RETIREMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

RETIREMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Schedule of the Company's benefit plans' projected benefit obligations

        The following table set forth the Company's benefit plans' projected benefit obligations (in thousands).

	Pension						SERP						OPEB
Reconciliation of Projected Benefit Obligations:	2015			2014			2015			2014			2015			2014
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	251,879		$	225,131		$	9,155		$	7,108		$	109,899		$	85,332
Service cost		7,442			6,467			158			153			3,713			2,601
Interest cost		10,278			10,819			382			387			4,670			4,360
Amendments		—			(7,753	)		—			(45	)		—			—
Net actuarial (gain)/loss		(708	)		36,742			557			1,890			(14,358	)		20,347
Plan participant's contribution		—			—			—			—			963			850
Benefits and expenses paid		(25,201	)		(19,527	)		(366	)		(338	)		(3,839	)		(3,897	)
Federal subsidy		—			—			—			—			419			306
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	243,690		$	251,879		$	9,886		$	9,155		$	101,467		$	109,899

Schedule of fair value of the plans' assets

        The following table set forth the fair value of the plans' assets (in thousands).

	Pension						SERP				OPEB
Reconciliation of Fair Value of Plan Assets:	2015			2014			2015		2014		2015			2014
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	192,674		$	186,547		$	—	$	—	$	83,776		$	79,098
Actual return on plan assets — gain/(loss)		(1,978	)		14,319			—		—		(955	)		5,030
Employer contribution		21,350			11,335			—		—		4,903			2,258
Benefits paid		(25,201	)		(19,527	)		—		—		(3,670	)		(3,707	)
Plan participant's contribution		—			—			—		—		912			804
Federal subsidy		—			—			—		—		403			293
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	186,845		$	192,674		$	—	$	—	$	85,369		$	83,776

Schedule of the funded status

        The following table set forth the fair value of the funded status (in thousands).

	Pension						SERP						OPEB
Reconciliation of Funded Status:	2015			2014			2015			2014			2015			2014
Fair value of plan assets	$	186,845		$	192,674		$	—		$	—		$	85,369		$	83,776
Projected benefit obligations		(243,690	)		(251,879	)		(9,886	)		(9155	)		(101,467	)		(109,899	)
Funded status	$	(56,845	)	$	(59,205	)	$	(9,886	)	$	(9,155	)	$	(16,098	)	$	(26,123	)

Schedule of employee pension plan accumulated benefit obligation

        The employee pension plan accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2015 and 2014 is presented in the following table (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits				SERP
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	221,481	$	227,928	$	8,609	$	7,160

Schedule of amounts recognized in the balance sheet

        Amounts recognized in the balance sheet consist of (in thousands):

	Pension				SERP				OPEB
	2015		2014		2015		2014		2015		2014
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	534	$	481	$	151	$	139
Pension and other postretirement benefit obligation	$	56,845	$	59,205	$	9,352	$	8,674	$	15,947	$	25,984

Schedule of net periodic benefit pension cost

        Net periodic benefit pension cost for 2015, 2014 and 2013, some of which is capitalized as a component of labor cost and some of which is deferred as a regulatory asset (see Note 3), is comprised of the following components (in thousands):

	Pension									OPEB
Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost:	2015			2014			2013			2015			2014			2013
Service cost	$	7,442		$	6,467		$	7,454		$	3,713		$	2,601		$	2,941
Interest cost		10,278			10,819			10,063			4,670			4,360			3,827
Expected return on plan assets		(13,567	)		(13,105	)		(12,428	)		(5,197	)		(4,801	)		(4,353	)
Amortization of prior service cost/(benefit)(1)		(630	)		418			532			(1,011	)		(1,011	)		(1,011	)
Amortization of actuarial loss(1)		10,033			6,611			10,445			2,747			967			2,261
Net periodic benefit cost	$	13,556		$	11,210		$	16,066		$	4,922		$	2,116		$	3,665

	SERP
Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost:	2015			2014			2013
Service cost	$	158		$	153		$	135
Interest cost		382			387			315
Expected return on plan assets		—			—			—
Amortization of prior service cost/(benefit)t(1)		(42	)		(8	)		(8	)
Amortization of actuarial loss(1)		597			504			567
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,095		$	1,036		$	1,009

(1)Amounts are amortized from our regulatory asset originally recorded upon recognizing our net pension liability on the balance sheet.

Schedule of activity in the regulatory asset accounts

        The tables below present other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in the regulatory asset accounts for the year (in thousands).

