XML 27 R8.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.3.1.900

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2015
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Nature of Operations—Unitil Corporation (Unitil or the Company) is a public utility holding company. Unitil and its subsidiaries are subject to regulation as a holding company system by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The following companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Unitil: Unitil Energy Systems, Inc. (Unitil Energy), Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Fitchburg), Northern Utilities, Inc. (Northern Utilities), Granite State Gas Transmission, Inc. (Granite State), Unitil Power Corp. (Unitil Power), Unitil Realty Corp. (Unitil Realty), Unitil Service Corp. (Unitil Service) and its non-regulated business unit Unitil Resources, Inc. (Unitil Resources). Usource, Inc. and Usource L.L.C. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Unitil Resources. The Company’s earnings are seasonal and are typically higher in the first and fourth quarters when customers use natural gas for heating purposes. Unitil’s principal business is the local distribution of electricity in the southeastern seacoast and capital city areas of New Hampshire and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts and the local distribution of natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire, portions of southern Maine to the Lewiston-Auburn area and in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts. Unitil has three distribution utility subsidiaries, Unitil Energy, which operates in New Hampshire; Fitchburg, which operates in Massachusetts; and Northern Utilities, which operates in New Hampshire and Maine (collectively referred to as the “distribution utilities”). Granite State is an interstate natural gas transmission pipeline company, operating 86 miles of underground gas transmission pipeline primarily located in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Granite State provides Northern Utilities with interconnection to three major natural gas pipelines and access to domestic natural gas supplies in the south and Canadian natural gas supplies in the north. Granite State derives its revenues principally from the transportation services provided to Northern Utilities and, to a lesser extent, third-party marketers. A fifth utility subsidiary, Unitil Power, formerly functioned as the full requirements wholesale power supply provider for Unitil Energy. In connection with the implementation of electric industry restructuring in New Hampshire, Unitil Power ceased being the wholesale supplier of Unitil Energy on May 1, 2003 and divested of its long-term power supply contracts through the sale of the entitlements to the electricity associated with various electric power supply contracts it had acquired to serve Unitil Energy’s customers. Unitil also has three other wholly-owned subsidiaries: Unitil Service, Unitil Realty and Unitil Resources. Unitil Service provides, at cost, a variety of administrative and professional services, including regulatory, financial, accounting, human resources, engineering, operations, technology, energy management and management services on a centralized basis to its affiliated Unitil companies. Unitil Realty owns and manages the Company’s corporate office in Hampton, New Hampshire and leases this facility to Unitil Service under a long-term lease arrangement. Unitil Resources is the Company’s wholly-owned non-regulated subsidiary. Usource, Inc. and Usource L.L.C. (collectively, Usource) are wholly- owned subsidiaries of Unitil Resources. Usource provides brokering and advisory services to a national client base of large commercial and industrial customers. Basis of Presentation Principles of Consolidation—The Company’s consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Unitil and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries and all intercompany transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Certain reclassifications of prior year data were made in the accompanying financial statements. These reclassifications were made to conform to the current year presentation. Use of Estimates—The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and requires disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Fair Value—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Codification defines fair value, and establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under the FASB Codification are described below:
Level 1— |  | Inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
Level 2— |  | Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3— |  | Prices or valuations that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.
