15. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Effective April 1, 2010, NJNG entered into a 10-year agreement for 3 Bcf of firm storage capacity with Steckman Ridge. Under the terms of the agreement, NJNG incurs demand fees, at market rates, of approximately $9.3 million annually, a portion of which is eliminated in consolidation. These fees are recoverable through NJNG’s BGSS mechanism and are included in regulatory assets.

Energy Services may periodically enter into storage or park and loan agreements with its affiliated FERC-jurisdictional natural gas storage facility, Steckman Ridge. As of September 30, 2018, Energy Services has entered into transactions with Steckman Ridge for varying terms, all of which expire by October 31, 2020.

Demand fees, net of eliminations, associated with Steckman Ridge during the fiscal years ended September 30, are as follows:



(Thousands)	2018		2017		2016
Natural Gas Distribution	$	5,730	$	5,590	$	5,562
Energy Services	2,775		2,750		2,789
Total	$	8,505	$	8,340	$	8,351

The following table summarizes demand fees payable to Steckman Ridge as of September 30:



(Thousands)	2018		2017
Natural Gas Distribution	$	775	$	775
Energy Services	375		377
Total	$	1,150	$	1,152

NJNG and Energy Services have entered into various asset management agreements, the effects of which are eliminated in consolidation. Under the terms of these agreements, NJNG releases certain transportation and storage contracts to Energy Services. NJNG retains the right to purchase market-priced gas or fixed-price storage gas from Energy Services. As of September 30, 2018, NJNG and Energy Services had four asset management agreements with expiration dates ranging from March 31, 2019 through October 31, 2021.

NJNG has entered into a 15-year transportation precedent agreement for committed capacity of 180,000 Dths per day with PennEast, to commence when in service.