Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Abstract]

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

The Company’s regulated operations follow the accounting and reporting requirements of FASB ASC No. 980, Regulated Operations. The economic effects of regulation can result in a regulated company deferring costs that have been or are expected to be recovered from customers in a period different from the period in which the costs would be charged to expense by an unregulated enterprise. When this situation occurs, costs are deferred as assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet (regulatory assets) and amortized into expense over periods when such amounts are reflected in rates. Additionally, regulators can impose liabilities upon a regulated company for amounts previously collected from customers and for current collection in rates of costs that are expected to be incurred in the future (regulatory liabilities). In the event the provisions of FASB ASC No. 980 no longer apply to any or all regulatory assets or liabilities, the Company would write off such amounts and include the effects in the condensed consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income in the period which FASB ASC No. 980 no longer applied.

Regulatory assets included in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets are as follows: 

	June 30, 2020		September 30, 2019
Assets:
Current Assets:
Regulatory assets:
WNA	$	1,883,099	$	569,558
ESAC assets	180,809		265,392
Accrued pension and postretirement medical	150,667		602,674
Other deferred expenses	84,315		84,315
Total current	2,298,890		1,521,939
Utility Property:
In service:
Other	11,945		11,945
Construction work in progress:
AFUDC	272,108		—
Other Assets:
Regulatory assets:
Premium on early retirement of debt	1,627,167		1,712,808
Accrued pension and postretirement medical	9,414,695		9,414,695
ESAC assets	326,274		756,803
Other deferred expenses	236,006		294,547
Total non-current	11,604,142		12,178,853
Total regulatory assets	$	14,187,085	$	13,712,737

Regulatory liabilities included in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets are as follows: 

	June 30, 2020		September 30, 2019
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity:
Current Liabilities:
Regulatory liabilities:
Over-recovery of gas costs	$	264,383	$	161,837
Over-recovery of SAVE Plan revenues	197,195		574,181
Rate refund	—		3,827,588
Excess deferred income taxes	205,353		205,353
Other deferred liabilities	150,506		108,644
Total current	817,437		4,877,603
Deferred Credits and Other Liabilities:
Asset retirement obligations	7,038,745		6,788,683
Regulatory cost of retirement obligations	12,563,824		11,892,352
Regulatory Liabilities:
Excess deferred income taxes	10,748,044		10,934,434
Total non-current	30,350,613		29,615,469
Total regulatory liabilities	$	31,168,050	$	34,493,072

As of June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2019, the Company had regulatory assets in the amount of $14,175,140 and $13,700,792, respectively, on which the Company did not earn a return during the recovery period.