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REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILTIES | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Regulated Operations [Abstract] |
REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILTIES | REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILITIES Regulatory assets and liabilities were comprised of the following as of December 31:
| Recovery Period |  | 2023 |  | 2022
Regulatory Assets |  |  |  |  |
Property-related temporary differences (tax benefits flowed through to customers) | Indefinite |  | 158,486 |  |  | 143,546 |
Other accrued benefits | Indefinite |  | 25,363 |  |  | 24,946 |
Net WRAM and MCBA long-term accounts receivable | Various |  | 10,738 |  |  | 41,558 |
Asset retirement obligations, net | Indefinite |  | 26,686 |  |  | 24,548 |
Tank coating | Various |  | 19,602 |  |  | 16,395 |
IRMA long-term accounts receivable | 1-2 years |  | 3,430 |  |  | 3,682 |
Recoverable property losses | Various |  | 3,121 |  |  | 3,144 |
PCBA | Various |  | 4,182 |  |  | 19,091 |
General district balancing account receivable | Various |  | 390 |  |  | 377 |
Customer assistance program (CAP) and Rate support fund (RSF) accounts receivable | 1 year |  | 2,459 |  |  | 2,965 |
Other regulatory assets | Various |  | 3,164 |  |  | 3,368 |
Total Regulatory Assets |  |  | $ | 257,621 |  |  | $ | 283,620 |
Regulatory Liabilities |  |  |  |  |
Cost of removal |  |  | $ | 447,356 |  |  | $ | 414,061 |
Future tax benefits due to customers |  |  | 118,051 |  |  | 131,155 |
Pension and retiree group health |  |  | 88,728 |  |  | 58,678 |
HCBA |  |  | 3,242 |  |  | 14,318 |
PCBA |  |  | 8,972 |  |  | — |
CEBA |  |  | 1,200 |  |  | 6,036 |
Net WRAM and MCBA long-term payable |  |  | 2,071 |  |  | 172 |
Other components of net periodic benefit cost |  |  | 10,348 |  |  | 2,475 |
RSF regulatory liability |  |  | 2,116 |  |  | — |
Other regulatory liabilities |  |  | 1,633 |  |  | 845 |
Total Regulatory Liabilities |  |  | $ | 683,717 |  |  | $ | 627,740 |
The property-related temporary differences are primarily due to: (i) the difference between book and federal income tax depreciation on utility plant that was placed in service before the regulatory Commissions adopted normalization for rate making purposes; and (ii) certain (state) deferred taxes for which flow through accounting continues to be applied to originating deferred taxes. The regulatory asset will be recovered in rates in future periods as the tax effects of the temporary differences previously flowed-through to customers reverse. Other accrued benefits are accrued benefits for vacation, self-insured workers' compensation, and directors' retirement benefits. The net WRAM and MCBA long-term accounts receivable is the under-collected portion of recorded revenues that are not expected to be collected from customers within 12 months. The asset retirement obligation regulatory asset represents the difference between costs associated with asset retirement obligations and amounts collected in rates. Tank coating represents the maintenance costs for tank coating projects that are recoverable from customers. The IRMA long-term accounts receivables is the additional amount the Company would have billed customers in 2020 and 2021 had the 2018 GRC been approved on time. The CAP and RSF are two programs offered by Cal Water that assist qualifying customers with their monthly water bill. The programs are funded by the customers who do not qualify for the assistance. The CAP and RSF regulatory assets represent the amounts due from customers to fund the CAP and RSF credits that were provided to assist qualifying customers. The RSF regulatory liability represents RSF credits that will be provided to assist qualifying customers. The liability was funded by customers. Cost of removal represents the cumulative differences between the recorded costs to remove assets and amounts collected in rates for expected costs to remove assets at the end of their estimated useful life. Subsequent to the issuance of the 2022 financial statements, the Company determined the cost of removal obligations previously presented in accumulated depreciation and amortization should have been presented as a regulatory liability. As a result, the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, has been adjusted to increase regulatory liabilities and decrease accumulated depreciation and amortization by $414.1 million. The adjustment does not affect consolidated net income, earnings per share, total equity or cash flows. Management has concluded that the adjustment is immaterial to the previously issued consolidated financial statements. The future tax benefits due to customers primarily resulted from federal tax law changes enacted by the TCJA on December 22, 2017. The TCJA reduced the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent beginning on January 1, 2018, and GAAP requires the Company to re-measure all existing deferred income tax assets and liabilities to reflect the reduction in the federal tax rate on the enactment date. The pension and retiree group health regulatory liability represents the over funded obligation of the Company’s postretirement benefit plans which the Company expects to refund to customers in the future. These plans are discussed in further detail in Note 11. The PCBA regulatory asset/liability and the HCBA regulatory liability represent incurred pension and healthcare costs that exceeded/were below the cost recovery in rates and is recoverable/refundable from/to customers. The other components of net periodic benefit cost regulatory liabilities are authorized by the Commissions and are probable for customer refund through the capital program. The conservation program regulatory liability is for incurred conservation costs that were below the cost recovery in rates and is refundable to customers. Short-term regulatory assets and liabilities are excluded from the above table. The short-term regulatory assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $64.2 million and $66.8 million, respectively. The short-term regulatory assets, as of December 31, 2023 primarily consisted of net WRAM and MCBA, and PCBA receivables. As of December 31, 2022, the short-term regulatory assets primarily consisted of net WRAM and MCBA, IRMA, and PCBA receivables. The short-term portion of regulatory liabilities as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $21.5 million and $12.2 million, respectively. The short-term regulatory liabilities as of December 31, 2023 primarily consisted of TCJA liabilities and HCBA liabilities.

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