To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Fair value is a market-based measure considered from the perspective of a market participant rather than an entity-specific measure. Therefore, even when market assumptions are not readily available, the Company’s own assumptions are set to reflect those that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date. The Company uses prices and inputs that are current as of the measurement date, including during periods of market dislocation. In periods of market dislocation, the observability of prices and inputs may be reduced for many instruments. This condition could cause an instrument to be reclassified from Level 1 to Level 2 or from Level 2 to Level 3. There have been no changes in the valuation techniques used during the current period. Utility Revenue Recognition—Utility revenues are recognized according to regulations and are based on rates and charges approved by federal and state regulatory commissions. Revenues related to the sale of electric and gas service are recorded when service is rendered or energy is delivered to customers. However, the determination of energy sales to individual customers is based on the reading of their meters, which occurs on a systematic basis throughout the month. At the end of each calendar month, amounts of energy delivered to customers since the date of the last meter reading are estimated and the corresponding unbilled revenues are calculated. These unbilled revenues are calculated each month based on estimated customer usage by class and applicable customer rates. Fitchburg is subject to revenue decoupling. Revenue decoupling is the term given to the elimination of the dependency of a utility’s distribution revenue on the volume of electricity or natural gas sales. The difference between distribution revenue amounts billed to customers and the targeted revenue decoupling amounts is recognized as an increase or a decrease in Accrued Revenue which forms the basis for resetting rates for future cash recoveries from, or credits to, customers. These revenue decoupling targets may be adjusted as a result of rate cases that the Company files with the MDPU. The Company estimates that revenue decoupling applies to approximately 27% and 11% of Unitil’s total annual electric and natural gas sales volumes, respectively. Revenue Recognition—Non-regulated Operations—Usource, Unitil’s competitive energy brokering subsidiary, records energy brokering revenues based upon the amount of electricity and gas delivered to customers through the end of the accounting period. Depreciation and Amortization—Depreciation expense is calculated on a group straight-line basis based on the useful lives of assets, and judgment is involved when estimating the useful lives of certain assets. The Company conducts independent depreciation studies on a periodic basis as part of the regulatory ratemaking process and considers the results presented in these studies in determining the useful lives of the Company’s fixed assets. A change in the estimated useful lives of these assets could have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Provisions for depreciation were equivalent to the following composite rates, based on the average depreciable property balances at the beginning and end of each year: 2015 – 3.57%, 2014 – 3.56% and 2013 – 3.59%. Stock-based Employee Compensation—Unitil accounts for stock-based employee compensation using the fair value-based method (See Note 6). Sales and Consumption Taxes—The Company bills its customers sales tax in Massachusetts and Maine and consumption tax in New Hampshire. These taxes are remitted to the appropriate departments of revenue in each state and are excluded from revenues on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Income Taxes—The Company is subject to Federal and State income taxes as well as various other business taxes. This process involves estimating the Company’s current tax liabilities as well as assessing temporary and permanent differences resulting from the timing of the deductions of expenses and recognition of taxable income for tax and book accounting purposes. These temporary differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company accounts for income tax assets, liabilities and expenses in accordance with the FASB Codification guidance on Income Taxes. The Company classifies penalty and interest expense related to income tax liabilities as income tax expense and interest expense, respectively, in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. Provisions for income taxes are calculated in each of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates for each period for which a statement of earnings is presented. The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the FASB Codification guidance on Income Taxes, which requires an asset and liability approach for the financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining the current and deferred tax assets and liabilities. The Company’s current and deferred tax assets and liabilities reflect its best assessment of estimated future taxes to be paid. In accordance with the FASB Codification, the Company periodically assesses the realization of its deferred tax assets and liabilities and adjusts the income tax provision, the current tax liability and deferred taxes in the period in which the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the revision become known. Deferred income taxes are reflected as current and noncurrent Deferred Income Taxes on the Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the nature of the underlying timing item. Dividends—The Company’s dividend policy is reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors. The amount and timing of all dividend payments is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon business conditions, results of operations, financial conditions and other factors. For the year ended December 31, 2015 the Company paid quarterly dividends of $0.350 per share, resulting in an annual dividend rate of $1.40 per common share. For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company paid quarterly dividends of $0.345 per share, resulting in an annual dividend rate of $1.38 per common share. At its January 2016 meeting, the Unitil Corporation Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend on the Company’s common stock of $0.3550 per share, an increase of $0.005 per share on a quarterly basis, resulting in an increase in the effective annual dividend rate to $1.42 per share from $1.40 per share. Cash and Cash Equivalents—Cash and Cash Equivalents includes all cash and cash equivalents to which the Company has legal title. Cash equivalents include short-term investments with original maturities of three months or less and interest bearing deposits. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are held at financial institutions and at times may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts. Under the Independent System Operator—New England (ISO-NE) Financial Assurance Policy (Policy), Unitil’s subsidiaries Unitil Energy, Fitchburg and Unitil Power are required to provide assurance of their ability to satisfy their obligations to ISO-NE. Under this Policy, Unitil’s subsidiaries provide cash deposits covering approximately 2-1/2 months of outstanding obligations, less credit amounts that are based on the Company’s credit rating. On December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Unitil subsidiaries had deposited $2.3 million and $6.3 million, respectively to satisfy their ISO-NE obligations. In addition, Northern Utilities maintains an account used to implement its natural gas hedging program. There were no cash margin deposits at Northern Utilities as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. Allowance for Doubtful Accounts—The Company recognizes a provision for doubtful accounts each month based upon the Company’s experience in collecting electric and gas utility service accounts receivable in prior years. At the end of each month, an analysis of the delinquent receivables is performed which takes into account an assumption about the cash recovery of delinquent receivables. The analysis also calculates the amount of written-off receivables that are recoverable through regulatory rate reconciling mechanisms. The Company’s distribution utilities are authorized by regulators to recover the costs of their energy commodity portion of bad debts through rate mechanisms. Also, the electric division of Fitchburg is authorized to recover through rates past due amounts associated with hardship accounts that are protected from shut-off. Evaluating the adequacy of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts requires judgment about the assumptions used in the analysis, including expected fuel assistance payments from governmental authorities and the level of customers enrolling in payment plans with the Company. It has been the Company’s experience that the assumptions it has used in evaluating the adequacy of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts have proven to be reasonably accurate. Accrued Revenue—Accrued Revenue includes the current portion of Regulatory Assets (see “Regulatory Accounting” below) and unbilled revenues (see “Utility Revenue Recognition” above.) The following table shows the components of Accrued Revenue as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Accrued Revenue (millions) |  | December 31, |
| 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Regulatory Assets—Current |  | $ | 26.8 |  |  | $ | 37.8 |
Unbilled Revenues |  |  | 11.6 |  |  |  | 10.7 |
Total Accrued Revenue |  | $ | 38.4 |  |  | $ | 48.5 |
Exchange Gas Receivable—Northern Utilities and Fitchburg have gas exchange and storage agreements whereby natural gas purchases during the months of April through October are delivered to a third party. The third party delivers natural gas back to the Company during the months of November through March. The exchange and storage gas volumes are recorded at weighted average cost. The following table shows the components of Exchange Gas Receivable as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Exchange Gas Receivable (millions) |  | December 31, |
| 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Northern Utilities |  | $ | 10.3 |  |  | $ | 14.2 |
Fitchburg |  |  | 0.8 |  |  |  | 0.8 |
Total Exchange Gas Receivable |  | $ | 11.1 |  |  | $ | 15.0 |
Gas Inventory—The Company uses the weighted average cost methodology to value natural gas inventory. The following table shows the components of Gas Inventory as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Gas Inventory (millions) |  | December 31, |
| 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Natural Gas |  | $ | 0.3 |  |  | $ | 0.8 |
Propane |  |  | 0.3 |  |  |  | 0.2 |
Liquefied Natural Gas & Other |  |  | 0.2 |  |  |  | 0.1 |
Total Gas Inventory |  | $ | 0.8 |  |  | $ | 1.1 |
Utility Plant—The cost of additions to Utility Plant and the cost of renewals and betterments are capitalized. Cost consists of labor, materials, services and certain indirect construction costs, including an allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC). The average interest rates applied to AFUDC were 2.32%, 1.56% and 1.92% in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The costs of current repairs and minor replacements are charged to appropriate operating expense accounts. The original cost of utility plant retired or otherwise disposed of is charged to the accumulated provision for depreciation. The Company includes in its mass asset depreciation rates, which are periodically reviewed as part of its ratemaking proceedings, cost of removal amounts to provide for future negative salvage value. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company estimates that the cost of removal amounts, which are recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in Cost of Removal Obligations are $70.1 million and $63.8 million, respectively. Regulatory Accounting—The Company’s principal business is the distribution of electricity and natural gas by the three distribution utilities: Unitil Energy, Fitchburg and Northern Utilities. Unitil Energy and Fitchburg are subject to regulation by the FERC. Fitchburg is also regulated by the MDPU, Unitil Energy is regulated by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) and Northern Utilities is regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) and NHPUC. Granite State, the Company’s natural gas transmission pipeline, is regulated by the FERC. Accordingly, the Company uses the Regulated Operations guidance as set forth in the FASB Codification. The Company has recorded Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities which will be recovered from customers, or applied for customer benefit, in accordance with rate provisions approved by the applicable public utility regulatory commission.
