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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies

On June 28, 2017, the Company announced that effective July 21, 2017, all customer support services functions would be outsourced resulting in a reduction of 18 employees. The Company recorded approximately $135,000 in severance-related expenses for the impacted employees.

Roanoke Gas currently holds the only franchises and/or certificates of public convenience and necessity to distribute natural gas in its service area. The current franchise agreements expire December 31, 2035. The Company's certificates of public convenience and necessity are exclusive and are intended for perpetual duration. 

Due to the nature of the natural gas distribution business, the Company has entered into agreements with both suppliers and pipelines for natural gas commodity purchases, storage capacity and pipeline delivery capacity. The Company obtains most of its regulated natural gas supply through an asset manager. The Company utilizes an asset manager to assist in optimizing the use of its transportation, storage rights, and gas supply in order to provide a secure and reliable source of natural gas to its customers. The Company also has storage and pipeline capacity contracts to store and deliver natural gas to the Company’s distribution system. Roanoke Gas is served directly by two primary pipelines. These two pipelines deliver all of the natural gas supplied to the Company’s distribution system. Depending on weather conditions and the level of customer demand, failure of one or both of these transmission pipelines could have a major adverse impact on the Company's ability to deliver natural gas to its customers and its results of operations.