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Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | 9. Contingencies Cayman Water The Company sells water through its retail operations under a license issued in July 1990 by the Cayman Islands government that grants Cayman Water the exclusive right to provide potable water to customers within its licensed service area. As discussed below, this license was set to expire in July 2010 but has since been extended while negotiations for a new license take place. Pursuant to the license, Cayman Water has the exclusive right to produce potable water and distribute it by pipeline to its licensed service area, which consists of two of the three most populated areas of Grand Cayman, the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas. For the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company generated approximately 33% and 38%, respectively, of its consolidated revenues and 48% and 52%, respectively, of its consolidated gross profit from the retail water operations conducted pursuant to Cayman Water’s exclusive license. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company generated approximately 38% and 40%, respectively, of its consolidated revenues and 52% and 55%, respectively, of its consolidated gross profit from the retail water operations conducted pursuant to Cayman Water’s exclusive license. The license was scheduled to expire in July 2010, but has been extended several times by the Cayman Islands government in order to provide the parties with additional time to negotiate the terms of a new license agreement. The most recent extension of the license expires on January 31, 2018. In October 2016, the Government of the Cayman Islands passed legislation which created a new utilities regulation and competition office (“OfReg”). OfReg is an independent and accountable regulatory body with a view of protecting the rights of consumers, encouraging affordable utility services, and promoting competition. OfReg, which began operations in January 2017, has the ability to supervise, monitor and regulate multiple utility undertakings and markets. Supplemental legislation was passed by the Government of the Cayman Islands in April 2017, which transferred responsibility for economic regulation of the water utility sector from the Water Authority-Cayman (the “WAC”) to OfReg. In July 2017, the Company began negotiating with OfReg for a new retail license in the Cayman Islands and such negotiations are continuing. Under its present license, Cayman Water pays a royalty to the government of 7.5% of its gross retail water sales revenues (excluding energy cost adjustments). The selling prices of water sold to its customers are determined by the license and vary depending upon the type and location of the customer and the monthly volume of water purchased. The license provides for an automatic adjustment for inflation or deflation on an annual basis, subject to temporary limited exceptions, and an automatic adjustment for the cost of electricity on a monthly basis. The WAC, on behalf of the government, previously reviewed and confirmed the calculations of the price adjustments for inflation and electricity costs. On July 7, 2017, the Company was advised by OfReg that regulatory responsibility for the water utility sector had been transferred from the WAC to OfReg effective May 22, 2017, and that effective immediately all reviews and confirmations of calculations of the price adjustments for inflation and electricity costs will be performed by OfReg. If Cayman Water wants to adjust its prices for any reason other than inflation or electricity costs, Cayman Water has to request prior approval from the Cabinet of the Cayman Islands government. Disputes regarding price adjustments would be referred to arbitration. The Cayman Islands government could ultimately offer a third party a license to service some or all of Cayman Water’s present service area. However, as set forth in the existing license, “the Governor hereby agrees that upon the expiry of the term of this Licence or any extension thereof, he will not grant a licence or franchise to any other person or company for the processing, distribution, sale and supply of water within the Licence Area without having first offered such a licence or franchise to the Company on terms no less favourable than the terms offered to such other person or company.” The Company is presently unable to determine what impact the resolution of its retail license negotiations will have on its cash flows, financial condition or results of operations but such resolution could result in a material reduction of the operating income and cash flows the Company has historically generated from its retail operations and could require the Company to record an impairment loss to reduce the carrying value of its goodwill. Such impairment loss could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations. CW-Belize By Statutory Instrument No. 81 of 2009, the Minister of Public Utilities of the government of Belize published an order, the Public Utility Provider Class Declaration Order, 2009 (the “Order”), which as of May 1, 2009 designated CW-Belize as a public utility provider under the laws of Belize. With this designation, the Public Utilities Commission of Belize (the “PUC”) has the authority to set the rates charged by CW-Belize and to otherwise regulate its activities. On November 1, 2010, CW-Belize received a formal complaint from the PUC alleging that CW-Belize was operating without a license under the terms of the Water Industry Act. CW-Belize applied for this license in December 2010. On July 29, 2011, the PUC issued the San Pedro Public Water Supply Quality and Security Complaint Order (the “Second Order”) which among other things requires that (i) CW-Belize and its customer jointly make a submission to the responsible Minister requesting that the area surrounding CW-Belize’s seawater abstraction wells be designated a forest reserve or national park and be designated a Controlled Area under section 58 of the Water Industry Act; (ii) CW-Belize submit an operations manual for CW-Belize’s desalination plant to the PUC for approval; (iii) CW-Belize and its customer modify the water supply agreement between the parties to (a) include new water quality parameters included in the Order and (b) cap the current exclusive water supply arrangement in the agreement at a maximum of 450,000 gallons per day; (iv) CW-Belize keep a minimum number of replacement seawater RO membranes in stock at all times; and (v) CW-Belize take possession of and reimburse the PUC for certain equipment which the PUC purchased from a third-party in late 2010. CW-Belize has applied for declaratory judgment and has been granted a temporary injunction to stay the enforcement of the Second Order by the PUC until such time as the Belize courts could hear the matter. The initial hearing on this matter was conducted on October 30 and 31, 2012 with an additional hearing on November 29, 2012. The ruling on this case is pending. The Company is presently unable to determine what impact the Order and the Second Order will have on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. CW-Bahamas CW-Bahamas’ water supply agreements with the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas ("WSC") for its Blue Hills and Windsor plants require CW-Bahamas to guarantee delivery of a minimum quantity of water per week. If CW-Bahamas does not meet these minimums, it will be required to pay the WSC for the difference between the minimum and actual gallons delivered at a per gallon rate equal to the price per gallon that WSC is currently paying under the respective agreement. The Blue Hills and Windsor agreements require CW-Bahamas to deliver 63.0 million gallons and 16.8 million gallons of water each week, respectively. Aerex Put/Call Options In connection with the Company’s acquisition of 51% of Aerex in February 2016, the Company acquired from Aerex’s former sole shareholder an option to compel such shareholder to sell, and granted to such shareholder an option to require the Company to purchase, the shareholder’s remaining 49% ownership interest in Aerex at a price based upon the fair market value of Aerex at the time of the exercise of the option. The options are exercisable on or after the third anniversary of the February 2016 acquisition date. The fair value of the net liability arising from these put/call options was $357,000 and $680,000 as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, and is included in other liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

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