RATES AND REGULATORY ACTIONS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Abstract]

RATES AND REGULATORY ACTIONS

RATES AND REGULATORY ACTIONS:

SJG is subject to the rules and regulations of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The BPU approved an extension of the Capital Investment Recovery Tracker (CIRT II) program in March 2011, allowing SJG to accelerate an additional $60.3 million of capital spending into 2011 and 2012.  Under CIRT II, SJG capitalizes the return on CIRT II investments until they are recovered in rate base as utility plant in service.  In June 2011, SJG filed a petition with the BPU requesting recovery of CIRT II investments through a 0.5% increase in base rates.  This petition is currently pending.

On October 4, 2011, SJG filed a petition with the BPU requesting an additional extension of the CIRT II program allowing SJG to accelerate $40.0 million of capital spending into 2012 and $50.0 million of spending into 2013. The petition also requests recovery of the additional $40.0 million investment in 2012 through a 0.91% increase in base rates effective January 1, 2013. This petition is also currently pending.

In March 2011, SJG credited the accounts of its Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) customers with refunds totaling $21.1 million due to actual gas costs being lower than projected.   

In September 2011, the BPU approved, on a provisional basis, SJG's request to reduce its BGSS rates by 2.9% and its Conservation Incentive Program (CIP) rates by 2.5%, effective October 1, 2011.

In June 2011, SJG filed its annual Energy Efficiency Tracker (EET) petition, requesting a 0.5% increase.  This petition is currently pending.

There have been no other significant regulatory actions or changes to SJG’s rate structure since December 31, 2010.  See Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of SJI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as of December 31, 2010.