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Allowance for Doubtful Accounts | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2020
Allowance For Doubtful Accounts [Abstract] |
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts | Note 4: Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Unitil’s distribution utilities are authorized by regulators to recover the costs of their energy commodity portion of bad debts through rate mechanisms. In 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded provisions for the energy commodity portion of bad debts of $1.6 million, $2.3 million and $2.6 million, respectively. These provisions were recognized in Cost of Gas Sales and Cost of Electric Sales expense as the associated electric and gas utility revenues were billed. Cost of Gas Sales and Cost of Electric Sales costs are recovered from customers through periodic rate reconciling mechanisms. Also, the electric and gas divisions of Fitchburg are authorized to recover through rates past due amounts associated with hardship accounts that are protected from shut-off. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has recorded $6.8 million and $5.6 million, respectively, of hardship accounts in Regulatory Assets. The Company currently receives recovery in rates or expects to receive recovery of these hardship accounts in future rate cases. Accounts Receivable, Net includes $3.1 million and $1.0 million of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Unbilled Revenues, net (a component of Accrued Revenue) includes $0.2 million of the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts at December 31, 2020. The following table shows the balances and activity in the Company’s Allowance for Doubtful Accounts for 2018—2020 (millions): ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS
|  | Balance at Beginning of Period |  |  | Provision |  |  | Recoveries |  |  | Accounts Written Off |  |  | Regulatory Deferrals* |  |  | Balance at End of Period |
Year Ended December 31, 2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Electric |  | $ | 0.6 |  |  | $ | 2.9 |  |  | $ | 0.3 |  |  | $ | 2.6 |  |  | $ | 0.4 |  |  | $ | 1.6 |
Gas |  |  | 0.4 |  |  |  | 2.6 |  |  |  | 0.3 |  |  |  | 1.8 |  |  |  | 0.2 |  |  |  | 1.7 |
Other |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
|  | $ | 1.0 |  |  | $ | 5.5 |  |  | $ | 0.6 |  |  | $ | 4.4 |  |  | $ | 0.6 |  |  | $ | 3.3 |
Year Ended December 31, 2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Electric |  | $ | 0.5 |  |  | $ | 3.0 |  |  | $ | 0.3 |  |  | $ | 3.2 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 0.6 |
Gas |  |  | 0.8 |  |  |  | 1.9 |  |  |  | 0.5 |  |  |  | 2.8 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 0.4 |
Other |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
|  | $ | 1.3 |  |  | $ | 4.9 |  |  | $ | 0.8 |  |  | $ | 6.0 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1.0 |
Year Ended December 31, 2018 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Electric |  | $ | 0.9 |  |  | $ | 3.2 |  |  | $ | 0.3 |  |  | $ | 3.9 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 0.5 |
Gas |  |  | 0.6 |  |  |  | 2.9 |  |  |  | 0.3 |  |  |  | 3.0 |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | 0.8 |
Other |  |  | 0.1 |  |  |  | (0.1 | ) |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |  |  |  | — |
|  | $ | 1.6 |  |  | $ | 6.0 |  |  | $ | 0.6 |  |  | $ | 6.9 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 1.3 |
* | The Company has incurred greater than normal bad debt expense due to the coronavirus pandemic. Incremental bad debt expense amounts have been deferred as regulatory assets based on certain regulatory proceedings and management’s belief that such amounts are probable of recovery (See the “Financial Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic” section in Note 8 (Commitments and Contingencies). The Company will track the collection of receivables and to the extent incremental bad debt amounts are collected in the future, such amounts will reduce the regulatory assets recorded.

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