Regulatory Assets consist of the following (millions) |  | December 31, |
| 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Retirement Benefits |  | $ | 64.7 |  |  | $ | 65.1 |
Energy Supply & Other Regulatory Tracker Mechanisms |  |  | 21.3 |  |  |  | 31.0 |
Deferred Storm Charges |  |  | 15.4 |  |  |  | 21.2 |
Environmental |  |  | 11.2 |  |  |  | 11.0 |
Income Taxes |  |  | 8.5 |  |  |  | 9.7 |
Deferred Restructuring Costs |  |  | — |  |  |  | 1.6 |
Other |  |  | 5.3 |  |  |  | 5.8 |
Total Regulatory Assets |  | $ | 126.4 |  |  | $ | 145.4 |
Less: Current Portion of Regulatory Assets(1) |  |  | 26.8 |  |  |  | 37.8 |
Regulatory Assets—noncurrent |  | $ | 99.6 |  |  | $ | 107.6 |
| (1) | Reflects amounts included in Accrued Revenue on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and in the Accrued Revenue table shown above.
Regulatory Liabilities consist of the following (millions) |  | December 31, |
| 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Regulatory Tracker Mechanisms |  | $ | 8.0 |  |  | $ | 8.8 |
Gas Pipeline Refund (Note 8) |  |  | 15.7 |  |  |  | — |
Total Regulatory Liabilities |  |  | 23.7 |  |  |  | 8.8 |
Less: Current Portion of Regulatory Liabilities |  |  | 15.6 |  |  |  | 8.7 |
Regulatory Liabilities—noncurrent |  | $ | 8.1 |  |  | $ | 0.1 |
Generally, the Company receives a return on investment on its regulated assets for which a cash outflow has been made. Included in Regulatory Assets as of December 31, 2015 are $6.6 million of deferred storm charges to be recovered over the next two and a half years and $7.4 million of rate case costs and other expenditures to be recovered over the next seven years. Regulators have authorized recovery of these expenditures, but without a return. Regulatory commissions can reach different conclusions about the recovery of costs, which can have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company believes it is probable that its regulated distribution and transmission utilities will recover their investments in long-lived assets, including regulatory assets. If the Company, or a portion of its assets or operations, were to cease meeting the criteria for application of these accounting rules, accounting standards for businesses in general would become applicable and immediate recognition of any previously deferred costs, or a portion of deferred costs, would be required in the year in which the criteria are no longer met, if such deferred costs were not recoverable in the portion of the business that continues to meet the criteria for application of the FASB Codification topic on Regulated Operations. If unable to continue to apply the FASB Codification provisions for Regulated Operations, the Company would be required to apply the provisions for the Discontinuation of Rate-Regulated Accounting included in the FASB Codification. In the Company’s opinion, its regulated operations will be subject to the FASB Codification provisions for Regulated Operations for the foreseeable future. Derivatives—The Company’s regulated energy subsidiaries enter into energy supply contracts to serve their electric and gas customers. The Company follows a procedure for determining whether each contract qualifies as a derivative instrument under the guidance provided by the FASB Codification on Derivatives and Hedging. For each contract, the Company reviews and documents the key terms of the contract. Based on those terms and any additional relevant components of the contract, the Company determines and documents whether the contract qualifies as a derivative instrument as defined in the FASB Codification. The Company has determined that none of its energy supply contracts, other than the regulatory approved hedging program, described below, qualifies as a derivative instrument under the guidance set forth in the FASB Codification. The Company has a regulatory approved hedging program for Northern Utilities designed to fix or cap a portion of its gas supply costs for the coming years of service. Prior to April 2013 Northern Utilities purchased natural gas futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) that correspond to associated delivery months. Beginning in April 2013, the hedging program was redesigned and the Company began purchasing call option contracts on NYMEX natural gas futures contracts for future winter period months. As of December 31, 2015, all futures contracts purchased under the prior program design have been sold and the hedging portfolio now consists entirely of call option contracts. Any gains or losses resulting from the change in the fair value of these derivatives are passed through to customers directly through Northern Utilities’ Cost of Gas Adjustment Clause. The fair value of these derivatives is determined using Level 2 inputs (valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly), specifically