Note 13 - Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2026

Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

13.

Regulatory Assets and Liabilities

The Company’s regulated operations follow the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC 980, Regulated Operations. A regulated company may defer costs that have been or are expected to be recovered from customers in a period different from the period in which the costs would ordinarily be charged to expense by an unregulated enterprise. When this situation occurs, costs are deferred as assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet (regulatory assets) and amortized into expense over periods when such amounts are reflected in customer rates. Additionally, regulators can impose liabilities upon a regulated company for amounts previously collected from customers and for current collection in customer rates of costs that are expected to be incurred in the future (regulatory liabilities). In the event the provisions of ASC 980 no longer apply to any or all regulatory assets or liabilities, the Company would write off such amounts and include the effects in the condensed consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income in the period which ASC 980 no longer applied.

Regulatory assets included in the Company’s accompanying balance sheets are as follows:

	June 30, 2026		September 30, 2025
Assets:
Current Assets:
Regulatory assets:
Accrued WNA revenues	$	386,467	$	504,003
Under-recovery of gas costs		3,155,181		750,295
Under-recovery of RNG revenues		865,413		1,019,821
Under-recovery of SAVE Plan revenues		125,587		265,317
Accrued pension		7,660		30,640
Other deferred expenses		12,762		12,762
Total current		4,553,070		2,582,838
Other Non-Current Assets:
Regulatory assets:
Premium on early retirement of debt		942,044		1,027,684
Accrued pension		2,168,902		2,168,902
Deferred LNG facility costs (Note 14)		2,093,937		—
Other deferred expenses		86,373		118,496
Total non-current		5,291,256		3,315,082

Total regulatory assets	$	9,844,326	$	5,897,920

Regulatory liabilities included in the Company’s accompanying balance sheets are as follows:

	June 30, 2026		September 30, 2025
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity:
Current Liabilities:
Regulatory liabilities:
Rate refund	$	275,400	$	—
Deferred income taxes		591,764		591,764
Supplier refunds		1,196,640		889,564
Other deferred liabilities		39,395		157,583
Total current		2,103,199		1,638,911
Deferred Credits and Other Non-Current Liabilities:
Regulatory cost of retirement obligations		17,016,675		15,869,691
Regulatory liabilities:
Deferred income taxes		10,637,754		13,649,719
Deferred postretirement medical		3,721,711		3,721,711
Total non-current		31,376,140		33,241,121

Total regulatory liabilities	$	33,479,339	$	34,880,032

As of June 30, 2026 and September 30, 2025, the Company had regulatory assets in the amount of $9,844,326 and $5,897,920, respectively, on which the Company did not earn a return during the recovery period.