Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Summary of Accounting poliicies [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

A summary of property, plant and equipment by classification as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 is provided in the following table:

	As of December 31,
(in thousands)	2018			2017
Property, plant and equipment
Regulated Energy
Natural gas distribution - Delmarva Peninsula and Florida	$	657,630		$	589,149
Natural gas transmission - Delmarva Peninsula, Pennsylvania and Florida	537,654			384,360
Electric distribution – Florida	102,133			100,227
Unregulated Energy
Propane operations – Mid-Atlantic and Florida	123,632			108,177
Natural gas transmission – Ohio	70,225			66,037
Electricity and Steam generation – Florida	35,239			35,239
Mobile CNG utility and pipeline solutions	7,240			—
Other unregulated energy	1,346			1,229
Other	34,584			27,699
Total property, plant and equipment	1,569,683			1,312,117
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(294,295		)	(270,599		)
Plus: Construction work in progress	108,584			84,509
Net property, plant and equipment	$	1,383,972		$	1,126,027

Schedule of Capital Leased Assets [Table Text Block]

Information regarding the impact of the capital leases in our financial statements is shown below. Additional information can be found in Note 21, Other Commitments and Contingencies.

	As of December 31,
(in thousands)	2018		2017
Fair value of asset at lease inception	$	7,816	$	7,126
Less: Accumulated amortization	6,506		5,056
Capital lease asset	$	1,310	$	2,070

	For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2018	2017	2016
Amortization included in fuel cost recovery mechanism	$1,451	$1,401	$1,353

Annual Depreciation Rates Table [Table Text Block]

The following table shows the average depreciation rates used for regulated operations during the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016:

	2018	2017	2016
Natural gas distribution – Delmarva Peninsula	2.5%	2.5%	2.5%
Natural gas distribution – Florida	2.9%	2.9%	2.9%
Natural gas transmission – Delmarva Peninsula	2.7%	2.8%	2.7%
Natural gas transmission – Florida	2.3%	3.5%	3.9%
Electric distribution – Florida	3.4%	3.4%	3.5%

Schedule of Prospective Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements [Table Text Block]

The following highlights the impact of the adoption of ASC 606 on our income statement for the year ended December 31, 2018 and consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2018:

	Year Ended   December 31, 2018
Income statement	As Reported		Without Adoption of ASC 606		Effect of Change Higher (Lower)
(in thousands)
Regulated Energy operating revenues	$	345,281	$	346,289	$	(1,008	)
Regulated Energy cost of sales	121,828		122,463		(635		)
Depreciation and amortization	40,802		40,767		35
Income before income taxes	77,574		77,981		(407		)
Income taxes	20,994		21,106		(112		)
Net income	56,580		56,875		(295		)

	As of December 31, 2018
Balance sheet	As Reported		Without Adoption of ASC 606		Effect of Change Higher (Lower)
(in thousands)
Assets
Accrued revenue	$	27,499	$	29,461	$	(1,962	)
Long-term receivables and other deferred charges	$	6,985	$	6,816	$	169
Capitalization
Retained earnings	$	261,530	$	263,323	$	(1,793	)

Estimated Useful Life Of Assets Table [Table Text Block]

For our unregulated operations, we compute depreciation expense on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives of the assets:

Asset Description	Useful Life
Propane distribution mains	10-37 years
Propane bulk plants and tanks	10-40 years
Propane equipment, meters and meter installations	5-33 years
Measuring and regulating station equipment	5-37 years
Natural gas pipelines	45 years
Natural gas right of ways	Perpetual
CHP plant	30 years
Natural gas processing equipment	20-25 years
Office furniture and equipment	3-10 years
Transportation equipment	4-20 years
Structures and improvements	5-45 years
Other	Various