Details of Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Captions

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Balance Sheet Related Disclosures [Abstract]

Details of Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Captions

Details of Selected Financial Statement Captions

The following tables provide additional information regarding the composition of certain financial statement captions.

Balance Sheet

Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable was comprised of the following at September 30, 2020 and 2019:

	September 30
	2020			2019
	(In thousands)
Billed accounts receivable	$	140,259		$	126,984
Unbilled revenue	80,699			78,986
Contributions in aid of construction receivable	19,821			22,378
Other accounts receivable	19,765			18,122
Total accounts receivable	260,544			246,470
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts	(29,949		)	(15,899		)
Net accounts receivable	$	230,595		$	230,571

Other current assets

Other current assets as of September 30, 2020 and 2019 were comprised of the following accounts.

	September 30
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Deferred gas costs	$	40,593	$	23,766
Prepaid expenses	40,340		38,895
Materials and supplies	6,829		5,916
Assets from risk management activities	5,687		1,586
Other	14,456		2,609
Total	$	107,905	$	72,772

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment was comprised of the following as of September 30, 2020 and 2019:

	September 30
	2020			2019
	(In thousands)
Storage plant	$	530,985		$	431,286
Transmission plant	3,459,765			3,157,316
Distribution plant	10,680,495			9,333,011
General plant	829,624			799,095
Intangible plant	38,297			38,191
	15,539,166			13,758,899
Construction in progress	418,055			421,694
	15,957,221			14,180,593
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(2,601,874		)	(2,392,924		)
Net property, plant and equipment(1)	$	13,355,347		$	11,787,669

(1) Net property, plant and equipment includes plant acquisition adjustments of $(37.8) million and $(46.7) million at September 30, 2020 and 2019.

Goodwill

The following presents our goodwill balance allocated by segment and changes in the balance for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020:

	Distribution			Pipeline and Storage		Total
	(In thousands)
Balance as of September 30, 2019	$	587,604		$	143,102	$	730,706
Deferred tax adjustments on prior acquisitions(1)	(768		)	1,319		551
Balance as of September 30, 2020	$	586,836		$	144,421	$	731,257

(1) We annually adjust certain deferred taxes recorded in connection with an acquisition completed in fiscal 2005, which resulted in an increase to goodwill and net deferred tax liabilities of $0.6 million for fiscal 2020.

Deferred charges and other assets

Deferred charges and other assets as of September 30, 2020 and 2019 were comprised of the following accounts.

	September 30
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Marketable securities	$	103,952	$	101,883
Regulatory assets (See Note 2)	371,707		260,220
Operating lease right of use assets (See Note 6)	227,146		—
Assets from risk management activities	74,991		225
Tax receivable	—		10,099
Other	23,374		18,786
Total	$	801,170	$	391,213

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities as of September 30, 2020 and 2019 were comprised of the following accounts.

	September 30
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Trade accounts payable	$	141,075	$	176,581
Accrued gas payable	42,054		36,817
Accrued liabilities	52,646		51,626
Total	$	235,775	$	265,024

Other current liabilities

Other current liabilities as of September 30, 2020 and 2019 were comprised of the following accounts.

	September 30
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Customer credit balances and deposits	$	56,485	$	54,617
Accrued employee costs	57,057		55,216
Deferred gas costs	19,985		14,112
Operating lease liabilities (See Note 6)	35,716		—
Accrued interest	53,554		51,381
Liabilities from risk management activities	2,015		4,552
Taxes payable	148,292		135,597
Pension and postretirement liabilities	29,609		26,197
Regulatory cost of service reserve	1,716		4,209
Regulatory cost of removal obligation	73,908		55,721
APT annual adjustment mechanism	43,893		52,856
Regulatory excess deferred taxes (See Note 13)	20,887		21,206
Other	3,344		3,837
Total	$	546,461	$	479,501

Deferred credits and other liabilities

Deferred credits and other liabilities as of September 30, 2020 and 2019 were comprised of the following accounts.

	September 30
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Pension and post retirement liabilities	$	337,303	$	279,083
Operating lease liabilities (See Note 6)	201,071		—
Customer advances for construction	10,060		12,566
Other regulatory liabilities (See Note 2)	17,838		16,120
Asset retirement obligation	20,348		17,054
Liabilities from risk management activities	—		1,249
APT annual adjustment mechanism	13,486		25,545
Unrecognized tax benefits	30,921		27,716
Other	11,101		20,883
Total	$	642,128	$	400,216

Statement of Comprehensive Income

Other non-operating income (expense)

Other non-operating income (expense) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018 were comprised of the following accounts.

	Year Ended September 30
	2020			2019			2018
	(In thousands)
Equity component of AFUDC	$	23,493		$	11,165		$	—
Performance-based rate program	6,771			6,737			6,745
Pension and other postretirement non-service credit (cost)	(3,189		)	3,016			(5,770		)
Interest income	2,932			4,160			1,450
Community support spending	(11,728		)	(4,771		)	(6,053		)
Miscellaneous	(11,108		)	(12,903		)	(6,516		)
Total	$	7,171		$	7,404		$	(10,144	)

Statement of Cash Flows

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:

	Year Ended September 30
	2020			2019		2018
	(In thousands)
Cash Paid (Received) During The Period For:
Interest(1)	$	194,993		$	184,852	$	169,987
Income taxes	$	(3,071	)	$	11,467	$	6,102
Non-Cash Transactions:
Capital expenditures included in current liabilities	$	113,365		$	149,993	$	112,211

(1) Cash paid during the period for interest, net of amounts capitalized was $82.3 million, $91.3 million and $106.8 million for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018.