based on the NYMEX closing prices for outstanding contracts as of the balance sheet date. As a result of the ratemaking process, the Company records gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of the derivatives as regulatory liabilities or assets, then reclassifies these gains or losses into Cost of Gas Sales when the gains and losses are passed through to customers through the Cost of Gas Adjustment Clause. As of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had 2.5 billion and 2.4 billion cubic feet (BCF), respectively, outstanding in natural gas purchase contracts under its hedging program. The tables below show derivatives, which are part of the regulatory approved hedging program, that are not designated as hedging instruments under FASB ASC 815-20. The tables below include disclosure of the derivative assets and liabilities and the recognition of the charges from their corresponding regulatory liabilities and assets, respectively into Cost of Gas Sales. The current and noncurrent portions of these regulatory assets are recorded as Accrued Revenue and Regulatory Assets, respectively, on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The current and noncurrent portions of these regulatory liabilities are recorded as Regulatory Liabilities and Other Noncurrent Liabilities, respectively on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Fair Value Amount of Derivative Assets / Liabilities (millions) Offset in Regulatory Liabilities / Assets, as of:
|  |  |  | Fair Value |
Description |  | Balance Sheet Location |  | December 31, 2015 |  |  | December 31, 2014 |
Derivative Assets |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Natural Gas Futures / Options Contracts |  | Prepayments and Other |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |
Natural Gas Futures / Options Contracts |  | Other Noncurrent Assets |  |  | — |  |  |  | 0.1 |
Total Derivative Assets |  |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 0.1 |
Derivative Liabilities |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Natural Gas Futures / Options Contracts |  | Other Current Liabilities |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |
Natural Gas Futures / Options Contracts |  | Other Noncurrent Liabilities |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
Total Derivative Liabilities |  |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |
|  | Twelve Months Ended December 31, |
|  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Amount of Loss / (Gain) Recognized in Regulatory Assets (Liabilities) for Derivatives: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Natural Gas Futures / Options Contracts |  | $ | 0.3 |  |  | $ | (0.7 | )
Amount of Loss / (Gain) Reclassified into the Consolidated Statements of Earnings(1): |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cost of Gas Sales |  | $ | 0.2 |  |  | $ | (0.8 | )
| (1) | These amounts are offset in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings with Accrued Revenue and therefore there is no effect on earnings.
Investments in Marketable Securities—In 2015, the Company established a trust through which it invests in a variety of equity and fixed income mutual funds. These funds are intended to satisfy obligations under the Company’s Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) (See further discussion of the SERP in Note 10). At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the fair value of the Company’s investments in these trading securities, which are recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in Prepayments and Other, are $0.7 million and $0, respectively, as shown in the table below. These investments are valued based on quoted prices from active markets and are categorized in Level 1 as they are actively traded and no valuation adjustments have been applied.
Fair Value of Marketable Securities (millions) |  | December 31, |
|  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Equity Funds |  | $ | 0.4 |  |  | $ | — |
Fixed Income Funds |  |  | 0.3 |  |  |  | — |
Total Marketable Securities |  | $ | 0.7 |  |  | $ | — |
Goodwill and Intangible Assets—As a result of the acquisitions of Northern Utilities and Granite State, the Company recognized a bargain purchase adjustment as a reduction to Utility Plant, to be amortized over a ten year period, beginning with the date of the Acquisitions, as authorized by regulators. As of December 31, 2015, the unamortized balance of the bargain purchase adjustment was $7.2 million, to be amortized over the next three years. Energy Supply Obligations—The following discussion and table summarize the nature and amounts of the items recorded as Energy Supply Obligations (current portion) and Other Noncurrent Liabilities (noncurrent portion) on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.
