New Jersey Resources (NJR) 10-Q 8 Feb 18 2018 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 06, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	NEW JERSEY RESOURCES CORP
Entity Central Index Key	356,309
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		87,594,863
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMEN

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
OPERATING REVENUES
Utility	$ 209,787	$ 185,556
Nonutility	495,518	355,472
Total operating revenues	705,305	541,028
OPERATING EXPENSES
Gas purchases - Utility	77,602	61,320
Gas purchases - Nonutility	445,084	337,932
Gas purchases - Related parties	2,149	2,111
Operation and maintenance	55,111	52,228
Regulatory rider expenses	11,769	12,601
Depreciation and amortization	21,854	19,260
Energy and other taxes	16,491	14,101
Total operating expenses	630,060	499,553
OPERATING INCOME	75,245	41,475
Other income, net	6,927	3,776
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	11,905	10,615
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND EQUITY IN EARNINGS OF AFFILIATES	70,267	34,636
Income tax (benefit) provision	(50,168)	2,018
Equity in earnings of affiliates	3,264	2,311
NET INCOME	$ 123,699	$ 34,929
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE
Basic (usd per share)	$ 1.42	$ 0.41
Diluted (usd per share)	1.42	0.40
DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE (usd per share)	$ 0.2725	$ 0.255
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING
Basic (in shares)	86,996	86,084
Diluted (in shares)	87,347	86,855

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEME3

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 123,699	$ 34,929
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax
Unrealized (loss) gain on available for sale securities, net of tax of $851 and $(3,786), respectively	(2,290)	5,515
Reclassifications of (gains) to net income on available for sale securities, net of tax of $2,178 and $0, respectively	(3,154)	0
Adjustment to postemployment benefit obligation, net of tax of $(136) and $(217), respectively	240	317
Other comprehensive (loss) income	(5,204)	5,832
Comprehensive income	$ 118,495	$ 40,761

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEME4

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Tax on unrealized (loss) gain on available for sale securities	$ 851	$ (3,786)
Tax on reclassifications of available for sale securities	2,178	0
Tax on adjustment for postemployment benefit obligation	$ (136)	$ (217)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEME5

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
CASH FLOWS USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income	$ 123,699	$ 34,929
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash flows from operating activities
Unrealized loss on derivative instruments	34,855	28,302
Gain on sale of available for sale securities, net	(5,332)	(2,581)
Depreciation and amortization	21,854	19,260
Amortization of acquired wholesale energy contracts	3,391	0
Allowance for equity used during construction	(852)	(584)
Allowance for bad debt expense	471	230
Deferred income taxes	(26,264)	16,262
Manufactured gas plant remediation costs	(5,147)	(1,619)
Distributions received from equity investees, net of equity in earnings	(257)	1,101
Cost of removal - asset retirement obligations	(332)	(198)
Contributions to postemployment benefit plans	(1,467)	(1,712)
Tax benefit from stock-based compensation	2,831	1,188
Changes in:
Components of working capital	(189,528)	(150,480)
Other noncurrent assets	13,188	9,823
Other noncurrent liabilities	5,388	15
Cash flows used in operating activities	(23,502)	(46,064)
Expenditures for:
Utility plant	(34,638)	(31,396)
Solar and wind equipment	(18,387)	(46,785)
Real estate properties and other	(1,313)	(171)
Cost of removal	(12,752)	(7,459)
Investments in equity investees	(7,202)	(4,636)
Distribution from equity investees in excess of equity in earnings	793	688
Cash paid related to acquisition	(10,000)	0
Withdrawal from restricted cash construction fund	(43)	0
Proceeds from sale of available for sale securities	6,616	3,218
Cash flows used in investing activities	(76,926)	(86,541)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Payments of long-term debt	(1,690)	(2,716)
Net proceeds from short-term debt	107,200	162,900
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transaction	7,820	9,587
Payments of common stock dividends	(23,607)	(21,931)
Proceeds from waiver discount issuance of common stock	22,690	0
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	3,846	4,616
Purchases of treasury stock	0	(6,355)
Tax withholding payments related to net settled stock compensation	(13,319)	(4,167)
Cash flows from financing activities	102,940	141,934
Change in cash and cash equivalents	2,512	9,329
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	2,226	37,546
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	4,738	46,875
CHANGES IN COMPONENTS OF WORKING CAPITAL
Receivables	(192,253)	(152,180)
Inventories	(2,561)	(13,954)
Recovery of gas costs	17,102	(2,472)
Gas purchases payable	43,284	47,772
Prepaid and accrued taxes	(12,418)	7,954
Accounts payable and other	(25,527)	(12,405)
Restricted broker margin accounts	(21,694)	(26,173)
Customers' credit balances and deposits	6,093	616
Other current assets	(1,554)	362
Components of working capital	(189,528)	(150,480)
Cash paid (received) for:
Interest (net of amounts capitalized)	9,758	8,153
Income taxes	(191)	(7,020)
Accrued capital expenditures	$ 26,034	$ 28,442

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Utility plant, at cost	$ 2,273,071	$ 2,241,324
Construction work in progress	121,679	119,318
Solar and wind equipment, real estate properties and other, at cost	848,900	843,142
Construction work in progress	28,566	7,286
Total property, plant and equipment	3,272,216	3,211,070
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, utility plant	(501,663)	(489,122)
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, solar and wind equipment, real estate properties and other	(121,260)	(112,207)
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,649,293	2,609,741
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	4,738	2,226
Customer accounts receivable
Billed	325,406	196,467
Unbilled revenues	70,138	7,202
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(5,274)	(5,181)
Regulatory assets	41,574	50,791
Gas in storage, at average cost	203,447	202,063
Materials and supplies, at average cost	13,121	11,944
Prepaid and accrued taxes	39,581	24,764
Derivatives, at fair value	46,299	30,081
Restricted broker margin accounts	52,850	25,827
Other	34,199	33,260
Total current assets	826,079	579,444
NONCURRENT ASSETS
Investments in equity method investees	179,429	172,585
Regulatory assets	362,150	375,919
Derivatives, at fair value	5,537	9,164
Available for sale securities	55,995	65,752
Intangible assets	37,693	41,084
Other noncurrent assets	70,752	74,818
Total noncurrent assets	711,556	739,322
Total assets	4,186,928	3,928,507
CAPITALIZATION
Common stock, $2.50 par value; authorized 150,000,000 shares; outstanding December 31, 2017 — 87,475,456; September 30, 2017 — 86,555,507	225,095	222,258
Premium on common stock	255,142	219,696
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	(8,460)	(3,256)
Treasury stock at cost and other; shares December 31, 2017 — 2,507,313; September 30, 2017 — 2,347,380	(91,859)	(70,039)
Retained earnings	967,852	867,984
Common stock equity	1,347,770	1,236,643
Long-term debt	1,001,183	997,080
Total capitalization	2,348,953	2,233,723
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Current maturities of long-term debt	166,167	165,375
Short-term debt	373,200	266,000
Gas purchases payable	203,401	160,115
Gas purchases payable to related parties	1,150	1,152
Accounts payable and other	75,924	96,878
Dividends payable	23,831	23,586
Accrued taxes	4,430	2,031
Regulatory liabilities	434	78
New Jersey clean energy program	12,626	14,202
Derivatives, at fair value	96,788	46,544
Customers' credit balances and deposits	33,050	26,957
Total current liabilities	991,001	802,918
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Deferred income taxes	238,367	514,708
Deferred investment tax credits	4,216	4,297
Deferred gain	27,531	27,728
Derivatives, at fair value	25,759	11,330
Manufactured gas plant remediation	144,046	149,000
Postemployment employee benefit liability	128,574	128,888
Regulatory liabilities	237,838	14,507
Asset retirement obligation	31,792	31,420
Other	8,851	9,988
Total noncurrent liabilities	846,974	891,866
Commitments and contingent liabilities (Note 12)
Total capitalization and liabilities	$ 4,186,928	$ 3,928,507

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE7

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Common stock, par value (usd per share)	$ 2.50	$ 2.50
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	150,000,000	150,000,000
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	87,475,456	86,555,507
Treasury stock at cost and other, shares (in shares)	2,507,313	2,347,380

NATURE OF THE BUSINESS

NATURE OF THE BUSINESS	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
NATURE OF THE BUSINESS	1. NATURE OF THE BUSINESS New Jersey Resources Corporation provides regulated gas distribution services and operates certain unregulated businesses primarily through the following subsidiaries: New Jersey Natural Gas Company provides natural gas utility service to approximately 534,400 retail customers in central and northern New Jersey and is subject to rate regulation by the BPU. NJNG comprises the Natural Gas Distribution segment; NJR Clean Energy Ventures Corporation, the Company's clean energy subsidiary, comprises the Clean Energy Ventures segment and consists of the Company's capital investments in commercial and residential solar projects located throughout New Jersey and onshore wind investments in Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming and Pennsylvania; NJR Energy Services Company and N JR Retail Services Company comprise the Energy Services segment. Energy Services maintains and transacts around a portfolio of natural gas storage and transportation capacity contracts and provides physical wholesale energy and energy management services in the U.S. and Canada and provides retail natural gas supply and transportation services to commercial and industrial customers in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; NJR Midstream Holdings Corporation, which comprises the Midstream segment, invests in energy-related ventures through its subsidiaries, NJR Steckman Ridge Storage Company, which holds the Company's 50 percent combined ownership interest in Steckman Ridge, located in Pennsylvania, NJR Pipeline Company, which holds the Company's 20 percent ownership interest in PennEast and NJNR Pipeline Company, which holds the Company's 1.84 million Common Units of Dominion Midstream Partners, L.P. See Note 6. Investments in Equity Investees for more information; and NJR Retail Holdings Corporation has two principal subsidiaries, NJR Home Services Company, which provides heating, central air conditioning, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes throughout New Jersey, and Commercial Realty & Resources Corporation, which owns commercial real estate. NJR Home Services Company and Commercial Realty & Resources Corporation are included in Home Services and Other operations.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTI

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared by NJR in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and GAAP. The September 30, 2017 Balance Sheet data is derived from the audited financial statements of the Company. These Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in NJR's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of NJR and its subsidiaries. In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented. These adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. Because of the seasonal nature of NJR's utility and wholesale energy services operations, in addition to other factors, the financial results for the interim periods presented are not indicative of the results that are to be expected for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018 . Intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. Gas in Storage The following table summarizes gas in storage, at average cost by company as of: December 31, September 30, ($ in thousands) Gas in Storage Bcf Gas in Storage Bcf Energy Services $ 144,456 51.9 $ 122,884 53.9 Natural Gas Distribution 58,991 16.5 79,179 21.8 Total $ 203,447 68.4 $ 202,063 75.7 Sales Tax Accounting Sales tax that is collected from customers is presented in both operating revenues and operating expenses on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations totaled $13.3 million during the three months ended December 31, 2017 , and $11.2 million during the three months ended December 31, 2016 . Effective January 1, 2017, the New Jersey sales tax rate decreased from 7 percent to 6.875 percent . Effective January 1, 2018, the New Jersey sales tax rate decreased again to 6.625 percent . Available for Sale Securities As of December 31, 2017 , included in available for sale securities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets is an investment in a publicly traded energy company. The Company's available for sale securities had a fair value of $56 million and $65.8 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. Total unrealized gains associated with this investment is included as a part of accumulated other comprehensive income, a component of common stock equity and was $9.9 million , $5.6 million after tax, and $12.8 million , $7.7 million after tax, as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. During the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , NJR received proceeds of approximately $6.6 million and $3.2 million , respectively, from the sale of available for sale securities and realized a pre-tax gain of $5.3 million and $2.6 million , respectively, which is included in other income, net on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Reclassifications of realized gains out of other comprehensive income into income are determined based on average cost. Customer Accounts Receivable Customer accounts receivable include outstanding billings from the following subsidiaries as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Energy Services $ 246,203 76 % $ 150,322 77 % Natural Gas Distribution (1) 72,067 22 37,432 19 Clean Energy Ventures 3,072 1 2,655 1 NJRHS and other 4,064 1 6,058 3 Total $ 325,406 100 % $ 196,467 100 % (1) Does not include unbilled revenues of $70.1 million and $7.2 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. Loans Receivable NJNG currently provides loans, with terms ranging from three to 10 years, to customers that elect to purchase and install certain energy efficient equipment in accordance with its BPU-approved SAVEGREEN program. The loans are recognized at net present value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recorded $9.4 million and $8.9 million in other current assets and $40.7 million and $40.4 million in other noncurrent assets as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, related to the loans. NJNG's policy is to establish an allowance for doubtful accounts when loan balances are in arrears for more than 60 days . As of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , there was no allowance for doubtful accounts established for the SAVEGREEN loans. Reclassification Certain prior period activities for the three months ended December 31, 2016 , were reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Recently Adopted Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification Inventory In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, an amendment to ASC 330, Inventory , which requires entities to measure most inventory “at the lower of cost or net realizable value,” thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 and applied the new provisions on a prospective basis, which did not impact its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. Other Recent Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification Revenue In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, and added Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , to the ASC. ASC 606 supersedes ASC 605, Revenue Recognition , as well as most industry-specific guidance, and prescribes a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model designed to improve financial reporting comparability across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, which defers the implementation of the new guidance for one year. The new guidance will not be early adopted and will be effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. The Company has concluded that its tariff based sales of natural gas will be within the scope of the new guidance. However, it does not anticipate any modification to the pattern of revenue recognition from such sales. The Company has also evaluated its renewable asset PPA arrangements and does not anticipate any modification to the pattern of revenue recognition of the related electricity, capacity and REC sales. Revenues from RECs sold as part of a bundled arrangement will be recognized in the same period as the related generation, consistent with current practice. Based on the review of customer contracts to date, the Company is not anticipating a material impact to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. The Company anticipates significant new disclosures as a result of the implementation of ASC 606 and currently expects to transition to the new guidance using the modified retrospective approach. The Company is also monitoring industry specific developments that may have an impact. Financial Instruments In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, an amendment to ASC 825, Financial Instruments, to address certain aspects of the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. The standard affects investments in equity securities that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method and the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. It also simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without a readily determinable fair value by requiring a qualitative assessment. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a modified retrospective basis. The Company evaluated the amendment and noted that, upon adoption, subsequent changes to the fair value of the Company’s available for sale securities will be recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as opposed to other comprehensive income. The Company does not expect any other material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, an amendment to ASC 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, which changes the impairment model for certain financial assets that have a contractual right to receive cash, including trade and loan receivables. The new model requires recognition based upon an estimation of expected credit losses rather than recognition of losses when it is probable that they have been incurred. An entity will apply the amendment through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the amendment to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption and will apply the new guidance to its trade and loan receivables on a modified retrospective basis. Leases In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, an amendment to ASC 842, Leases , which provides for a comprehensive overhaul of the lease accounting model and changes the definition of a lease within the accounting literature. Under the new standard, all leases with a term greater than one year will be recorded on the balance sheet. Amortization of the related asset will be accounted for using one of two approaches prescribed by the guidance. Additional disclosures will be required to allow the user to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing activities. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for leases existing at the time of adoption. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company continues to evaluate the provisions of ASC 842 and is actively monitoring industry specific developments including the exposure draft issued by the FASB that would introduce a land easement practical expedient to ASC 842. At this time, the Company does not plan to early adopt the new guidance and expects to elect the practical expedient package in the new guidance during transition. Statement of Cash Flows In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows , which addresses eight specific cash flow issues for which there has been diversity in practice. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company does not expect any material impacts to its cash flows upon adoption. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows , which requires that any amounts that are deemed to be restricted cash or restricted cash-equivalents be included in cash and cash-equivalent balances on the cash flow statement and, therefore, transfers between cash and restricted cash accounts will no longer be recognized within the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis. Based on the Company's historical restricted cash balances, it does not expect any material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. Business Combinations In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, an amendment to ASC 805, Business Combinations , clarifying the definition of a business in the ASC, which is intended to reduce the complexity surrounding the assessment of a transaction as an asset acquisition or business combination. The amendment provides an initial fair value screen to reduce the number of transactions that would fit the definition of a business, and when the screen threshold is not met, provides an updated model that further clarifies the characteristics of a business. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a prospective basis. The amendment could potentially have material impacts on future transactions that the Company may enter into by altering the Company’s conclusion on the accounting applied to acquisitions. Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, an amendment to ASC 610-20, Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets , which clarifies the scope and accounting related to the derecognition of nonfinancial assets, including partial sales and contributions of nonfinancial assets to a joint venture or other non-controlled investee. The guidance is effective concurrently with ASC 606, which is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year with early adoption permitted. ASU No. 2017-05 may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented or retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. The Company has determined that to the extent a deferred gain exists related to nonfinancial assets on the balance sheet upon adoption, it would be recognized under the new accounting guidance as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Compensation - Retirement Benefits In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, an amendment to ASC 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits , which changes the presentation of net periodic benefit cost on the income statement by requiring companies to present all components of net periodic benefit cost, other than service cost, outside a subtotal of income from operations. The amendment also states that only the service cost component of net periodic benefits costs is eligible for capitalization, when applicable. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis for presentation and changes to capitalization of costs will be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is continuing to evaluate the amendment to fully understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption. The Company is also monitoring industry specific developments on the new guidance to determine the appropriate treatment of these changes in a rate regulated environment. Stock Compensation In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, an amendment to ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation , which clarifies the accounting for changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payments. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after the adoption date. The Company is currently evaluating the amendments to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption. Derivatives and Hedging In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, an amendment to ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging , which is intended to make targeted improvements to the accounting for hedging activities by better aligning an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships. These amendments modify the accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components and align the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. Additionally, the amendments are intended to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance and provide relief to companies by easing certain hedge documentation requirements. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the transition requirements and elections will be applied to hedging relationships existing on the date of adoption. The Company does not currently apply hedge accounting to any of its risk management activities and thus does not expect the amendments to have any impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption.

REGULATION

REGULATION	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Regulated Operations [Abstract]
REGULATION	3. REGULATION NJNG is subject to cost-based regulation, therefore, it is permitted to recover authorized operating expenses and earn a reasonable return on its utility capital investments based on the BPU's approval. The impact of the ratemaking process and decisions authorized by the BPU allows NJNG to capitalize or defer certain costs that are expected to be recovered from its customers as regulatory assets and to recognize certain obligations representing amounts that are probable future expenditures as regulatory liabilities in accordance with accounting guidance applicable to regulated operations. NJNG's recovery of costs is facilitated through its base rates, BGSS and other regulatory tariff riders. NJNG is required to make annual filings to the BPU for review of its BGSS, CIP and various other programs and related rates. Annual rate changes are typically requested to be effective at the beginning of the following fiscal year. All rate and program changes are subject to proper notification and BPU review and approval. In addition, NJNG is also permitted to implement certain BGSS rate changes on an interim basis with proper notification to the BPU. Regulatory assets and liabilities included on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets are comprised of the following: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Regulatory assets-current New Jersey Clean Energy Program $ 12,626 $ 14,202 Underrecovered gas costs 490 9,910 Derivatives at fair value, net 18,471 9,010 Conservation Incentive Program 9,987 17,669 Total current regulatory assets $ 41,574 $ 50,791 Regulatory assets-noncurrent Environmental remediation costs Expended, net of recoveries $ 31,236 $ 28,547 Liability for future expenditures 144,046 149,000 Deferred income taxes 16,356 21,795 SAVEGREEN 13,419 16,302 Postemployment and other benefit costs 138,681 141,433 Deferred Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy costs 12,487 13,030 Other noncurrent regulatory assets 5,925 5,812 Total noncurrent regulatory assets $ 362,150 $ 375,919 Regulatory liability-current Derivatives at fair value, net $ 434 $ 78 Total current regulatory liabilities $ 434 $ 78 Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent Deferred income taxes (1) $ 229,315 $ — Cost of removal obligation — 7,902 Derivatives at fair value, net — 146 New Jersey Clean Energy Program 7,527 5,795 Other noncurrent regulatory liabilities 996 664 Total noncurrent regulatory liabilities $ 237,838 $ 14,507 (1) Includes an adjustment related to the re-measurement of NJNG's net deferred tax liabilities to reflect the change in federal tax rates enacted in the Tax Act . For a more detailed discussion of the Tax Act, s ee Note 11. Income Taxes . Regulatory filings and/or actions that occurred during the current fiscal year include the following: • On October 20, 2017 , the BPU approved NJNG's filing to decrease its EE recovery rate, which will result in an annual decrease of $3.9 million , effective November 1, 2017 . • On November 17, 2017 , NJNG filed its annual SBC application requesting to recover remediation expenses incurred through June 30, 2017, a reduction in the RAC, which will result in an annual decrease of $2.4 million and to increase the NJCEP factor, which will result in an annual increase of $1.8 million , effective April 1, 2018 . • On December 22, 2017 , the Tax Act was signed into law, which resulted in a reduction in the federal corporate tax rate. As a result, NJNG recorded a regulatory liability of $228 million , which includes $164.3 million for the revaluation of its deferred income taxes and $63.7 million for the accounting of the income tax effects on the revaluation. The revaluation is based on certain assumptions and estimations NJNG made with respect to its deferred taxes, as well as the effects from the Tax Act, and as such are subject to change if and when assumptions are updated. See Note 11. Income Taxes for a more detailed discussion on the Tax Act. On January 31, 2018, the BPU issued an Order directing the New Jersey utilities to submit filings by March 2, 2018, proposing the prospective change in rates as a result of the Tax Act to be effective April 1, 2018, the method to return to customers the rate difference from January 1, 2018, through March 31, 2018, and an outline of the method by which the excess deferred taxes would be returned to customers. The excess deferred taxes are primarily related to timing differences associated with utility plant depreciation and are subject to IRS normalization rules, which require amortization over the remaining life of the utility plant. The return to customers of the plant-related excess deferred taxes, as well as any non-plant related excess deferred taxes will be addressed in NJNG’s filing to the BPU.

