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General (Policies) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Basis of Accounting, Policy | The unaudited interim financial information has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in SJW Group’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K should be read with the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Text Block] | Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” as amended, which supersedes the lease requirements in “Leases (Topic 840).” This ASU generally requires lessees to recognize operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and to provide enhanced disclosures surrounding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 also makes some changes to lessor accounting and aligns with the new revenue recognition guidance. SJW Group adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2019, on a modified retrospective basis and did not restate comparative periods. SJW Group also elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance and combined lease and non-lease components. In addition, SJW Group kept leases with an initial term of 12 months or less off the Consolidated Balance Sheets and recognized the associated lease payments in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on SJW Group’s consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition, Policy | Revenue Water sales are seasonal in nature and influenced by weather conditions. The timing of precipitation and climatic conditions can cause seasonal water consumption by customers to vary significantly. Due to the seasonal nature of the water business, the operating results for interim periods are not indicative of the operating results for a 12-month period. Revenue is generally higher in the warm, dry summer months when water usage and sales are greater, and lower in the winter months when cooler temperatures and increased rainfall curtail water usage and sales. SJW Group recognizes revenue in accordance to FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606 - “Revenue from Contracts with Customers.” In accordance with Topic 606, management has determined that the company has principally four categories of revenues. The first category, revenue from contracts with customers, represents metered revenue of Water Utility Services which includes billings to customers based on meter readings plus an estimate of water used between the customers’ last meter reading and the end of the accounting period. SJW Group satisfies its performance obligation upon delivery of water to the customer at which time the customer consumes the benefits provided by the company. The customer is typically billed on a monthly or bi-monthly basis after water delivery has occurred. The customer is charged both a service charge which is based upon meter size and covers a portion of the fixed costs of furnishing water to the customer and a consumption charge based on actual water usage. Unbilled revenue from the last meter reading date to the end of the accounting period is estimated based on the most recent usage patterns, production records and the effective tariff rates. As the company has the right to bill for services that it has provided, SJW Group estimates the dollar value of deliveries during the unbilled period and recognizes the associated revenue. Actual results could differ from those estimates, which may result in an adjustment to revenue when billed in a subsequent period. The second category, rental income, represents lease rental income from SJW Land Company tenants. The tenants pay monthly in accordance with lease agreements and SJW Group recognizes the income ratably over the lease term as this is the most representative of the pattern in which the benefit is expected to be derived from SJW Group’s underlying asset. The third and fourth revenue categories are other balancing and memorandum accounts and alternative revenue programs. Both are scoped out of Topic 606 and are accounted for under FASB ASC Topic 980 - “Regulated Operations.” Balancing and memorandum accounts are recognized by San Jose Water Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJW Group, when it is probable that future recovery of previously incurred costs or future refunds that are to be credited to customers will occur through the ratemaking process. In addition, in the case of special revenue programs such as the Water Conservation Memorandum Account (“WCMA”), San Jose Water Company follows the requirements of ASC Topic 980-605-25, “Alternative Revenue Programs” in determining revenue recognition, including the requirement that such revenues will be collected within 24 months of the year-end in which the revenue is recorded. A reserve is recorded for amounts SJW Group estimates will not be collected within the 24-month period. This reserve is based on an estimate of actual usage over the recovery period, offset by applicable drought surcharges. In assessing the probability criteria for balancing and memorandum accounts between general rate cases, San Jose Water Company considers evidence that may exist prior to California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) authorization that would satisfy ASC Topic 980 subtopic 340-25 recognition criteria. Such evidence may include regulatory rules and decisions, past practices, and other facts and circumstances that would indicate that recovery or refund is probable. When such evidence provides sufficient support, the balances are recorded in SJW Group’s consolidated financial statements. From 2014 to 2016, California was in a severe drought. In response to the drought, the State Water Resources Control Board (the “State Water Board”) imposed mandatory water use restrictions and conservation targets. The Santa Clara Valley Water District (“SCVWD”), San Jose Water Company’s principal water supplier, also mandated water use restrictions along with conservation targets at levels higher than the State Water Board. While the Governor of California declared the drought over on April 7, 2017, the State Water Board made certain water use restrictions permanent. Further, SCVWD has maintained a conservation target of 20%. In 2018, Governor Edmund G. Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1668 and Senate Bill 606. Both bills set an initial limit for indoor water use of 55 gallons per person per day by 2022 and reduced the limit further to 50 gallons per person per day by 2030. Implementation details remain to be developed as to how local water providers will meet this mandate as well as to how the CPUC will direct its regulated utilities to comply. To encourage conservation, San Jose Water Company received approval from the CPUC to implement a Mandatory Conservation Revenue Adjustment Memorandum Account in 2014. This account was subsequently replaced with a WCMA. The WCMA allows San Jose Water Company to track lost revenue, net of related water costs, associated with reduced sales due to water conservation and associated calls for water use reductions. San Jose Water Company records the lost revenue captured in the WCMA regulatory accounts once the revenue recognition requirements of FASB ASC Topic 980 - “Regulated Operations,” subtopic 605-25 are met. For further discussion, please see Note 8 and Note 9. The major streams of revenue for SJW Group are as follows:
| Three months ended March 31,
| 2019 |  | 2018
Revenue from contracts with customers | $ | 78,926 |  |  | 75,869 |
Alternative revenue programs, net - WCMA | (1,979 | ) |  | (332 | )
Other balancing and memorandum accounts revenue, net | (631 | ) |  | (1,836 | )
Rental income | 1,366 |  |  | 1,341 |
| $ | 77,682 |  |  | 75,042 |
Earnings Per Share, Policy | Basic earnings per share is calculated using income available to common stockholders, divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is calculated using income available to common stockholders divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock including both shares outstanding and shares potentially issuable in connection with restricted common stock awards under SJW Group’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (as amended, the “Incentive Plan”) and shares potentially issuable under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”).
Utility Plant Depreciation, Policy | A portion of depreciation expense is allocated to administrative and general expense.

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