|  | December 31, |
Energy Supply Obligations consist of the following: (millions) |  | 2015 |  |  | 2014 |
Current: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Exchange Gas Obligation |  | $ | 10.3 |  |  | $ | 14.2 |
Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards |  |  | 4.0 |  |  |  | 7.4 |
Power Supply Contract Divestitures |  |  | 0.3 |  |  |  | 0.5 |
Total Energy Supply Obligations—Current |  | $ | 14.6 |  |  | $ | 22.1 |
Noncurrent: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Power Supply Contract Divestitures |  | $ | 1.6 |  |  | $ | 1.9 |
Total Energy Supply Obligations |  | $ | 16.2 |  |  | $ | 24.0 |
Exchange Gas Obligation—As discussed above, Northern Utilities enters into gas exchange agreements under which Northern Utilities releases certain natural gas pipeline and storage assets, resells the natural gas storage inventory to an asset manager and subsequently repurchases the inventory over the course of the natural gas heating season at the same price at which it sold the natural gas inventory to the asset manager. The gas inventory related to these agreements is recorded in Exchange Gas Receivable on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets while the corresponding obligations are recorded in Energy Supply Obligations. Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards—Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS) require retail electricity suppliers, including public utilities, to demonstrate that required percentages of their sales are met with power generated from certain types of resources or technologies. Compliance is demonstrated by purchasing and retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) generated by facilities approved by the state as qualifying for REC treatment. Unitil Energy and Fitchburg purchase RECs in compliance with RPS legislation in New Hampshire and Massachusetts for supply provided to default service customers. RPS compliance costs are a supply cost that is recovered in customer default service rates. Unitil Energy and Fitchburg collect RPS compliance costs from customers throughout the year and demonstrate compliance for each calendar year on the following July 1. Due to timing differences between collection of revenue from customers and payment of REC costs to suppliers, Unitil Energy and Fitchburg typically maintain accrued revenue for RPS compliance which is recorded in Accrued Revenue with a corresponding liability in Energy Supply Obligations on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Fitchburg has entered into long-term renewable contracts for electric energy and/or renewable energy credits. The generating facilities associated with two of these contracts have been constructed and are operating. Another contract has been approved by the MDPU and is pending facility construction and operation, which is anticipated to begin by the end of 2016. Fitchburg will recover its costs under this contract through a regulatory approved cost tracker rate mechanism. Power Supply Contract Divestitures—As a result of the restructuring of the utility industry in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Unitil Energy’s and Fitchburg’s customers have the opportunity to purchase their electric or natural gas supplies from third-party suppliers. In connection with the implementation of retail choice, Unitil Power, which formerly functioned as the wholesale power supply provider for Unitil Energy, and Fitchburg divested their long-term power supply contracts through the sale of the entitlements to the electricity sold under those contracts. Unitil Energy and Fitchburg recover in their rates all the costs associated with the divestiture of their power supply portfolios and have secured regulatory approval from the NHPUC and MDPU, respectively, for the recovery of power supply-related stranded costs. The obligations related to these divestitures are recorded in Energy Supply Obligations (current portion) and Other Noncurrent Liabilities (noncurrent portion) on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets with corresponding regulatory assets recorded in Accrued Revenue (current portion) and Regulatory Assets (noncurrent portion). Massachusetts Green Communities Act—In compliance with the Massachusetts Green Communities Act, discussed below in Note 8, Commitments and Contingencies, Fitchburg has entered into long-term renewable contracts for electric energy and/or renewable energy credits. The generating facility associated with two of these contracts have been constructed and are operating. Another contract has been approved by the MDPU and is pending facility construction and operation, which is anticipated to begin by the end of 2016. Fitchburg will recover its costs associated with long-term renewable contracts on a fully reconciling basis through a MDPU-approved cost recovery mechanism. Retirement Benefit Obligations—The Company sponsors the Unitil Corporation Retirement Plan (Pension Plan), which is a defined benefit pension plan. Effective January 1, 2010, the Pension Plan was closed to new non-union employees. For union employees, the Pension Plan was closed on various dates between December 31, 2010 and June 1, 2013, depending on the various Collective Bargaining Agreements of each union. The Company also sponsors a non-qualified retirement plan, the Unitil Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP), covering certain executives of the Company, and an employee 401(k) savings plan. Additionally, the Company sponsors the Unitil Employee Health and Welfare Benefits Plan (PBOP Plan), primarily to provide health care and life insurance benefits to retired employees. The Company records on its balance sheets as an asset or liability the overfunded or underfunded status of its retirement benefit obligations (RBO) based on the projected benefit obligations. The Company has recognized a corresponding Regulatory Asset, to recognize the future collection of these obligations in electric and gas rates (See Note 10). Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements—As of December 31, 2015, the Company does not have any significant arrangements that would be classified as Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. In the ordinary course of business, the Company does contract for certain office equipment, vehicles and other equipment under operating leases (See Note 5). Commitments and Contingencies—The Company’s accounting policy is to record and/or disclose commitments and contingencies in accordance with the FASB Codification as it applies to an existing condition, situation, or set of circumstances involving uncertainty as to possible loss that will ultimately be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. As of December 31, 2015, the Company is not aware of any material commitments or contingencies other than those disclosed in the Commitments and Contingencies footnote to the Company’s consolidated financial statements below (See Note 8). Environmental Matters—The Company’s past and present operations include activities that are generally subject to extensive federal and state environmental laws and regulations. The Company has recovered or will recover substantially all of the costs of the environmental remediation work performed to date from customers or from its insurance carriers. The Company believes it is in compliance with all applicable environmental and safety laws and regulations, and the Company believes that as of December 31, 2015, there are no material losses that would require additional liability reserves to be recorded other than those disclosed in Note 8, Commitments and Contingencies. Changes in future environmental compliance regulations or in future cost estimates of environmental remediation costs could have a material effect on the Company’s financial position if those amounts are not recoverable in regulatory rate mechanisms. Recently Issued Pronouncements—In January 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-01 which addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. A financial instrument is defined as cash, evidence of ownership interest in a company or other entity, or a contract that both: (i) imposes on one entity a contractual obligation either to deliver cash or another financial instrument to a second entity or to exchange other financial instruments on potentially unfavorable terms with the second entity and (ii) conveys to that second entity a contractual right either to receive cash or another financial instruments from the first entity or to exchange other financial instruments on potentially favorable terms with the first entity. This pronouncement is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those annual periods with earlier application permitted as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The Company is evaluating the impact that this new guidance will have on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17 which simplifies the presentation of deferred income taxes in a classified statement of financial position. Current generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require an entity to separate deferred income tax liabilities and assets into current and noncurrent amounts in a classified statement of financial position. ASU 2015-17 amends current GAAP to require that deferred tax liabilities and assets be classified as noncurrent in a classified statement of financial position. This pronouncement is effective for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within those annual periods with earlier application permitted as of the beginning of an interim or annual reporting period. The Company does not expect this new guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-13 which clarifies the Normal Purchases and Normal Sales scope exception to certain electricity contracts. ASU 2015-13 specifies that the use of locational marginal pricing by an independent system operator does not constitute net settlement of a contract. This pronouncement is effective upon its issuance. The Company has adopted this new guidance and it had no impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09. ASU 2014-09 outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The effective date of this pronouncement is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 with early adoption permitted as of the original effective date. The Company is evaluating the impact that this new guidance will have on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11 which provides authoritative guidance requiring inventory to be measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The new guidance defines net realizable value as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. Current guidance requires inventory to be measured at the lower of cost or market where market could be replacement cost, net realizable value or net realizable value less an approximately normal profit margin. This pronouncement is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted. The guidance is required to be applied prospectively. The Company does not expect this new guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-07 which provides authoritative guidance removing the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. Investments measured at net asset value per share using the practical expedient will be presented as a reconciling item between the fair value hierarchy disclosure and the investment line item on the statement of financial position. The guidance also removes the requirement to make certain disclosures for all investments that are eligible to be measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. Rather, those disclosures are limited to investments for which the entity has elected to measure the fair value using the practical expedient. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 with early adoption permitted. The guidance is required to be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. The Company does not expect this new guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03 which requires entities to present debt issuance costs related to a debt liability as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability on the balance sheet as opposed to being presented as a deferred charge. ASU 2015-03 does not contain guidance for debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements. Consequently, in August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-15 to add paragraphs indicating that the SEC staff would not object to an entity deferring and presenting debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements as an asset and subsequently amortizing the deferred debt issuance costs ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the line-of-credit arrangement. The effective date of these pronouncements is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect this new guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. Other than the pronouncements discussed above, there are no recently issued pronouncements that the Company has not already adopted or that have a material impact on the Company. Subsequent Events—The Company evaluates all events or transactions through the date of the related filing. During the period through the date of this filing, the Company did not have any material subsequent events that impacted its Consolidated Financial Statements.

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18861-107790 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18743-107790 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18854-107790 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_SignificantAccountingPoliciesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration