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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Property, Plant and Equipment
The major components of depreciable plant and equipment as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 are as follows:
 
 
2012
 
2011
Equipment
$
214,670

 
202,181

Transmission and distribution
892,957

 
811,332

Office buildings and other structures
58,593

 
56,503

Total depreciable plant and equipment
$
1,166,220

 
1,070,016


Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated service lives of the assets, ranging from 5 to 75 years. The estimated service lives of depreciable plant and equipment are as follows:

 
Useful Lives
Equipment
5 to 35 years
Transmission and distribution plant
35 to 75 years
Office buildings and other structures
7 to 50 years
Schedule of Real Estate Investments
The major components of real estate investments as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 are as follows:

 
2012
 
2011
Land
$
18,892

 
21,312

Buildings and improvements
55,011

 
67,487

Intangibles
329

 
300

Total real estate investment
$
74,232

 
89,099

Disclosure of Long Lived Assets Held-for-sale
The following represents the major components of the Connecticut warehouse building recorded in long-lived assets held-for-sale on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2012.

 
December 31, 2012
Land
$
1,200

Buildings and improvements
8,684

Subtotal
9,884

Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization
2,116

Total
$
7,768

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases
The following schedule shows the future minimum rental payments to be received from third parties under operating leases that have remaining noncancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2012:

Year ending December 31:
Rental Revenue
2013
$
4,767

2014
5,355

2015
5,470

2016
5,626

2017
5,723

Thereafter
34,931

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities
Regulatory assets and liabilities are comprised of the following as of December 31:

 
2012
 
2011
Regulatory assets:

 

Income tax temporary differences
$
8,712

 
9,295

Postretirement pensions and other medical benefits
113,633

 
105,988

Pension balancing account
6,671

 

Other
5,927

 
4,676

Total regulatory assets
$
134,943

 
119,959

Regulatory liabilities:

 

Cost of capital memorandum account
$
2,295

 

Water supply balancing accounts
1,594

 

Future tax benefits to ratepayers
566

 
711

Total regulatory liabilities
$
4,455

 
711

Net regulatory assets included in Consolidated Balance Sheets
$
130,488

 
119,248

Schedule of Estimated Refunds of Advances for Construction and Contributions in Aid of Construction
Estimated refunds for the next five years and thereafter are shown below:

 
Estimated Refunds
2013
$
2,326

2014
2,325

2015
2,326

2016
2,325

2017
2,326

Thereafter
56,649

Schedule of Asset Retirement Obligations
For the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the asset retirement obligation is as follows:

 
2012
 
2011
Retirement obligation
$
4,650

 
4,296

Discount rate
6
%
 
6
%
Present value, recorded as a liability
1,807

 
1,481

Deferred tax
1,242

 
1,019

Regulatory asset
$
3,049

 
2,500