purchase power contracts, is expected by the end of 2019. As of June 30, 2019, there was a $267,000 unrealized loss in the memorandum account for the purchased power contracts as a result of a drop in energy prices. The notional volume of derivatives remaining under these long-term contracts as of June 30, 2019 was 44,064 megawatt hours.

The accounting guidance for fair value measurements applies to all financial assets and financial liabilities that are 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).

To value the contracts, Registrant applies the Black-76 model, utilizing various inputs that include quoted market prices for energy over the duration of the contracts. The market prices used to determine the fair value for this derivative instrument were estimated based on independent sources such as broker quotes and publications that are not observable in or corroborated by the market. Registrant received one broker quote to determine the fair value of its derivative instruments. When such inputs have a significant impact on the measurement of fair value, the instruments are categorized as Level 3. Accordingly, the valuation of the derivatives on Registrant’s purchased power contract has been classified as Level 3 for all periods presented.

The following table presents changes in the fair value of GSWC’s Level 3 derivatives for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018:



	For The Three Months Ended June 30,						For the Six Months Ended June 30,
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018			2019			2018
Fair value at beginning of the period	$	(336	)	$	(2,625	)	$	(311	)	$	(2,941	)
Unrealized gain on purchased power contracts	69			915			44			1,231
Fair value at end of the period	$	(267	)	$	(1,710	)	$	(267	)	$	(1,710	)