			Amount Recognized
Regulatory Assets	Beginning Balance 12/31/14		Current Year Actuarial Loss			Amortization of Actuarial Loss			Current Year Prior Service Credit		Amortization of Prior Service (Cost)/Credit		Ending Balance 12/31/15
Pension	$	77,456		14,836			(10,033	)		—		630	$	82,889
SERP	$	5,537		557			(597	)		—		42	$	5,539
OPEB	$	20,446		(8,208	)		(2,747	)		—		1,011	$	10,502

			Amount Recognized
Regulatory Assets	Beginning Balance 12/31/13		Current Year Actuarial Loss		Amortization of Actuarial Loss			Current Year Prior Service Credit			Amortization of Prior Service (Cost)/Credit			Ending Balance 12/31/14
Pension	$	56,709		35,529		(6,611	)		(7,753	)		(418	)	$	77,456
SERP	$	4,188		1,890		(504	)		(45	)		8		$	5,537
OPEB	$	285		20,117		(967	)		—			1,011		$	20,446

Schedule of net actuarial gains / losses, transition obligations / assets and prior period service costs in regulatory assets not yet recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost and the amounts expected to be recognized in the subsequent year

The following table presents those items for the employee pension plan and other benefits plan at December 31, 2015, and the subsequent twelve-month period (in thousands):

	Pension Benefits						SERP						OPEB
	2015			Subsequent Period			2015			Subsequent Period			2015			Subsequent Period
Net actuarial loss	$	88,981		$	8,426		$	5,555		$	555		$	12,075		$	1,030
Prior service cost (benefit)		(6,092	)		(630	)		(16	)		(14	)		(1,573	)		(1,011	)
Total	$	82,889		$	7,796		$	5,539		$	541		$	10,502		$	19

Schedule of assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation as of December 31:

	Pension Benefits						OPEB
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Discount rate		4.40	%		4.06	%		4.48	%		4.15	%
Rate of compensation increase		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%

Schedule of assumptions used to determine the periodic costs

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net benefit cost (income) as of January 1:

	Pension Benefits									OPEB
	2015			2014			2013			2015			2014			2013
Discount rate		4.06	%		4.90	%		4.00	%		4.15	%		5.00	%		4.11	%
Expected return on plan assets		7.75	%		7.75	%		7.75	%		6.52	%		6.52	%		6.52	%
Rate of compensation increase		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%		3.50	%

Schedule of employee stock purchase plan

	2015			2014		2013
Subscriptions outstanding at December 31,		58,742			57,369		60,413
Maximum subscription price	$	21.09	(1)	$	21.43	$	19.58
Shares of stock issued		56,193			56,942		68,099
Stock issuance price	$	21.01		$	19.58	$	17.95

(1)Stock will be issued on the closing date of the purchase period, which runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016.

Schedule of assumptions used in valuation of shares under employee stock purchase plan

	2015			2014			2013
Weighted average fair value of grants	$	3.58		$	3.07		$	2.78
Risk-free interest rate		0.26	%		0.10	%		0.14	%
Dividend yield		4.40	%		4.30	%		4.60	%
Expected volatility(1)		21.00	%		14.00	%		14.00	%
Expected life in months		12			12			12
Grant date		6/1/2015			6/2/2014			6/1/2013

(1)One-year historic volatility

Schedule of shares contributed under 401(k) plan and ESOP

	2015		2014		2013
Shares contributed		66,783		60,049		64,128

Pension Benefits

RETIREMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Schedule of expected benefit payments

        Expected benefit payments are as follows (in millions):

Year	Payments from Trust		Payments from Company Funds
2016	$	22.5	$	0.5
2017		22.8		0.6
2018		21.5		0.5
2019		20.0		0.5
2020		20.9		0.8
2021 – 2025		97.4		2.9

Schedule of fund assets measured at fair value

        The following fair value hierarchy table presents information about the pension fund assets measured at fair value as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2015
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total		Percentage of Plan Assets
Short term investments	$	—	$	71	$	—	$	71		0.0	%
Equity securities
Common collective trusts — domestic		—		46,182		—		46,182		24.7	%
Common collective trusts — international				41,928				41,928		22.5	%
Fixed income
Common collective trust		—		60,694		—		60,694		32.5	%
Other types of investments
Equity long/short hedge funds		—		—		37,970		37,970		20.3	%
	$	—	$	148,875	$	37,970	$	186,845		100.0	%

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2014
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total		Percentage of Plan Assets
Short term investments	$	—	$	70	$	—	$	70		0.0	%
Equity securities
Common collective trusts — domestic		—		48,760		—		48,760		25.3	%
Common collective trusts — international				42,770				42,770		22.2	%
Fixed income
Common collective trust		—		62,646		—		62,646		32.5	%
Other types of investments
Equity long/short hedge funds		—		—		38,428		38,428		20.0	%
	$	—	$	154,246	$	38,428	$	192,674		100.0	%