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS	4. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS The Company is subject to commodity price risk due to fluctuations in the market price of natural gas, SRECs and electricity. To manage this risk, the Company enters into a variety of derivative instruments including, but not limited to, futures contracts, physical forward contracts, financial options and swaps to economically hedge the commodity price risk associated with its existing and anticipated commitments to purchase and sell natural gas, SRECs and electricity. In addition, the Company may utilize foreign currency derivatives to hedge Canadian dollar denominated gas purchases and/or sales. Therefore, the Company's primary underlying risks include commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency. These contracts are accounted for as derivatives. Accordingly, all of the financial and certain of the Company's physical derivative instruments are recorded at fair value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. For a more detailed discussion of the Company's fair value measurement policies and level disclosures associated with NJR's derivative instruments, see Note 5. Fair Value . Energy Services Energy Services chooses not to designate its financial commodity and physical forward commodity derivatives as accounting hedges or to elect NPNS. The changes in the fair value of these derivatives are recorded as a component of gas purchases or operating revenues, as appropriate for Energy Services, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as unrealized gains or losses. For Energy Services at settlement, realized gains and losses on all financial derivative instruments are recognized as a component of gas purchases and realized gains and losses on all physical derivatives follow the presentation of the related unrealized gains and losses as a component of either gas purchases or operating revenues. Energy Services also enters into natural gas transactions in Canada and, consequently, is exposed to fluctuations in the value of Canadian currency relative to the U.S. dollar. Energy Services may utilize foreign currency derivatives to lock in the exchange rate associated with natural gas transactions denominated in Canadian currency. The derivatives may include currency forwards, futures, or swaps and are accounted for as derivatives. These derivatives are typically used to hedge demand fee payments on pipeline capacity, storage and gas purchase agreements. As a result of Energy Services entering into transactions to borrow natural gas, commonly referred to as “park and loans,” an embedded derivative is recognized relating to differences between the fair value of the amount borrowed and the fair value of the amount that will ultimately be repaid, based on changes in the forward price for natural gas prices at the borrowed location over the contract term. This embedded derivative is accounted for as a forward sale in the month in which the repayment of the borrowed gas is expected to occur, and is considered a derivative transaction that is recorded at fair value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, with changes in value recognized in current period earnings. Expected production of SRECs is hedged through the use of forward and futures contracts. All contracts require the Company to physically deliver SRECs through the transfer of certificates as per contractual settlement schedules. The Company applies NPNS accounting to SREC forward and futures contracts entered into on or before December 31, 2015. Effective for contracts executed on or after January 1, 2016, Energy Services no longer elects NPNS accounting treatment on all SREC forward sales contracts and recognizes changes in the fair value of these derivatives as a component of operating revenues. Upon settlement of the contract, the related revenue is recognized when the SREC is transferred to the counterparty. NPNS is a contract-by-contract election and, where it makes sense to do so, we can and may elect normal accounting for certain contracts. Natural Gas Distribution Changes in fair value of NJNG's financial commodity derivatives are recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company elects NPNS accounting treatment on all physical commodity contracts that NJNG entered into on or before December 31, 2015, and accounts for these contracts on an accrual basis. Accordingly, physical natural gas purchases are recognized in regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets when the contract settles and the natural gas is delivered. The average cost of natural gas is charged to expense in the current period earnings based on the BGSS factor times the therm sales. Effective for contracts executed on or after January 1, 2016, NJNG no longer elects NPNS accounting treatment on all physical forward commodity contracts. However, since NPNS is a contract-by-contract election, where it makes sense to do so, we can and may elect certain contracts to be normal. Because NJNG recovers these amounts through future BGSS rates as increases or decreases to the cost of natural gas in NJNG’s tariff for gas service, the changes in fair value of these contracts are deferred as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. In June 2015, NJNG entered into a BPU-approved treasury lock transaction to fix a benchmark treasury rate of 3.26 percent associated with a forecasted $125 million debt issuance expected in May 2018. This forecasted debt issuance coincides with the maturity of NJNG's existing $125 million , 5.6 percent notes due May 15, 2018 . The change in fair value of NJNG's treasury lock agreement is recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets since NJNG believes that the market value upon settlement will be recovered in future rates. Upon settlement, any gain or loss will be amortized into earnings over the life of the future underlying debt issuance. Fair Value of Derivatives The following table reflects the fair value of NJR's derivative assets and liabilities recognized on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of: Fair Value December 31, 2017 September 30, 2017 (Thousands) Balance Sheet Location Asset Derivatives Liability Derivatives Asset Derivatives Liability Derivatives Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: Natural Gas Distribution: Physical commodity contracts Derivatives - current $ 487 $ 53 $ 151 $ 72 Financial commodity contracts Derivatives - current — 3,478 — 1,149 Interest rate contracts Derivatives - current — 12,534 — 8,467 Energy Services: Physical commodity contracts Derivatives - current 13,247 24,531 14,588 16,589 Derivatives - noncurrent 2,801 14,256 7,127 8,710 Financial commodity contracts Derivatives - current 32,559 56,188 15,302 20,267 Derivatives - noncurrent 2,706 11,477 2,033 2,620 Foreign currency contracts Derivatives - current 6 4 40 — Derivatives - noncurrent 30 26 4 — Total fair value of derivatives $ 51,836 $ 122,547 $ 39,245 $ 57,874 Offsetting of Derivatives The Company transacts under master netting arrangements or equivalent agreements that allow it to offset derivative assets and liabilities with the same counterparty. However, the Company’s policy is to present its derivative assets and liabilities on a gross basis at the contract level unit of account on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table summarizes the reported gross amounts, the amounts that the Company has the right to offset but elects not to, financial collateral, as well as the net amounts the Company could present on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets but elects not to. (Thousands) Amounts Presented on Balance Sheets (1) Offsetting Derivative Instruments (2) Financial Collateral Received/Pledged (3) Net Amounts (4) As of December 31, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 16,048 $ (3,137 ) $ (200 ) $ 12,711 Financial commodity contracts 35,265 (29,434 ) (5,327 ) 504 Foreign currency contracts 36 (30 ) — 6 Total Energy Services $ 51,349 $ (32,601 ) $ (5,527 ) $ 13,221 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 38,787 $ (3,137 ) $ — $ 35,650 Financial commodity contracts 67,665 (29,434 ) (38,231 ) — Foreign currency contracts 30 (30 ) — — Total Energy Services $ 106,482 $ (32,601 ) $ (38,231 ) $ 35,650 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 53 $ (25 ) $ — $ 28 Financial commodity contracts 3,478 — (3,478 ) — Interest rate contracts 12,534 — — 12,534 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 16,065 $ (25 ) $ (3,478 ) $ 12,562 As of September 30, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 21,715 $ (2,173 ) $ (200 ) $ 19,342 Financial commodity contracts 17,335 (14,121 ) — 3,214 Foreign currency contracts 44 — — 44 Total Energy Services $ 39,094 $ (16,294 ) $ (200 ) $ 22,600 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 25,299 $ (2,173 ) $ — $ 23,126 Financial commodity contracts 22,887 (14,121 ) (8,766 ) — Total Energy Services $ 48,186 $ (16,294 ) $ (8,766 ) $ 23,126 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 72 $ (20 ) $ — $ 52 Financial commodity contracts 1,149 — (1,149 ) — Interest rate contracts 8,467 — — 8,467 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 9,688 $ (20 ) $ (1,149 ) $ 8,519 (1) Derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis on the balance sheet as the Company does not elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20. (2) Includes transactions with NAESB netting election, transactions held by FCMs with net margining and transactions with ISDA netting. (3) Financial collateral includes cash balances at FCMs as well as cash received from or pledged to other counterparties. (4) Net amounts represent presentation of derivative assets and liabilities if the Company were to elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20. Energy Services utilizes financial derivatives to economically hedge the gross margin associated with the purchase of physical gas to be used for storage injection and its subsequent sale at a later date. The gains or (losses) on the financial transactions that are economic hedges of the cost of the purchased gas are recognized prior to the gains or (losses) on the physical transaction, which are recognized in earnings when the natural gas is delivered. Therefore, mismatches between the timing of the recognition of realized gains or (losses) on the financial derivative instruments and gains or (losses) associated with the actual sale of the natural gas that is being economically hedged along with fair value changes in derivative instruments creates volatility in the results of Energy Services, although the Company's intended economic results relating to the entire transaction are unaffected. The following table reflects the effect of derivative instruments on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as of: (Thousands) Location of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives Three Months Ended December 31, Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: 2017 2016 Energy Services: Physical commodity contracts Operating revenues $ 1,210 $ 1,743 Physical commodity contracts Gas purchases (22,697 ) (8,799 ) Financial commodity contracts Gas purchases (25,997 ) (30,611 ) Foreign currency contracts Gas purchases (48 ) (86 ) Total unrealized and realized gains (losses) $ (47,532 ) $ (37,753 ) NJNG’s derivative contracts are part of the Company's risk management activities that relate to its natural gas purchases, BGSS incentive programs and debt financing. These transactions are entered into pursuant to regulatory approval. At settlement, the resulting gains and/or losses are payable to or recoverable from utility customers and are deferred in regulatory assets or liabilities resulting in no impact to earnings. The following table reflects the (losses) gains associated with NJNG's derivative instruments as of: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Natural Gas Distribution: Physical commodity contracts $ (2,976 ) $ 1,050 Financial commodity contracts (8,808 ) 11,178 Interest rate contracts (4,067 ) 20,371 Total unrealized and realized (losses) gains $ (15,851 ) $ 32,599 NJNG and Energy Services had the following outstanding long (short) derivatives as of: Volume (Bcf) December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution Futures 20.4 18.2 Physical 26.8 32.1 Energy Services Futures (33.4 ) (16.4 ) Physical (4.6 ) (13.1 ) Not included in the previous table are Energy Services' gross notional amount of foreign currency transactions of approximately $9.7 million , NJNG’s treasury lock agreement as previously discussed and 403,000 SRECs at Energy Services that are open as of December 31, 2017 . Broker Margin Futures exchanges have contract specific margin requirements that require the posting of cash or cash equivalents relating to traded contracts. Margin requirements consist of initial margin that is posted upon the initiation of a position, maintenance margin that is usually expressed as a percent of initial margin, and variation margin that fluctuates based on the daily marked-to-market relative to maintenance margin requirements. The Company maintains separate broker margin accounts for the Natural Gas Distribution and Energy Services segments. The balances are as follows: (Thousands) Balance Sheet Location December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution Broker margin - Current assets $ 4,632 $ 2,661 Energy Services Broker margin - Current assets $ 48,218 $ 23,166 Wholesale Credit Risk NJNG, Energy Services and Clean Energy Ventures are exposed to credit risk as a result of their sales/wholesale marketing activities. As a result of the inherent volatility in the prices of natural gas commodities, derivatives, SRECs, electricity and RECs, the market value of contractual positions with individual counterparties could exceed established credit limits or collateral provided by those counterparties. If a counterparty fails to perform the obligations under its contract (e.g., failed to deliver or pay for natural gas, SRECs, electricity or RECs), then the Company could sustain a loss. NJR monitors and manages the credit risk of its wholesale operations through credit policies and procedures that management believes reduce overall credit risk. These policies include a review and evaluation of current and prospective counterparties' financial statements and/or credit ratings, daily monitoring of counterparties' credit limits and exposure, daily communication with traders regarding credit status and the use of credit mitigation measures, such as collateral requirements and netting agreements. Examples of collateral include letters of credit and cash received for either prepayment or margin deposit. Collateral may be requested due to NJR's election not to extend credit or because exposure exceeds defined thresholds. Most of NJR's wholesale marketing contracts contain standard netting provisions. These contracts include those governed by ISDA and the NAESB. The netting provisions refer to payment netting, whereby receivables and payables with the same counterparty are offset and the resulting net amount is paid to the party to which it is due. Internally-rated exposure applies to counterparties that are not rated by S&P or Moody's. In these cases, the counterparty's or guarantor's financial statements are reviewed, and similar methodologies and ratios used by S&P and/or Moody's are applied to arrive at a substitute rating. Gross credit exposure is defined as the unrealized fair value of physical and financial derivative commodity contracts, plus any outstanding wholesale receivable for the value of natural gas delivered and/or financial derivative commodity contract that has settled for which payment has not yet been received. The following is a summary of gross credit exposures grouped by investment and noninvestment grade counterparties, as of December 31, 2017 . The amounts presented below have not been reduced by any collateral received or netting and exclude accounts receivable for NJNG retail natural gas sales and services and Clean Energy Ventures residential solar installations. (Thousands) Gross Credit Exposure Investment grade $ 182,514 Noninvestment grade 25,079 Internally rated investment grade 25,435 Internally rated noninvestment grade 61,714 Total $ 294,742 Conversely, certain of NJNG's and Energy Services' derivative instruments are linked to agreements containing provisions that would require cash collateral payments from the Company if certain events occur. These provisions vary based upon the terms in individual counterparty agreements and can result in cash payments if NJNG's credit rating were to fall below its current level. NJNG's credit rating, with respect to S&P, reflects the overall corporate credit profile of NJR. Specifically, most, but not all, of these additional payments will be triggered if NJNG's debt is downgraded by the major credit agencies, regardless of investment grade status. In addition, some of these agreements include threshold amounts that would result in additional collateral payments if the values of derivative liabilities were to exceed the maximum values provided for in relevant counterparty agreements. Other provisions include payment features that are not specifically linked to ratings, but are based on certain financial metrics. Collateral amounts associated with any of these conditions are determined based on a sliding scale and are contingent upon the degree to which the Company's credit rating and/or financial metrics deteriorate, and the extent to which liability amounts exceed applicable threshold limits. The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that were in a liability position on December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , was $14 million and $8.7 million , respectively, for which the Company had not posted collateral. If all thresholds related to the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements had been invoked on December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , the Company would have been required to post an additional $13.1 million and $8.6 million , respectively, to its counterparties. These amounts differ from the respective net derivative liabilities reflected on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets because the agreements also include clauses, commonly known as “Rights of Offset,” that would permit the Company to offset its derivative assets against its derivative liabilities for determining additional collateral to be posted, as previously discussed.

