Company: MSEX
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001174947-25-000251
Chunk: 414

Company: MIDDLESEX WATER CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1C
Chunk 414
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 of certain
assets, including regulatory assets. The Company bases its estimates, assumptions and judgments on historical experience and current operating
environment. Changes in any of the variables that are used for the Company’s estimates, assumptions and judgments may lead to significantly
different financial statement results.

Our critical accounting policies and estimates are set forth below.

Regulatory Accounting

We maintain our books and records in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Middlesex and certain of its subsidiaries are subject to
regulation in the states in which they operate. Those companies are required to maintain their accounts in accordance with regulatory
authorities’ rules and guidelines, which may differ from other authoritative accounting pronouncements. In those instances, the
Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 980 Regulated Operations
(Regulatory Accounting).

In accordance with Regulatory Accounting, costs
and obligations are deferred if it is probable that these items will be recognized for rate-making purposes in future rates. Accordingly,
we have recorded costs and obligations, which will be amortized over various future periods. Any change in the assessment of the probability
of rate-making treatment would require us to change the accounting treatment of the deferred item. We have no reason to believe any of
the deferred items that are recorded will be treated differently by the regulators in the future.

34 

Revenues 

Revenues from our regulated customers, which include
amounts billed quarterly to residential customers and monthly to industrial, commercial, fire-protection and wholesale customers, also
include unbilled amounts based upon estimated usage from the date of the last meter reading to the end of the accounting period. While
actual usage for customers may differ from the estimate, we believe the overall total estimate of consumption and revenue for the fiscal
period will not differ materially from actual consumption.

Retirement Benefit Plans

We maintain a noncontributory defined benefit
pension plan (Pension Plan) which covers all currently active employees hired prior to April 1, 2007. In addition, the Company maintains
an unfunded supplemental plan for certain executive officers.

The Company has a retirement benefit plan other
than pensions (Other Benefits Plan) for substantially all of its retired employees. Employees hired after March 31, 2007 are not eligible
to participate in the Other Benefits Plan. Coverage includes healthcare and life insurance.

The costs for providing retirement benefits are
dependent upon numerous factors, including actual plan experience and assumptions of future experience. Future retirement benefit plan
oblig