Schedule of fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (level 3)

Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) — December 31,

	2015			2014
	Equity long/short hedge funds			Equity long/short hedge funds
Beginning Balance, January 1,	$	38,428		$	36,729
Actual return on plan assets:
Relating to assets still held at the reporting date		(458	)		1,382
Relating to assets sold during the period		—			1,491
Purchases		—			9,700
Sales		—			(10,874	)
Settlements		—			—
Transfers into and (out of) Level 3		—			—
Ending Balance, December 31,	$	37,970		$	38,428

Schedule of permissible investments

Permissible Investments

Equity Oriented

Fixed Income Oriented and Real Estate

 Common Stocks  Preferred Stocks (minimum "A-rated" by Moody's or S&P)  American Depository Receipts  Convertible Preferred Stocks  Convertible Bonds  Covered Options  Hedged Equity Funds of Funds

 Bonds (including US Government and Agencies)  Corporate Bonds (minimum quality rating of Baa by Moody's or BBB by S&P)  Comingled bond funds (25% max. allocation to high yield)  Foreign Government Bonds  GIC's, BIC's  Commercial Paper (rated A1 by S&P or P1 by Moody's)  Certificates of Deposit in institutions with FDIC/FSLIC protection  Money Market Funds/Bank STIF Funds  Real Estate — Publicly Traded

        The above assets can be held in commingled (mutual) funds as well as privately managed separate accounts.

        Those investments prohibited by the Investment Committee without prior approval are:

Prohibited Investments Requiring Pre-approval

 Privately Placed Securities  Commodities Futures  Securities of Empire District (except in the hedged equity funds of funds or commingled funds)  Restricted Stock  Warrants  Short Sales  Index Options  Letter Stock

OPEB

RETIREMENT AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Schedule of expected benefit payments

        Estimated benefit payments are as follows (in millions):

Year	Payments from Trust		Expected Federal Subsidy		Payments from Company Funds
2016	$	2.8	$	0.4	$	0.2
2017		3.2		0.4		0.2
2018		3.5		0.5		0.2
2019		3.8		0.5		0.2
2020		4.1		0.6		0.2
2021 – 2025		25.0		3.7		0.8

Schedule of effect of 1% change in assumed healthcare cost growth rates

        The healthcare cost trend rate affects projected benefit obligations. A 1% change in assumed healthcare cost growth rates would have the following effects (in thousands):

	1% Increase		1% Decrease
Effect on total of service and interest cost	$	2,051	$	(1,530	)
Effect on post-retirement benefit obligation	$	17,473	$	(13,794	)

Schedule of fund assets measured at fair value

The following fair value hierarchy table presents information about the OPEB fund assets measured at fair value as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2015
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total			Percentage of Plan Assets
Equity securities
Common collective trusts	$	—	$	48,553	$	—	$	48,553			56.9	%
Fixed income
Common collective trusts		—		34,395		—		34,395			40.3	%
Other types of investments
Common collective trusts		—		2,556		—		2,556			3.0	%
	$	—	$	85,504	$	—		85,504
Payable for securities purchased								(135	)		–0.2	%
							$	85,369			100.0	%

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2014
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total			Percentage of Plan Assets
Equity securities
Common collective trusts	$	—	$	47,690	$	—	$	47,690			56.9	%
Fixed income
Common collective trusts		—		33,708		—		33,708			40.2	%
Other types of investments
Common collective trusts		—		2,453		—		2,453			2.9	%
	$	—	$	83,851	$	—	$	83,851
Payable for securities purchased								(75	)		0.0	%
							$	83,776			100.0	%

Schedule of permissible investments

Permissible Investments

Equity

Fixed Income

 Common Stocks  Preferred Stocks

 Cash-Equivalent Securities with a maturity of one-year or less, including: money market funds, US Government and Agency securities, certificates of deposit or banker's acceptances issued by domestic banks with FDIC protection and commercial paper rated A1 by S&P or P1 by Moody's  Government Bonds  Money Market Funds / Bank STIF Funds  Certificates of Deposit in institutions with FDIC protection  Corporate Bonds (minimum quality rating of A Baa by Moody's or BBB by S&P at time of issuance)

        The above assets can be held in commingled (mutual) funds as well as privately managed separate accounts.

        Listed below are those investments prohibited by the Investment Committee:

Prohibited Investments

 Privately Placed Securities  Securities of Empire District  Derivatives  Instrumentalities in violation of the Prohibited Transactions Standards of ERISA  Margin Transactions  Options (other than "covered call options")  Lettered or Restricted Stock  Any other investment security which, in the opinion of the investment manager produces an imprudent risk to the fund