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Commitments
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Commitments [Abstract]  
Commitments
9.  Commitments

The Company received approval from the PPUC to provide water and wastewater service to the Amblebrook development in Adams County, Pennsylvania.  The developer initiated construction of the water and wastewater systems prior to the Company receiving all necessary approvals.  The Company has committed a total of approximately $6,000 to reimburse the developer for the actual cost of the work completed and real property assets which is expected to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2020.  Additional costs for these systems will be integrated into the Company’s annual capital budgets.

The Company entered into a consent order agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in December 2016 after the Company determined it exceeded the action level for lead as established by the Lead and Copper Rule, or LCR, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The Company did not have an exceedance in any subsequent compliance test.  Under the agreement, the Company committed to exceed the LCR replacement schedule by replacing all of the remaining known company-owned lead service lines within four years from the agreement.  The cost for these service line replacements was approximately $2,734 and $2,713 through September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, and is included in utility plant.  As of September 30, 2020, all known company-owned lead service lines have been replaced.  Any additional company-owned lead service lines that are discovered will be replaced but are not expected to have a material impact on the financial position of the Company.

The Company was granted approval by the PPUC to modify its tariff to include the cost of the annual replacement of up to 400 lead customer-owned service lines over nine years from the agreement.  The tariff modification allows the Company to replace customer-owned service lines at its own initial cost.  The Company will record the costs as a regulatory asset to be recovered in future base rates to customers, over a four-year period.  The cost for the customer-owned lead service line replacements was approximately $1,174 and $1,000 through September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, and is included as a regulatory asset.  Based on its experience, the Company estimates that lead customer-owned service lines replacements will cost $1,400.  This estimate is subject to adjustment as more facts become available.