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Income Taxes (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Schedule Of Income Tax Expense Domestic
Income tax (benefit) expense is comprised of the following (in thousands):
 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Federal   
Current$(8,121)$2,925 $5,024 
Deferred(3,807)2,929 (5,993)
Investment tax credits1,970 (129)(130)
State
Current
(41)(1,971)3,363 
Deferred
560 3,785 (2,869)
Income Tax (Benefit) Expense$(9,439)$7,539 $(605)
Components of Deffered Income Tax [Table]
Deferred income tax expense is comprised of the following (in thousands):

 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Deferred tax expense excluding items below
$54,950 $61,537 $39,349 
Adjustments to other noncurrent liabilities, regulatory assets, and liabilities
(65,596)(54,732)(48,428)
Tax (benefit) expense allocated to other comprehensive income
(293)(91)217 
Adjustments to deferred income taxes for production tax credit cash transfer
7,692 — — 
Investment tax credits1,970 (129)(130)
Deferred tax (benefit) expense
$(1,277)$6,585 $(8,992)
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation
The following table reconciles our effective income tax rate to the federal statutory rate:
 Year Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Federal statutory rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State income tax, net of federal provisions0.2 0.3 0.3 
Flow-through repairs deductions(10.8)(12.9)(12.4)
Release of unrecognized tax benefits (inclusive of related interest previously accrued)(9.8)(1.6)— 
Production tax credits(5.2)(5.1)(7.2)
Gas repairs safe harbor method change(3.3)— — 
Amortization of excess deferred income taxes(1.4)(1.1)(0.9)
Prior year permanent return to accrual adjustments(0.2)— (0.8)
Plant and depreciation of flow through items4.4 3.3 (0.1)
Unregulated Tax Cuts and Jobs Act excess deferred income taxes— (1.7)— 
Reduction to previously claimed alternative minimum tax credit— 1.6 — 
Other, net0.7 (0.1)(0.2)
Effective tax rate(4.4)%3.7 %(0.3)%

The table below summarizes the significant differences in income tax expense (benefit) based on the differences between our effective tax rate and the federal statutory rate (in thousands). All of our income from continuing operations is primarily from domestic operations.
Year Ended December 31,
202420232022
Income Before Income Taxes$214,672 $201,670 $182,403 
Income tax calculated at federal statutory rate45,081 42,350 38,304 
Permanent or flow through adjustments:
State income, net of federal provisions374 606 562 
Flow-through repairs deductions(23,132)(25,922)(22,665)
Release of unrecognized tax benefits (2024 is inclusive of $4.1 million of related interest previously accrued)
(20,993)(3,241)— 
Production tax credits(11,069)(10,274)(13,166)
Gas repairs safe harbor method change(6,994)— — 
Amortization of excess deferred income taxes(2,930)(2,184)(1,657)
Prior year permanent return to accrual adjustments(433)45 (1,397)
Plant and depreciation of flow through items9,360 6,595 (222)
Unregulated Tax Cuts and Jobs Act excess deferred income taxes— (3,385)— 
Reduction to previously claimed alternative minimum tax credit— 3,186 — 
Other, net1,297 (237)(364)
(54,520)(34,811)(38,909)
Income Tax (Benefit) Expense$(9,439)$7,539 $(605)
In 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a safe harbor method of accounting for the repair and maintenance of natural gas transmission and distribution property. For the year ending December 31, 2024, after completion of our impact analysis of the gas repairs safe harbor method change, we recorded an income tax benefit of approximately $7.0 million related to tax deductions for repair costs that were previously capitalized in the 2022 and prior tax years.
Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities
The components of the net deferred income tax liability recognized in our Consolidated Balance Sheets are related to the following temporary differences (in thousands):
 December 31,
 20242023
NOL carryforward$123,043 $113,366 
Production tax credit97,695 94,283 
Customer advances32,455 28,300 
Compensation accruals12,717 10,716 
Pension / postretirement benefits9,078 15,131 
Unbilled revenue6,477 10,604 
Environmental liability5,415 5,760 
Interest rate hedges2,985 3,280 
Reserves and accruals2,252 3,098 
Other, net3,369 2,677 
Deferred Tax Asset295,486 287,215 
Excess tax depreciation(713,416)(660,440)
Flow through depreciation(132,944)(120,558)
Goodwill amortization(89,827)(88,323)
Regulatory assets and other(22,729)(18,414)
Deferred Tax Liability(958,916)(887,735)
Deferred Tax Liability, net$(663,430)$(600,520)
Summary of Income Tax Contingencies The change in unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):
 202420232022
Unrecognized Tax Benefits at January 1$28,074 $30,330 $32,049 
Gross increases - tax positions in prior period— — — 
Gross increases - tax positions in current period— — — 
Gross decreases - tax positions in current period(1,574)(2,256)(1,719)
Lapse of statute of limitations(16,888)— — 
Unrecognized Tax Benefits at December 31$9,612 $28,074 $30,330