FAIR VALUE

FAIR VALUE	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
FAIR VALUE	5. FAIR VALUE Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities The fair value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, current loan receivables, accounts payable, commercial paper and borrowings under revolving credit facilities are estimated to equal their carrying amounts due to the short maturity of those instruments. Non-current loan receivables are recorded based on what the Company expects to receive, which approximates fair value. The Company regularly evaluates the credit quality and collection profile of its customers to approximate fair value. The estimated fair value of long-term debt at NJNG and NJR, including current maturities, excluding capital leases, debt issuance costs and solar asset financing obligations, is as follows: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Carrying value (1) (2) (3) $ 1,097,045 $ 1,097,045 Fair market value $ 1,111,265 $ 1,107,676 (1) Excludes capital leases of $45 million and $39.7 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. (2) Excludes NJNG's debt issuance costs of $6.2 million and $6.3 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. (3) Excludes NJR's debt issuance costs of $804,000 and $770,000 as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. NJR utilizes a discounted cash flow method to determine the fair value of its debt. Inputs include observable municipal and corporate yields, as appropriate for the maturity of the specific issue and the Company's credit rating. As of December 31, 2017 , NJR discloses its debt within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Fair Value Hierarchy NJR applies fair value measurement guidance to its financial assets and liabilities, as appropriate, which include financial derivatives and physical commodity contracts qualifying as derivatives, available for sale securities and other financial assets and liabilities. In addition, authoritative accounting literature prescribes the use of a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value based on the source of the data used to develop the price inputs. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to inputs that are based on unobservable market data and include the following: Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. NJR's Level 1 assets and liabilities include exchange traded natural gas futures and options contracts, listed equities and money market funds. Exchange traded futures and options contracts include all energy contracts traded on the NYMEX, CME and ICE that NJR refers internally to as basis swaps, fixed swaps, futures and financial options that are cleared through a FCM. Level 2 Other significant observable inputs such as interest rates or price data, including both commodity and basis pricing that is observed either directly or indirectly from publications or pricing services. NJR's Level 2 assets and liabilities include over-the-counter physical forward commodity contracts and swap contracts, SREC forward sales or derivatives that are initially valued using observable quotes and are subsequently adjusted to include time value, credit risk or estimated transport pricing components for which no basis price is available. Level 2 financial derivatives consist of transactions with non-FCM counterparties (basis swaps, fixed swaps and/or options). NJNG's treasury lock is also considered Level 2 as valuation is based on quoted market interest and swap rates as inputs to the valuation model. Inputs are verifiable and do not require significant management judgment. For some physical commodity contracts the Company utilizes transportation tariff rates that are publicly available and that it considers to be observable inputs that are equivalent to market data received from an independent source. There are no significant judgments or adjustments applied to the transportation tariff inputs and no market perspective is required. Even if the transportation tariff input were considered to be a “model,” it would still be considered to be a Level 2 input as the data is: • widely accepted and public; • non-proprietary and sourced from an independent third party; and • observable and published. These additional adjustments are generally not considered to be significant to the ultimate recognized values. Level 3 Inputs derived from a significant amount of unobservable market data. These include NJR's best estimate of fair value and are derived primarily through the use of internal valuation methodologies. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized as follows: Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets Significant Other Observable Inputs Significant Unobservable Inputs (Thousands) (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) Total As of December 31, 2017: Assets: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 16,535 $ — $ 16,535 Financial commodity contracts 35,265 — — 35,265 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 36 — 36 Available for sale equity securities - energy industry 55,995 — — 55,995 Other (1) 1,106 — — 1,106 Total assets at fair value $ 92,366 $ 16,571 $ — $ 108,937 Liabilities: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 38,840 $ — $ 38,840 Financial commodity contracts 71,143 — — 71,143 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 30 — 30 Interest rate contracts — 12,534 — 12,534 Total liabilities at fair value $ 71,143 $ 51,404 $ — $ 122,547 As of September 30, 2017: Assets: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 21,866 $ — $ 21,866 Financial commodity contracts 17,335 17,335 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 44 — 44 Available for sale equity securities - energy industry 65,752 — — 65,752 Other (1) 1,202 — — 1,202 Total assets at fair value $ 84,289 $ 21,910 $ — $ 106,199 Liabilities: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 25,371 $ — $ 25,371 Financial commodity contracts 24,036 — — 24,036 Interest rate contracts — 8,467 — 8,467 Total liabilities at fair value $ 24,036 $ 33,838 $ — $ 57,874 (1) Includes money market funds of $4,000 and $112,000 as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively.

INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY METHOD IN

INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY METHOD INVESTEES	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY METHOD INVESTEES	6. INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY INVESTEES NJR's investments in equity method investees include the following as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Steckman Ridge (1) $ 119,433 $ 120,262 PennEast 59,996 52,323 Total $ 179,429 $ 172,585 (1) Includes loans with a total outstanding principal balance of $70.4 million for both December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 . The loans accrue interest at a variable rate that resets quarterly and are due October 1, 2023. The Company, through its subsidiary NJR Pipeline Company, is an investor in PennEast, which is expected to construct and operate a 120 -mile pipeline that will extend from northeast Pennsylvania to western New Jersey and is estimated to be completed and operational in 2019 . NJNG and Energy Services have entered into storage and park and loan agreements with Steckman Ridge. In addition, NJNG has entered into a precedent capacity agreement with PennEast. See Note 14. Related Party Transactions for more information on these intercompany transactions.

EARNINGS PER SHARE

EARNINGS PER SHARE	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
EARNINGS PER SHARE	7. EARNINGS PER SHARE The following table presents the calculation of the Company's basic and diluted earnings per share for: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands, except per share amounts) 2017 2016 Net income, as reported $ 123,699 $ 34,929 Basic earnings per share Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic 86,996 86,084 Basic earnings per common share $1.42 $0.41 Diluted earnings per share Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic 86,996 86,084 Incremental shares (1) 351 771 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-diluted 87,347 86,855 Diluted earnings per common share (2) $1.42 $0.40 (1) Incremental shares consist primarily of unvested stock awards and performance shares. (2) There were no anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 .

COMMON STOCK EQUITY

COMMON STOCK EQUITY	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Equity [Abstract]
COMMON STOCK EQUITY	8. COMMON STOCK EQUITY Changes in common stock equity during the three months ended December 31, 2017 , were as follows: (Thousands) Number of Shares Common Stock Premium on Common Stock Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income Treasury Stock And Other Retained Earnings Total Balance at September 30, 2017 86,556 $ 222,258 $ 219,696 $ (3,256 ) $ (70,039 ) $ 867,984 $ 1,236,643 Net income 123,699 123,699 Other comprehensive income (5,204 ) (5,204 ) Common stock issued: Incentive plan 525 1,453 13,951 15,404 Dividend reinvestment plan (1) 90 245 3,554 3,799 Waiver discount 554 1,384 21,306 22,690 Cash dividend declared ($.2725 per share) (23,831 ) (23,831 ) Treasury stock and other (250 ) (56 ) (25,374 ) (25,430 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 87,475 $ 225,095 $ 255,142 $ (8,460 ) $ (91,859 ) $ 967,852 $ 1,347,770 (1) Shares sold through the DRP are issued from treasury stock at average cost, which may differ from the actual market price paid. NJR satisfies its external common equity requirements, if any, through issuances of its common stock, including the proceeds from stock issuances under its DRP. The DRP allows NJR, at its option, to use treasury shares or newly issued shares to raise capital. NJR raised $3.8 million and $4.6 million of equity through the DRP, by issuing approximately 90,000 and 139,000 shares of treasury stock, during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. During the three months ended December 31, 2017 , NJR raised approximately $22.7 million of equity by issuing approximately 554,000 new shares through the waiver discount feature of the DRP. NJR issued no new shares during the three months ended December 31, 2016 . Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) The following table presents the changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of related tax effects during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 : (Thousands) Available for Sale Securities Postemployment Benefit Obligation Total Balance at September 30, 2017 $ 11,044 $ (14,300 ) $ (3,256 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax Other comprehensive (loss), before reclassifications, net of tax of $851, $0, $851 (2,290 ) — (2,290 ) Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $2,178, $(136), $2,042 (3,154 ) 240 (1) (2,914 ) Net current-period other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $3,029, $(136), $2,893 (5,444 ) 240 (5,204 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 $ 5,600 $ (14,060 ) $ (8,460 ) Balance as of September 30, 2016 $ 4,198 $ (19,353 ) $ (15,155 ) Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax Other comprehensive income, before reclassifications, net of tax of $(4,840), $0, $(4,840) 7,042 — 7,042 Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $1,054, $(217), $837 (1,527 ) 317 (1) (1,210 ) Net current-period other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(3,786), $(217), $(4,003) 5,515 317 5,832 Balance as of December 31, 2016 $ 9,713 $ (19,036 ) $ (9,323 ) (1) Included in the computation of net periodic pension cost, a component of operations and maintenance expense on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

DEBT

DEBT	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
DEBT	9. DEBT NJR and NJNG finance working capital requirements and capital expenditures through various short-term debt and long-term financing arrangements, including a commercial paper program, committed unsecured credit facilities and private placement debt shelf facilities. Credit Facilities A summary of NJR's credit facility and NJNG's commercial paper program and credit facility are as follows: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Expiration Dates NJR Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 425,000 $ 425,000 September 2020 Notes outstanding at end of period $ 327,200 $ 255,000 Weighted average interest rate at end of period 2.26 % 2.14 % Amount available at end of period (2) $ 86,834 $ 156,601 Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 75,000 $ — April 2018 Amount available at end of period $ 75,000 $ — NJNG Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 250,000 $ 250,000 May 2019 Commercial paper outstanding at end of period $ 46,000 $ 11,000 Weighted average interest rate at end of period 1.33 % 1.13 % Amount available at end of period (3) $ 203,269 $ 238,269 (1) Committed credit facilities, which require commitment fees on the unused amounts. (2) Letters of credit outstanding total $11 million and $13.4 million for December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively, which reduces amount available by the same amount. (3) Letters of credit outstanding total $731,000 for both December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , which reduces the amount available by the same amount. On December 14, 2017 , NJR entered into a four-month, $75 million revolving line of credit facility, which will expire on April 14, 2018 . As of December 31, 2017 , there were no borrowings against the facility. On January 19, 2018 , NJR amended the agreement to increase the available amount to $100 million . Amounts available under credit facilities are reduced by bank or commercial paper borrowings, as applicable, and any outstanding letters of credit. Neither NJNG nor the results of its operations are obligated or pledged to support the NJR credit or debt shelf facilities. Long-term Debt NJNG NJNG received $7.8 million and $9.6 million in December 2017 and 2016 , respectively, in connection with the sale-leaseback of its natural gas meters. NJNG records a capital lease obligation that is paid over the term of the lease and has the option to purchase the meters back at fair value upon expiration of the lease. NJNG exercised early purchase options with respect to meter leases by making final principal payments of $1.1 million and $1 million during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. NJR On January 26, 2018 , NJR entered into a variable-for-fixed interest rate swap on NJR's existing $100 million variable rate term loan due August 16, 2019 , which fixed the variable rate at 2.84 percent .

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	10. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS Pension and Other Postemployment Benefit Plans The components of the net periodic cost for pension benefits, including the Company's Pension Equalization Plan, and OPEB costs (principally health care and life insurance) for employees and covered dependents were as follows: Pension OPEB Three Months Ended Three Months Ended December 31, December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 Service cost $ 2,035 $ 2,087 $ 1,152 $ 1,095 Interest cost 2,623 2,443 1,591 1,386 Expected return on plan assets (4,910 ) (4,828 ) (1,338 ) (1,192 ) Recognized actuarial loss 1,884 2,207 1,165 1,093 Prior service cost amortization 27 27 (91 ) (91 ) Net periodic benefit cost $ 1,659 $ 1,936 $ 2,479 $ 2,291 The Company does not expect to be required to make additional contributions to fund the pension plans during fiscal 2018 or 2019 based on current actuarial assumptions; however, funding requirements are uncertain and can depend significantly on changes in actuarial assumptions, returns on plan assets and changes in the demographics of eligible employees and covered dependents. In addition, as in the past, the Company may elect to make contributions in excess of the minimum required amount to the plans. There were no discretionary contributions made during the three months ended December 31, 2017 .

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
INCOME TAXES	11. INCOME TAXES ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes requires the use of an estimated annual effective tax rate for purposes of determining the income tax provision during interim reporting periods. In calculating its estimated annual effective tax rate, NJR considers forecasted annual pre-tax income and estimated permanent book versus tax differences, as well as tax credits associated with solar and wind projects. For investment tax credits, the estimate is based on solar projects that are probable of being completed and placed in service during the current fiscal year based on the best information available at each reporting period. For production tax credits, the estimate is based on the forecast of electricity produced during the current fiscal year based on the best information available at each reporting period. Adjustments to the effective tax rate and management's estimates will occur as information and assumptions change. Changes in tax laws or tax rates are recognized in the financial reporting period that includes the enactment date, the date in which the act is signed into law. NJR evaluates its tax positions to determine the appropriate accounting and recognition of potential future obligations associated with unrecognized tax benefits. During the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , the Company determined there was no need to recognize any liabilities associated with uncertain tax positions. The Tax Act On December 22, 2017, the President signed into law the Tax Act. The law made several changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the most impactful to the Company of which was a reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent that became effective January 1, 2018. Since the Company's fiscal year end is September 30, it is required by the Internal Revenue Code to calculate a statutory rate based upon the federal tax rates in effect before and after the effective date of the change in the taxable year that includes the effective date. Accordingly, the Company will use a federal statutory tax rate of 24.5 percent during fiscal 2018 and will use the enacted rate of 21 percent beginning in fiscal 2019. As a result of the changes associated with the Tax Act, the Company revalued its deferred tax assets and liabilities at the enactment date to reflect the rates that will be in effect when the deferred tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. The decrease of the net deferred tax liability at NJNG of $228 million , which includes $164.3 million for the revaluation of its deferred income taxes and $63.7 million for the accounting of the income tax effects on the revaluation, was recorded as a noncurrent regulatory liability on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets since it will be refunded to NJNG's ratepayers. The decrease of the net deferred tax liability for the remaining entities resulted in an income tax benefit of $57.6 million that was recognized on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended December 31, 2017 . The adjustments to deferred income taxes are based on assumptions the Company made with respect to its book versus tax differences and the timing of when those differences will reverse, including estimations associated with depreciation and the settlement of derivative unrealized amounts, therefore the revaluation of net deferred tax liabilities is subject to change as information and assumptions are updated. Effective Tax Rate The forecasted effective tax rates were 13.9 percent and 8.7 percent , for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. The increased effective tax rate is due primarily to an increase in forecasted pre-tax income combined with a decrease in forecasted tax credits for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018 , compared with the prior fiscal year, which more than offset the lower statutory rate. Forecasted tax credits, net of deferred income taxes, were $21.9 million and $36.4 million for fiscal 2018 and 2017 , respectively. To the extent there are discrete tax items that are not included in the forecasted effective tax rate, the actual effective tax rate will differ from the estimated annual effective tax rate. The Company recognized $2.8 million and $1.2 million during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively, in excess tax benefits associated with the vesting of share-based awards, as a component of income tax (benefit) provision in its Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. In addition, as discussed further above, the Company recognized a tax benefit of $57.6 million during the three months ended December 31, 2017 . As a result of these discrete items, NJR’s actual effective tax rate was (68.2) percent and 5.5 percent as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. Other Tax Items As of December 31, 2017 , the Company has federal and state income tax net operating losses of approximately $125.3 million and $526.4 million , respectively, which generally have a life of 20 years. The Company has recorded deferred federal and state tax assets of approximately $28.5 million and $27.7 million , respectively, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, reflecting the tax benefits associated with these net operating losses. As of September 30, 2017 , the Company had federal and state income tax net operating losses of approximately $125.3 million and $471.7 million , respectively, and deferred federal and state tax assets of approximately $28.5 million and $23.6 million , respectively. As of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , the Company recorded a valuation allowance associated with state net operating loss carryforwards of $1.3 million and $1 million , respectively, related to Clean Energy Ventures in the state of Montana. There were no other valuation allowances needed for the Company as of December 31, 2017 . In addition, as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , the Company had an ITC/PTC carryforward of approximately $122.9 million and $109.3 million , respectively, which each have a life of 20 years. The Company expects to utilize this entire carryforward, which would begin to expire in fiscal 2035. In December 2015, the Consolidated Appropriations Act extended the 30 percent ITC for solar property that is under construction on or before December 31, 2019. The credit will decline to 26 percent for property under construction during 2020 and to 22 percent for property under construction during 2021. For any property that is under construction before 2022, but not placed in service before 2024, the ITC will be reduced to 10 percent. In addition, the PTC was extended for five years through December 31, 2019, with a gradual three year phase out for any project for which construction of the facility begins after December 31, 2016.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIAB

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES	12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES Cash Commitments NJNG has entered into long-term contracts, expiring at various dates through September 2024 , for the supply, storage and transportation of natural gas. These contracts include fixed charges of approximately $75.9 million at current contract rates and volumes for the remainder of the fiscal year, which are recoverable through BGSS. For the purpose of securing storage and pipeline capacity, Energy Services enters into storage and pipeline capacity contracts, which require the payment of certain demand charges by Energy Services to maintain the ability to access such natural gas storage or pipeline capacity, during a fixed time period, which generally ranges from one to 10 years. Demand charges are established by interstate storage and pipeline operators and are regulated by FERC. These demand charges represent commitments to pay storage providers or pipeline companies for the right to store and/or transport natural gas utilizing their respective assets. Commitments as of December 31, 2017 , for natural gas purchases and future demand fees for the next five fiscal year periods are as follows: (Thousands) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Thereafter Energy Services: Natural gas purchases $ 287,394 $ 117,129 $ 21,504 $ 11,443 $ — $ — Storage demand fees 24,479 22,933 13,573 9,263 6,055 3,523 Pipeline demand fees 59,067 50,562 39,292 23,348 19,087 18,977 Sub-total Energy Services $ 370,940 $ 190,624 $ 74,369 $ 44,054 $ 25,142 $ 22,500 NJNG: Natural gas purchases $ 39,542 $ 41,287 $ 40,046 $ 38,234 $ 38,794 $ 79,894 Storage demand fees 22,531 27,193 16,482 9,380 8,952 11,373 Pipeline demand fees 53,406 75,718 101,087 91,202 89,828 669,099 Sub-total NJNG $ 115,479 $ 144,198 $ 157,615 $ 138,816 $ 137,574 $ 760,366 Total $ 486,419 $ 334,822 $ 231,984 $ 182,870 $ 162,716 $ 782,866 Legal Proceedings Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation NJNG is responsible for the remedial cleanup of five MGP sites, dating back to gas operations in the late 1800s and early 1900s, which contain contaminated residues from former gas manufacturing operations. NJNG is currently involved in administrative proceedings with the NJDEP, and participating in various studies and investigations by outside consultants, to determine the nature and extent of any such contaminated residues and to develop appropriate programs of remedial action, where warranted, under Administrative Consent Orders or Memoranda of Agreement with the NJDEP. NJNG recovers its remediation expenditures, including carrying costs, over rolling seven -year periods pursuant to a RAC approved by the BPU. NJNG currently recovers approximately $9.4 million annually through its SBC RAC. On November 17, 2017 , NJNG filed its annual SBC application requesting a reduction in the RAC, which will decrease the annual recovery to $7 million , effective April 1, 2018 . As of December 31, 2017 , $31.2 million of previously incurred remediation costs, net of recoveries from customers and insurance proceeds, are included in regulatory assets on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. In December 2017, the NJDEP contacted NJNG regarding its association with a parcel of land, located within NJNG's territory, which may have been a MGP site for a period of time. NJNG is investigating to determine the nature and extent of its relationship to the parcel, its previous owner and the operations conducted on the site. NJNG will continue to gather information relevant to the site in question, to determine if additional inquiry and inspection is warranted and whether a potential obligation, if any, exists to undertake remedial action. NJNG periodically, and at least annually, performs an environmental review of the MGP sites, including a review of potential liability for investigation and remedial action. NJNG estimated at the time of the most recent review that total future expenditures to remediate and monitor the five MGP sites for which it is responsible, including potential liabilities for Natural Resource Damages that might be brought by the NJDEP for alleged injury to groundwater or other natural resources concerning these sites, will range from approximately $117.6 million to $205.2 million . NJNG's estimate of these liabilities is based upon known facts, existing technology and enacted laws and regulations in place when the review was completed. Where it is probable that costs will be incurred, and the information is sufficient to establish a range of possible liability, NJNG accrues the most likely amount in the range. If no point within the range is more likely than the other, it is NJNG's policy to accrue the lower end of the range. Accordingly, NJNG recorded an MGP remediation liability and a corresponding regulatory asset on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets of $149 million as of September 30, 2017 , based on the most likely amount at year end and $144 million as of December 31, 2017 , which includes adjustments for actual expenditures during fiscal 2018 . The actual costs to be incurred by NJNG are dependent upon several factors, including final determination of remedial action, changing technologies and governmental regulations, the ultimate ability of other responsible parties to pay and any insurance recoveries. NJNG will continue to seek recovery of MGP-related costs through the RAC. If any future regulatory position indicates that the recovery of such costs is not probable, the related non-recoverable costs would be charged to earnings in the period of such determination. General The Company is involved, and from time to time in the future may be involved, in a number of pending and threatened judicial, regulatory and arbitration proceedings relating to matters that arise in the ordinary course of business. In view of the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of litigation matters, particularly when such matters are in their early stages or where the claimants seek indeterminate damages, the Company cannot state with confidence what the eventual outcome of the pending litigation will be, what the timing of the ultimate resolution of these matters will be, or what the eventual loss, fines or penalties related to each pending matter will be, if any. In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, NJR establishes reserves for litigation for those matters that present loss contingencies as to which it is both probable that a loss will be incurred and the amount of such loss can be reasonably estimated. Based upon currently available information, NJR believes that the results of litigation that is currently pending, taken together, will not have a materially adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The actual results of resolving the pending litigation matters may be substantially higher than the amounts reserved. The foregoing statements about NJR’s litigation are based upon the Company’s judgments, assumptions and estimates and are necessarily subjective and uncertain. The Company has a number of threatened and pending litigation matters at various stages. Certain of the Company’s significant litigation is described below. In February 2015, a natural gas fire and explosion occurred in Stafford Township, New Jersey as a result of a natural gas leak emanating from an underground pipe. There were no fatalities, although several employees of NJNG were injured and several homes were damaged. NJNG notified its insurance carrier and believes that any costs associated with the incident, including attorneys’ fees, property damage and other losses, will be substantially covered by insurance. The Company believes the resolution of any potential claims associated with the incident will not have a material effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. As of December 31, 2017 , NJNG estimates that liabilities associated with claims will range between $600,000 and $3.2 million and has accrued the lower end of the range, as we do not believe there is an amount within the range that is more probable than any other.

