Basis of presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

Basis of presentation

The accompanying consolidated interim financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Interim financial statements do not include all disclosures provided in annual financial statements and, accordingly, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with those appearing in the 2017 Annual Report. The information is unaudited but includes all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the accompanying consolidated interim financial statements and are of a normal recurring nature. Depreciation, depletion and amortization expense is reported separately on the Consolidated Statements of Income and therefore is excluded from the other line items within operating expenses. Management has also evaluated the impact of events occurring after March 31, 2018, up to the date of issuance of these consolidated interim financial statements.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the TCJA which includes lower corporate tax rates, repealing the domestic production deduction, disallowance of immediate expensing for regulated utility property and modifying or repealing many other business deductions and credits. The reduction in the corporate tax rate was effective on January 1, 2018, which resulted in lower income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The Company continues to review the components of the TCJA and the impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements and related disclosures for 2018 and thereafter.

While the Company was able to make reasonable estimates of the impact of the reduction in corporate tax rate on the Company's net deferred tax liabilities during the fourth quarter of 2017, it may be affected by other analyses related to the TCJA, including, but not limited to, the state tax effect of adjustments to federal temporary differences and the calculation of deemed repatriation of deferred foreign income. The final transition impacts of the TCJA may differ from amounts disclosed, possibly materially, due to, among other things, interpretations, legislative action to address questions, changes in accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations, or updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impacts. The SEC has issued rules that would allow for a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date of the TCJA to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts, of which there were no such adjustments in the first quarter of 2018. The Company currently anticipates finalizing and recording any resulting adjustments by December 31, 2018, which will be included in income from continuing operations.

Due to the enactment of the TCJA, the regulated jurisdictions in which the Company's regulated businesses provides service have requested the Company furnish plans for the effect of the reduced corporate tax rate, which may impact the Company's tax rates. Therefore, the Company has reserved for such impacts as an offset to revenue in certain jurisdictions. The Company will continue to make changes to reserve balances as required. For more information on the details of each jurisdiction's request, see Note 15.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the requirements of the revenue from contracts with customers guidance following the modified retrospective method, as discussed in Notes 6 and 8. As such, results for reporting periods beginning January 1, 2018, are presented under the new guidance, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with the historic accounting for revenue recognition. Based on the Company's analysis, the Company did not identify a significant change in the timing of revenue recognition under the new guidance as compared to the historic accounting for revenue recognition.

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation in the consolidated financial statements related to the retrospective adoption of the FASB guidance to improve the presentation of net periodic pension and net periodic postretirement benefit costs, which was effective on January 1, 2018. The components of net periodic pension and postretirement costs, other than service costs, were reclassified from operating expenses to other income on the Consolidated Statements of Income, as discussed in Note 6.

The assets and liabilities for the Company's discontinued operations have been classified as held for sale and the results of operations are shown in loss from discontinued operations, other than certain general and administrative costs and interest expense which do not meet the criteria for income (loss) from discontinued operations. At the time the assets were classified as held for sale, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense was no longer recorded. Unless otherwise indicated, the amounts presented in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements relate to the Company's continuing operations. For more information on the Company's discontinued operations, see Note 9.