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPE

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA	13. REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA The Company organizes its businesses based on a combination of factors, including its products and its regulatory environment. As a result, the Company manages its businesses through the following reporting segments and other operations: the Natural Gas Distribution segment consists of regulated energy and off-system, capacity and storage management operations; the Clean Energy Ventures segment consists of capital investments in clean energy projects; the Energy Services segment consists of unregulated wholesale and retail energy operations; the Midstream segment consists of the Company's investments in natural gas transportation and storage facilities; the Home Services and Other operations consist of heating, cooling and water appliance sales, installations and services, other investments and general corporate activities. Information related to the Company's various reporting segments and other operations is detailed below: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Operating revenues Natural Gas Distribution External customers $ 209,787 $ 185,556 Clean Energy Ventures External customers 13,996 7,567 Energy Services External customers (1) 472,171 338,930 Intercompany 5,810 (1,749 ) Subtotal 701,764 530,304 Home Services and Other External customers 9,351 8,975 Intercompany 606 1,031 Eliminations (6,416 ) 718 Total $ 705,305 $ 541,028 Depreciation and amortization Natural Gas Distribution $ 12,783 $ 12,030 Clean Energy Ventures 8,935 7,041 Energy Services 14 16 Midstream 1 1 Subtotal 21,733 19,088 Home Services and Other 188 221 Eliminations (67 ) (49 ) Total $ 21,854 $ 19,260 Interest income (2) Natural Gas Distribution $ 119 $ 75 Midstream 664 462 Subtotal 783 537 Home Services and Other 204 121 Eliminations (931 ) (583 ) Total $ 56 $ 75 (1) Includes sales to Canada, which accounted for .02 and 1.9 percent of total operating revenues during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. (2) Included in other income, net on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Interest expense, net of capitalized interest Natural Gas Distribution $ 6,536 $ 6,824 Clean Energy Ventures 4,208 3,324 Energy Services 1,257 571 Midstream 309 56 Subtotal 12,310 10,775 Home Services and Other 90 74 Eliminations (495 ) (234 ) Total $ 11,905 $ 10,615 Income tax provision (benefit) Natural Gas Distribution $ 11,704 $ 14,887 Clean Energy Ventures (73,988 ) (11,887 ) Energy Services 13,743 (3,176 ) Midstream (12,843 ) 1,649 Subtotal (61,384 ) 1,473 Home Services and Other 11,698 (245 ) Eliminations (482 ) 790 Total $ (50,168 ) $ 2,018 Equity in earnings of affiliates Midstream $ 4,129 $ 3,331 Eliminations (865 ) (1,020 ) Total $ 3,264 $ 2,311 Net financial earnings Natural Gas Distribution $ 34,109 $ 30,348 Clean Energy Ventures 71,250 2,842 Energy Services 20,274 3,487 Midstream 17,511 2,387 Subtotal 143,144 39,064 Home Services and Other (7,716 ) 1,542 Eliminations (95 ) (223 ) Total $ 135,333 $ 40,383 Capital expenditures Natural Gas Distribution $ 47,390 $ 38,855 Clean Energy Ventures 18,387 46,785 Subtotal 65,777 85,640 Home Services and Other 1,313 171 Total $ 67,090 $ 85,811 Investments in equity investees Midstream $ 7,202 $ 4,636 Total $ 7,202 $ 4,636 The Chief Executive Officer, who uses NFE as a measure of profit or loss in measuring the results of the Company's segments and operations, is the chief operating decision maker of the Company. A reconciliation of consolidated NFE to consolidated net income is as follows: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Net financial earnings $ 135,333 $ 40,383 Less: Unrealized loss on derivative instruments and related transactions 34,855 28,302 Tax effect (8,059 ) (9,757 ) Effects of economic hedging related to natural gas inventory (25,387 ) (17,939 ) Tax effect 8,244 6,204 Net income to NFE tax adjustment 1,981 (1,356 ) Net income $ 123,699 $ 34,929 The Company uses derivative instruments as economic hedges of purchases and sales of physical gas inventory. For GAAP purposes, these derivatives are recorded at fair value and related changes in fair value are included in reported earnings. Revenues and cost of gas related to physical gas flow is recognized when the gas is delivered to customers. Consequently, there is a mismatch in the timing of earnings recognition between the economic hedges and physical gas flows. Timing differences occur in two ways: • unrealized gains and losses on derivatives are recognized in reported earnings in periods prior to physical gas inventory flows; and • unrealized gains and losses of prior periods are reclassified as realized gains and losses when derivatives are settled in the same period as physical gas inventory movements occur. NFE is a measure of the earnings based on eliminating these timing differences, to effectively match the earnings effects of the economic hedges with the physical sale of gas, SRECs and foreign currency contracts. Consequently, to reconcile between net income and NFE, current period unrealized gains and losses on the derivatives are excluded from NFE as a reconciling item. Additionally, realized derivative gains and losses are also included in current period net income. However, NFE includes only realized gains and losses related to natural gas sold out of inventory, effectively matching the full earnings effects of the derivatives with realized margins on physical gas flows. Included in the tax effects are current and deferred income tax expense corresponding with the non-GAAP measure. Also included in the tax effects during the three month ended December 31, 2017, are the impacts of the Tax Act and resulting revaluation of the deferred income taxes that arose from derivative and hedging activity as measured under NFE. The revaluation caused the effective tax rate on reconciling items to differ from the statutory rate in effect for the quarter. NJR also calculates a quarterly tax adjustment based on an estimated annual effective tax rate for NFE purposes. The Company's assets for the various business segments and business operations are detailed below: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Assets at end of period: Natural Gas Distribution $ 2,590,623 $ 2,519,578 Clean Energy Ventures 797,951 771,340 Energy Services 547,388 398,277 Midstream 248,498 232,806 Subtotal 4,184,460 3,922,001 Home Services and Other 125,149 114,801 Intercompany assets (1) (122,681 ) (108,295 ) Total $ 4,186,928 $ 3,928,507 (1) Consists of transactions between subsidiaries that are eliminated and reclassified in consolidation.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS	14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Effective April 1, 2010 , NJNG entered into a 10 -year agreement for 3 Bcf of firm storage capacity with Steckman Ridge. Under the terms of the agreement, NJNG incurs demand fees at market rates of approximately $9.3 million annually, a portion of which is eliminated in consolidation. These fees are recoverable through NJNG's BGSS mechanism and are included as a component of regulatory assets. Energy Services may periodically enter into storage or park and loan agreements with its affiliated FERC-jurisdictional natural gas storage facility, Steckman Ridge. As of December 31, 2017 , Energy Services has entered into transactions with Steckman Ridge for varying terms, all of which expire by October 31, 2020 . Demand fees, net of eliminations, associated with Steckman Ridge were as follows: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Natural Gas Distribution $ 1,448 $ 1,410 Energy Services 701 701 Total $ 2,149 $ 2,111 The following table summarizes demand fees payable to Steckman Ridge as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution $ 775 $ 775 Energy Services 375 377 Total $ 1,150 $ 1,152 NJNG and Energy Services have entered into various asset management agreements, the effects of which are eliminated in consolidation. Under the terms of these agreements, NJNG releases certain transportation and storage contracts to Energy Services. As of December 31, 2017 , NJNG and Energy Services had four asset management agreements with expiration dates ranging from February 28, 2018 through October 31, 2020 . NJNG has entered into a 15 -year transportation precedent agreement for committed capacity of 180,000 Dths per day with PennEast, to commence when PennEast is in service.

ACQUISITION

ACQUISITION	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Business Combinations [Abstract]
ACQUISITION	15. ACQUISITION On October 27, 2017 , Adelphia, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of NJR, entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Talen pursuant to which Adelphia will acquire all of Talen’s membership interests in IEC for a base purchase price of $166 million . As additional consideration, Adelphia will pay Talen specified amounts of up to $23 million contingent upon the achievement of certain regulatory approvals and binding natural gas capacity commitments. On November 7, 2017, the Company made an initial payment of $10 million towards the base purchase price, which is included in other noncurrent assets on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. IEC owns an existing 84 -mile pipeline in southeastern Pennsylvania. The transaction is expected to close following receipt of necessary permits and regulatory actions including those from the FERC and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Upon the closing, Adelphia will acquire IEC and, with it, IEC’s existing pipeline, related assets and rights of way. Adelphia has also agreed to provide firm natural gas transportation service for ten years following the closing to two power generators owned by affiliates of Talen that are currently served by IEC. 1

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN23

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Available for Sale Securities	Available for Sale Securities As of December 31, 2017 , included in available for sale securities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets is an investment in a publicly traded energy company.
Loans Receivable	Loans Receivable NJNG currently provides loans, with terms ranging from three to 10 years, to customers that elect to purchase and install certain energy efficient equipment in accordance with its BPU-approved SAVEGREEN program. The loans are recognized at net present value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recorded $9.4 million and $8.9 million in other current assets and $40.7 million and $40.4 million in other noncurrent assets as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, related to the loans. NJNG's policy is to establish an allowance for doubtful accounts when loan balances are in arrears for more than 60 days .
Recently Adopted Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification	Recently Adopted Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification Inventory In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, an amendment to ASC 330, Inventory , which requires entities to measure most inventory “at the lower of cost or net realizable value,” thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. The Company adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 and applied the new provisions on a prospective basis, which did not impact its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. Other Recent Updates to the Accounting Standards Codification Revenue In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, and added Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , to the ASC. ASC 606 supersedes ASC 605, Revenue Recognition , as well as most industry-specific guidance, and prescribes a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model designed to improve financial reporting comparability across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, which defers the implementation of the new guidance for one year. The new guidance will not be early adopted and will be effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. The Company has concluded that its tariff based sales of natural gas will be within the scope of the new guidance. However, it does not anticipate any modification to the pattern of revenue recognition from such sales. The Company has also evaluated its renewable asset PPA arrangements and does not anticipate any modification to the pattern of revenue recognition of the related electricity, capacity and REC sales. Revenues from RECs sold as part of a bundled arrangement will be recognized in the same period as the related generation, consistent with current practice. Based on the review of customer contracts to date, the Company is not anticipating a material impact to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. The Company anticipates significant new disclosures as a result of the implementation of ASC 606 and currently expects to transition to the new guidance using the modified retrospective approach. The Company is also monitoring industry specific developments that may have an impact. Financial Instruments In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, an amendment to ASC 825, Financial Instruments, to address certain aspects of the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. The standard affects investments in equity securities that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method and the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. It also simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without a readily determinable fair value by requiring a qualitative assessment. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a modified retrospective basis. The Company evaluated the amendment and noted that, upon adoption, subsequent changes to the fair value of the Company’s available for sale securities will be recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as opposed to other comprehensive income. The Company does not expect any other material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, an amendment to ASC 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, which changes the impairment model for certain financial assets that have a contractual right to receive cash, including trade and loan receivables. The new model requires recognition based upon an estimation of expected credit losses rather than recognition of losses when it is probable that they have been incurred. An entity will apply the amendment through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the amendment to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption and will apply the new guidance to its trade and loan receivables on a modified retrospective basis. Leases In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, an amendment to ASC 842, Leases , which provides for a comprehensive overhaul of the lease accounting model and changes the definition of a lease within the accounting literature. Under the new standard, all leases with a term greater than one year will be recorded on the balance sheet. Amortization of the related asset will be accounted for using one of two approaches prescribed by the guidance. Additional disclosures will be required to allow the user to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing activities. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for leases existing at the time of adoption. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. The Company continues to evaluate the provisions of ASC 842 and is actively monitoring industry specific developments including the exposure draft issued by the FASB that would introduce a land easement practical expedient to ASC 842. At this time, the Company does not plan to early adopt the new guidance and expects to elect the practical expedient package in the new guidance during transition. Statement of Cash Flows In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows , which addresses eight specific cash flow issues for which there has been diversity in practice. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company does not expect any material impacts to its cash flows upon adoption. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, an amendment to ASC 230, Statement of Cash Flows , which requires that any amounts that are deemed to be restricted cash or restricted cash-equivalents be included in cash and cash-equivalent balances on the cash flow statement and, therefore, transfers between cash and restricted cash accounts will no longer be recognized within the statement of cash flows. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis. Based on the Company's historical restricted cash balances, it does not expect any material impacts to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption. Business Combinations In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, an amendment to ASC 805, Business Combinations , clarifying the definition of a business in the ASC, which is intended to reduce the complexity surrounding the assessment of a transaction as an asset acquisition or business combination. The amendment provides an initial fair value screen to reduce the number of transactions that would fit the definition of a business, and when the screen threshold is not met, provides an updated model that further clarifies the characteristics of a business. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a prospective basis. The amendment could potentially have material impacts on future transactions that the Company may enter into by altering the Company’s conclusion on the accounting applied to acquisitions. Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-05, an amendment to ASC 610-20, Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets , which clarifies the scope and accounting related to the derecognition of nonfinancial assets, including partial sales and contributions of nonfinancial assets to a joint venture or other non-controlled investee. The guidance is effective concurrently with ASC 606, which is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year with early adoption permitted. ASU No. 2017-05 may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented or retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. The Company has determined that to the extent a deferred gain exists related to nonfinancial assets on the balance sheet upon adoption, it would be recognized under the new accounting guidance as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Compensation - Retirement Benefits In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, an amendment to ASC 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits , which changes the presentation of net periodic benefit cost on the income statement by requiring companies to present all components of net periodic benefit cost, other than service cost, outside a subtotal of income from operations. The amendment also states that only the service cost component of net periodic benefits costs is eligible for capitalization, when applicable. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendment will be applied on a retrospective basis for presentation and changes to capitalization of costs will be applied on a prospective basis. The Company is continuing to evaluate the amendment to fully understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption. The Company is also monitoring industry specific developments on the new guidance to determine the appropriate treatment of these changes in a rate regulated environment. Stock Compensation In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, an amendment to ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation , which clarifies the accounting for changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payments. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the amendments will be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after the adoption date. The Company is currently evaluating the amendments to understand the impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption. Derivatives and Hedging In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, an amendment to ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging , which is intended to make targeted improvements to the accounting for hedging activities by better aligning an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships. These amendments modify the accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components and align the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. Additionally, the amendments are intended to simplify the application of the hedge accounting guidance and provide relief to companies by easing certain hedge documentation requirements. The guidance is effective for the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and interim periods within that year, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, the transition requirements and elections will be applied to hedging relationships existing on the date of adoption. The Company does not currently apply hedge accounting to any of its risk management activities and thus does not expect the amendments to have any impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows upon adoption.
Derivative Instruments	The Company is subject to commodity price risk due to fluctuations in the market price of natural gas, SRECs and electricity. To manage this risk, the Company enters into a variety of derivative instruments including, but not limited to, futures contracts, physical forward contracts, financial options and swaps to economically hedge the commodity price risk associated with its existing and anticipated commitments to purchase and sell natural gas, SRECs and electricity. In addition, the Company may utilize foreign currency derivatives to hedge Canadian dollar denominated gas purchases and/or sales. Therefore, the Company's primary underlying risks include commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency. These contracts are accounted for as derivatives. Accordingly, all of the financial and certain of the Company's physical derivative instruments are recorded at fair value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. For a more detailed discussion of the Company's fair value measurement policies and level disclosures associated with NJR's derivative instruments, see Note 5. Fair Value . Energy Services Energy Services chooses not to designate its financial commodity and physical forward commodity derivatives as accounting hedges or to elect NPNS. The changes in the fair value of these derivatives are recorded as a component of gas purchases or operating revenues, as appropriate for Energy Services, on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as unrealized gains or losses. For Energy Services at settlement, realized gains and losses on all financial derivative instruments are recognized as a component of gas purchases and realized gains and losses on all physical derivatives follow the presentation of the related unrealized gains and losses as a component of either gas purchases or operating revenues. Energy Services also enters into natural gas transactions in Canada and, consequently, is exposed to fluctuations in the value of Canadian currency relative to the U.S. dollar. Energy Services may utilize foreign currency derivatives to lock in the exchange rate associated with natural gas transactions denominated in Canadian currency. The derivatives may include currency forwards, futures, or swaps and are accounted for as derivatives. These derivatives are typically used to hedge demand fee payments on pipeline capacity, storage and gas purchase agreements. As a result of Energy Services entering into transactions to borrow natural gas, commonly referred to as “park and loans,” an embedded derivative is recognized relating to differences between the fair value of the amount borrowed and the fair value of the amount that will ultimately be repaid, based on changes in the forward price for natural gas prices at the borrowed location over the contract term. This embedded derivative is accounted for as a forward sale in the month in which the repayment of the borrowed gas is expected to occur, and is considered a derivative transaction that is recorded at fair value on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, with changes in value recognized in current period earnings. Expected production of SRECs is hedged through the use of forward and futures contracts. All contracts require the Company to physically deliver SRECs through the transfer of certificates as per contractual settlement schedules. The Company applies NPNS accounting to SREC forward and futures contracts entered into on or before December 31, 2015. Effective for contracts executed on or after January 1, 2016, Energy Services no longer elects NPNS accounting treatment on all SREC forward sales contracts and recognizes changes in the fair value of these derivatives as a component of operating revenues. Upon settlement of the contract, the related revenue is recognized when the SREC is transferred to the counterparty. NPNS is a contract-by-contract election and, where it makes sense to do so, we can and may elect normal accounting for certain contracts. Natural Gas Distribution Changes in fair value of NJNG's financial commodity derivatives are recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company elects NPNS accounting treatment on all physical commodity contracts that NJNG entered into on or before December 31, 2015, and accounts for these contracts on an accrual basis. Accordingly, physical natural gas purchases are recognized in regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets when the contract settles and the natural gas is delivered. The average cost of natural gas is charged to expense in the current period earnings based on the BGSS factor times the therm sales. Effective for contracts executed on or after January 1, 2016, NJNG no longer elects NPNS accounting treatment on all physical forward commodity contracts. However, since NPNS is a contract-by-contract election, where it makes sense to do so, we can and may elect certain contracts to be normal. Because NJNG recovers these amounts through future BGSS rates as increases or decreases to the cost of natural gas in NJNG’s tariff for gas service, the changes in fair value of these contracts are deferred as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. In June 2015, NJNG entered into a BPU-approved treasury lock transaction to fix a benchmark treasury rate of 3.26 percent associated with a forecasted $125 million debt issuance expected in May 2018. This forecasted debt issuance coincides with the maturity of NJNG's existing $125 million , 5.6 percent notes due May 15, 2018 . The change in fair value of NJNG's treasury lock agreement is recorded as a component of regulatory assets or liabilities on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets since NJNG believes that the market value upon settlement will be recovered in future rates. Upon settlement, any gain or loss will be amortized into earnings over the life of the future underlying debt issuance.
Fair Value Hierarchy	Fair Value Hierarchy NJR applies fair value measurement guidance to its financial assets and liabilities, as appropriate, which include financial derivatives and physical commodity contracts qualifying as derivatives, available for sale securities and other financial assets and liabilities. In addition, authoritative accounting literature prescribes the use of a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value based on the source of the data used to develop the price inputs. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to inputs that are based on unobservable market data and include the following: Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. NJR's Level 1 assets and liabilities include exchange traded natural gas futures and options contracts, listed equities and money market funds. Exchange traded futures and options contracts include all energy contracts traded on the NYMEX, CME and ICE that NJR refers internally to as basis swaps, fixed swaps, futures and financial options that are cleared through a FCM. Level 2 Other significant observable inputs such as interest rates or price data, including both commodity and basis pricing that is observed either directly or indirectly from publications or pricing services. NJR's Level 2 assets and liabilities include over-the-counter physical forward commodity contracts and swap contracts, SREC forward sales or derivatives that are initially valued using observable quotes and are subsequently adjusted to include time value, credit risk or estimated transport pricing components for which no basis price is available. Level 2 financial derivatives consist of transactions with non-FCM counterparties (basis swaps, fixed swaps and/or options). NJNG's treasury lock is also considered Level 2 as valuation is based on quoted market interest and swap rates as inputs to the valuation model. Inputs are verifiable and do not require significant management judgment. For some physical commodity contracts the Company utilizes transportation tariff rates that are publicly available and that it considers to be observable inputs that are equivalent to market data received from an independent source. There are no significant judgments or adjustments applied to the transportation tariff inputs and no market perspective is required. Even if the transportation tariff input were considered to be a “model,” it would still be considered to be a Level 2 input as the data is: • widely accepted and public; • non-proprietary and sourced from an independent third party; and • observable and published. These additional adjustments are generally not considered to be significant to the ultimate recognized values. Level 3 Inputs derived from a significant amount of unobservable market data. These include NJR's best estimate of fair value and are derived primarily through the use of internal valuation methodologies.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN24

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Gas in Storage	The following table summarizes gas in storage, at average cost by company as of: December 31, September 30, ($ in thousands) Gas in Storage Bcf Gas in Storage Bcf Energy Services $ 144,456 51.9 $ 122,884 53.9 Natural Gas Distribution 58,991 16.5 79,179 21.8 Total $ 203,447 68.4 $ 202,063 75.7
Accounts Receivable by Subsidiary	Customer accounts receivable include outstanding billings from the following subsidiaries as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Energy Services $ 246,203 76 % $ 150,322 77 % Natural Gas Distribution (1) 72,067 22 37,432 19 Clean Energy Ventures 3,072 1 2,655 1 NJRHS and other 4,064 1 6,058 3 Total $ 325,406 100 % $ 196,467 100 % (1) Does not include unbilled revenues of $70.1 million and $7.2 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively.

REGULATION (Tables)

REGULATION (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Regulated Operations [Abstract]
Schedule of Regulatory Assets and Liabilities	Regulatory assets and liabilities included on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets are comprised of the following: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Regulatory assets-current New Jersey Clean Energy Program $ 12,626 $ 14,202 Underrecovered gas costs 490 9,910 Derivatives at fair value, net 18,471 9,010 Conservation Incentive Program 9,987 17,669 Total current regulatory assets $ 41,574 $ 50,791 Regulatory assets-noncurrent Environmental remediation costs Expended, net of recoveries $ 31,236 $ 28,547 Liability for future expenditures 144,046 149,000 Deferred income taxes 16,356 21,795 SAVEGREEN 13,419 16,302 Postemployment and other benefit costs 138,681 141,433 Deferred Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy costs 12,487 13,030 Other noncurrent regulatory assets 5,925 5,812 Total noncurrent regulatory assets $ 362,150 $ 375,919 Regulatory liability-current Derivatives at fair value, net $ 434 $ 78 Total current regulatory liabilities $ 434 $ 78 Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent Deferred income taxes (1) $ 229,315 $ — Cost of removal obligation — 7,902 Derivatives at fair value, net — 146 New Jersey Clean Energy Program 7,527 5,795 Other noncurrent regulatory liabilities 996 664 Total noncurrent regulatory liabilities $ 237,838 $ 14,507 (1) Includes an adjustment related to the re-measurement of NJNG's net deferred tax liabilities to reflect the change in federal tax rates enacted in the Tax Act . For a more detailed discussion of the Tax Act, s ee Note 11. Income Taxes .

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Tables)

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]
Fair Value of Derivative Assets and Liabilities	The following table reflects the fair value of NJR's derivative assets and liabilities recognized on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of: Fair Value December 31, 2017 September 30, 2017 (Thousands) Balance Sheet Location Asset Derivatives Liability Derivatives Asset Derivatives Liability Derivatives Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: Natural Gas Distribution: Physical commodity contracts Derivatives - current $ 487 $ 53 $ 151 $ 72 Financial commodity contracts Derivatives - current — 3,478 — 1,149 Interest rate contracts Derivatives - current — 12,534 — 8,467 Energy Services: Physical commodity contracts Derivatives - current 13,247 24,531 14,588 16,589 Derivatives - noncurrent 2,801 14,256 7,127 8,710 Financial commodity contracts Derivatives - current 32,559 56,188 15,302 20,267 Derivatives - noncurrent 2,706 11,477 2,033 2,620 Foreign currency contracts Derivatives - current 6 4 40 — Derivatives - noncurrent 30 26 4 — Total fair value of derivatives $ 51,836 $ 122,547 $ 39,245 $ 57,874
Offsetting Assets	The following table summarizes the reported gross amounts, the amounts that the Company has the right to offset but elects not to, financial collateral, as well as the net amounts the Company could present on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets but elects not to. (Thousands) Amounts Presented on Balance Sheets (1) Offsetting Derivative Instruments (2) Financial Collateral Received/Pledged (3) Net Amounts (4) As of December 31, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 16,048 $ (3,137 ) $ (200 ) $ 12,711 Financial commodity contracts 35,265 (29,434 ) (5,327 ) 504 Foreign currency contracts 36 (30 ) — 6 Total Energy Services $ 51,349 $ (32,601 ) $ (5,527 ) $ 13,221 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 38,787 $ (3,137 ) $ — $ 35,650 Financial commodity contracts 67,665 (29,434 ) (38,231 ) — Foreign currency contracts 30 (30 ) — — Total Energy Services $ 106,482 $ (32,601 ) $ (38,231 ) $ 35,650 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 53 $ (25 ) $ — $ 28 Financial commodity contracts 3,478 — (3,478 ) — Interest rate contracts 12,534 — — 12,534 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 16,065 $ (25 ) $ (3,478 ) $ 12,562 As of September 30, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 21,715 $ (2,173 ) $ (200 ) $ 19,342 Financial commodity contracts 17,335 (14,121 ) — 3,214 Foreign currency contracts 44 — — 44 Total Energy Services $ 39,094 $ (16,294 ) $ (200 ) $ 22,600 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 25,299 $ (2,173 ) $ — $ 23,126 Financial commodity contracts 22,887 (14,121 ) (8,766 ) — Total Energy Services $ 48,186 $ (16,294 ) $ (8,766 ) $ 23,126 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 72 $ (20 ) $ — $ 52 Financial commodity contracts 1,149 — (1,149 ) — Interest rate contracts 8,467 — — 8,467 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 9,688 $ (20 ) $ (1,149 ) $ 8,519 (1) Derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis on the balance sheet as the Company does not elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20. (2) Includes transactions with NAESB netting election, transactions held by FCMs with net margining and transactions with ISDA netting. (3) Financial collateral includes cash balances at FCMs as well as cash received from or pledged to other counterparties. (4) Net amounts represent presentation of derivative assets and liabilities if the Company were to elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20.
Offsetting Liabilities	The following table summarizes the reported gross amounts, the amounts that the Company has the right to offset but elects not to, financial collateral, as well as the net amounts the Company could present on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets but elects not to. (Thousands) Amounts Presented on Balance Sheets (1) Offsetting Derivative Instruments (2) Financial Collateral Received/Pledged (3) Net Amounts (4) As of December 31, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 16,048 $ (3,137 ) $ (200 ) $ 12,711 Financial commodity contracts 35,265 (29,434 ) (5,327 ) 504 Foreign currency contracts 36 (30 ) — 6 Total Energy Services $ 51,349 $ (32,601 ) $ (5,527 ) $ 13,221 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 487 $ (25 ) $ — $ 462 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 38,787 $ (3,137 ) $ — $ 35,650 Financial commodity contracts 67,665 (29,434 ) (38,231 ) — Foreign currency contracts 30 (30 ) — — Total Energy Services $ 106,482 $ (32,601 ) $ (38,231 ) $ 35,650 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 53 $ (25 ) $ — $ 28 Financial commodity contracts 3,478 — (3,478 ) — Interest rate contracts 12,534 — — 12,534 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 16,065 $ (25 ) $ (3,478 ) $ 12,562 As of September 30, 2017: Derivative assets: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 21,715 $ (2,173 ) $ (200 ) $ 19,342 Financial commodity contracts 17,335 (14,121 ) — 3,214 Foreign currency contracts 44 — — 44 Total Energy Services $ 39,094 $ (16,294 ) $ (200 ) $ 22,600 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 151 $ (20 ) $ — $ 131 Derivative liabilities: Energy Services Physical commodity contracts $ 25,299 $ (2,173 ) $ — $ 23,126 Financial commodity contracts 22,887 (14,121 ) (8,766 ) — Total Energy Services $ 48,186 $ (16,294 ) $ (8,766 ) $ 23,126 Natural Gas Distribution Physical commodity contracts $ 72 $ (20 ) $ — $ 52 Financial commodity contracts 1,149 — (1,149 ) — Interest rate contracts 8,467 — — 8,467 Total Natural Gas Distribution $ 9,688 $ (20 ) $ (1,149 ) $ 8,519 (1) Derivative assets and liabilities are presented on a gross basis on the balance sheet as the Company does not elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20. (2) Includes transactions with NAESB netting election, transactions held by FCMs with net margining and transactions with ISDA netting. (3) Financial collateral includes cash balances at FCMs as well as cash received from or pledged to other counterparties. (4) Net amounts represent presentation of derivative assets and liabilities if the Company were to elect balance sheet offsetting under ASC 210-20.
Effect of Derivative Instruments on Consolidated Statements of Operations	The following table reflects the effect of derivative instruments on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as of: (Thousands) Location of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives Three Months Ended December 31, Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: 2017 2016 Energy Services: Physical commodity contracts Operating revenues $ 1,210 $ 1,743 Physical commodity contracts Gas purchases (22,697 ) (8,799 ) Financial commodity contracts Gas purchases (25,997 ) (30,611 ) Foreign currency contracts Gas purchases (48 ) (86 ) Total unrealized and realized gains (losses) $ (47,532 ) $ (37,753 )
Effect of Derivative Instruments Designated as Cash Flow Hedges on OCI	The following table reflects the (losses) gains associated with NJNG's derivative instruments as of: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Natural Gas Distribution: Physical commodity contracts $ (2,976 ) $ 1,050 Financial commodity contracts (8,808 ) 11,178 Interest rate contracts (4,067 ) 20,371 Total unrealized and realized (losses) gains $ (15,851 ) $ 32,599
Schedule of Outstanding Long (Short) Derivatives	NJNG and Energy Services had the following outstanding long (short) derivatives as of: Volume (Bcf) December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution Futures 20.4 18.2 Physical 26.8 32.1 Energy Services Futures (33.4 ) (16.4 ) Physical (4.6 ) (13.1 )
Schedule of Broker Margin Accounts by Company	The balances are as follows: (Thousands) Balance Sheet Location December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution Broker margin - Current assets $ 4,632 $ 2,661 Energy Services Broker margin - Current assets $ 48,218 $ 23,166
Summary of Gross Credit Exposures	The following is a summary of gross credit exposures grouped by investment and noninvestment grade counterparties, as of December 31, 2017 . The amounts presented below have not been reduced by any collateral received or netting and exclude accounts receivable for NJNG retail natural gas sales and services and Clean Energy Ventures residential solar installations. (Thousands) Gross Credit Exposure Investment grade $ 182,514 Noninvestment grade 25,079 Internally rated investment grade 25,435 Internally rated noninvestment grade 61,714 Total $ 294,742

FAIR VALUE (Tables)

FAIR VALUE (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping	The estimated fair value of long-term debt at NJNG and NJR, including current maturities, excluding capital leases, debt issuance costs and solar asset financing obligations, is as follows: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Carrying value (1) (2) (3) $ 1,097,045 $ 1,097,045 Fair market value $ 1,111,265 $ 1,107,676 (1) Excludes capital leases of $45 million and $39.7 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. (2) Excludes NJNG's debt issuance costs of $6.2 million and $6.3 million as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively. (3) Excludes NJR's debt issuance costs of $804,000 and $770,000 as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively.
Schedule of Fair Value Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis	Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized as follows: Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets Significant Other Observable Inputs Significant Unobservable Inputs (Thousands) (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) Total As of December 31, 2017: Assets: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 16,535 $ — $ 16,535 Financial commodity contracts 35,265 — — 35,265 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 36 — 36 Available for sale equity securities - energy industry 55,995 — — 55,995 Other (1) 1,106 — — 1,106 Total assets at fair value $ 92,366 $ 16,571 $ — $ 108,937 Liabilities: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 38,840 $ — $ 38,840 Financial commodity contracts 71,143 — — 71,143 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 30 — 30 Interest rate contracts — 12,534 — 12,534 Total liabilities at fair value $ 71,143 $ 51,404 $ — $ 122,547 As of September 30, 2017: Assets: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 21,866 $ — $ 21,866 Financial commodity contracts 17,335 17,335 Financial commodity contracts - foreign exchange — 44 — 44 Available for sale equity securities - energy industry 65,752 — — 65,752 Other (1) 1,202 — — 1,202 Total assets at fair value $ 84,289 $ 21,910 $ — $ 106,199 Liabilities: Physical commodity contracts $ — $ 25,371 $ — $ 25,371 Financial commodity contracts 24,036 — — 24,036 Interest rate contracts — 8,467 — 8,467 Total liabilities at fair value $ 24,036 $ 33,838 $ — $ 57,874 (1) Includes money market funds of $4,000 and $112,000 as of December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively.

INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY METHOD 28

INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY METHOD INVESTEES (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments	NJR's investments in equity method investees include the following as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Steckman Ridge (1) $ 119,433 $ 120,262 PennEast 59,996 52,323 Total $ 179,429 $ 172,585 (1) Includes loans with a total outstanding principal balance of $70.4 million for both December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 . The loans accrue interest at a variable rate that resets quarterly and are due October 1, 2023.

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of Earnings Per Share Basic and Diluted	The following table presents the calculation of the Company's basic and diluted earnings per share for: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands, except per share amounts) 2017 2016 Net income, as reported $ 123,699 $ 34,929 Basic earnings per share Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic 86,996 86,084 Basic earnings per common share $1.42 $0.41 Diluted earnings per share Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic 86,996 86,084 Incremental shares (1) 351 771 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-diluted 87,347 86,855 Diluted earnings per common share (2) $1.42 $0.40 (1) Incremental shares consist primarily of unvested stock awards and performance shares. (2) There were no anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 .

COMMON STOCK EQUITY (Tables)

COMMON STOCK EQUITY (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Equity [Abstract]
Changes in Common Stock Equity	Changes in common stock equity during the three months ended December 31, 2017 , were as follows: (Thousands) Number of Shares Common Stock Premium on Common Stock Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income Treasury Stock And Other Retained Earnings Total Balance at September 30, 2017 86,556 $ 222,258 $ 219,696 $ (3,256 ) $ (70,039 ) $ 867,984 $ 1,236,643 Net income 123,699 123,699 Other comprehensive income (5,204 ) (5,204 ) Common stock issued: Incentive plan 525 1,453 13,951 15,404 Dividend reinvestment plan (1) 90 245 3,554 3,799 Waiver discount 554 1,384 21,306 22,690 Cash dividend declared ($.2725 per share) (23,831 ) (23,831 ) Treasury stock and other (250 ) (56 ) (25,374 ) (25,430 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 87,475 $ 225,095 $ 255,142 $ (8,460 ) $ (91,859 ) $ 967,852 $ 1,347,770 (1) Shares sold through the DRP are issued from treasury stock at average cost, which may differ from the actual market price paid.
Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax	The following table presents the changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of related tax effects during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 : (Thousands) Available for Sale Securities Postemployment Benefit Obligation Total Balance at September 30, 2017 $ 11,044 $ (14,300 ) $ (3,256 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax Other comprehensive (loss), before reclassifications, net of tax of $851, $0, $851 (2,290 ) — (2,290 ) Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $2,178, $(136), $2,042 (3,154 ) 240 (1) (2,914 ) Net current-period other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $3,029, $(136), $2,893 (5,444 ) 240 (5,204 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 $ 5,600 $ (14,060 ) $ (8,460 ) Balance as of September 30, 2016 $ 4,198 $ (19,353 ) $ (15,155 ) Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax Other comprehensive income, before reclassifications, net of tax of $(4,840), $0, $(4,840) 7,042 — 7,042 Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax of $1,054, $(217), $837 (1,527 ) 317 (1) (1,210 ) Net current-period other comprehensive income, net of tax of $(3,786), $(217), $(4,003) 5,515 317 5,832 Balance as of December 31, 2016 $ 9,713 $ (19,036 ) $ (9,323 ) (1) Included in the computation of net periodic pension cost, a component of operations and maintenance expense on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

DEBT (Tables)

DEBT (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Line of Credit Facilities	A summary of NJR's credit facility and NJNG's commercial paper program and credit facility are as follows: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Expiration Dates NJR Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 425,000 $ 425,000 September 2020 Notes outstanding at end of period $ 327,200 $ 255,000 Weighted average interest rate at end of period 2.26 % 2.14 % Amount available at end of period (2) $ 86,834 $ 156,601 Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 75,000 $ — April 2018 Amount available at end of period $ 75,000 $ — NJNG Bank revolving credit facilities (1) $ 250,000 $ 250,000 May 2019 Commercial paper outstanding at end of period $ 46,000 $ 11,000 Weighted average interest rate at end of period 1.33 % 1.13 % Amount available at end of period (3) $ 203,269 $ 238,269 (1) Committed credit facilities, which require commitment fees on the unused amounts. (2) Letters of credit outstanding total $11 million and $13.4 million for December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , respectively, which reduces amount available by the same amount. (3) Letters of credit outstanding total $731,000 for both December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , which reduces the amount available by the same amount.

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]
Schedule of Net Benefit Costs	The components of the net periodic cost for pension benefits, including the Company's Pension Equalization Plan, and OPEB costs (principally health care and life insurance) for employees and covered dependents were as follows: Pension OPEB Three Months Ended Three Months Ended December 31, December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 2017 2016 Service cost $ 2,035 $ 2,087 $ 1,152 $ 1,095 Interest cost 2,623 2,443 1,591 1,386 Expected return on plan assets (4,910 ) (4,828 ) (1,338 ) (1,192 ) Recognized actuarial loss 1,884 2,207 1,165 1,093 Prior service cost amortization 27 27 (91 ) (91 ) Net periodic benefit cost $ 1,659 $ 1,936 $ 2,479 $ 2,291

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LI33

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Long-term Purchase Commitment	Commitments as of December 31, 2017 , for natural gas purchases and future demand fees for the next five fiscal year periods are as follows: (Thousands) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Thereafter Energy Services: Natural gas purchases $ 287,394 $ 117,129 $ 21,504 $ 11,443 $ — $ — Storage demand fees 24,479 22,933 13,573 9,263 6,055 3,523 Pipeline demand fees 59,067 50,562 39,292 23,348 19,087 18,977 Sub-total Energy Services $ 370,940 $ 190,624 $ 74,369 $ 44,054 $ 25,142 $ 22,500 NJNG: Natural gas purchases $ 39,542 $ 41,287 $ 40,046 $ 38,234 $ 38,794 $ 79,894 Storage demand fees 22,531 27,193 16,482 9,380 8,952 11,373 Pipeline demand fees 53,406 75,718 101,087 91,202 89,828 669,099 Sub-total NJNG $ 115,479 $ 144,198 $ 157,615 $ 138,816 $ 137,574 $ 760,366 Total $ 486,419 $ 334,822 $ 231,984 $ 182,870 $ 162,716 $ 782,866

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER O34

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment	Information related to the Company's various reporting segments and other operations is detailed below: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Operating revenues Natural Gas Distribution External customers $ 209,787 $ 185,556 Clean Energy Ventures External customers 13,996 7,567 Energy Services External customers (1) 472,171 338,930 Intercompany 5,810 (1,749 ) Subtotal 701,764 530,304 Home Services and Other External customers 9,351 8,975 Intercompany 606 1,031 Eliminations (6,416 ) 718 Total $ 705,305 $ 541,028 Depreciation and amortization Natural Gas Distribution $ 12,783 $ 12,030 Clean Energy Ventures 8,935 7,041 Energy Services 14 16 Midstream 1 1 Subtotal 21,733 19,088 Home Services and Other 188 221 Eliminations (67 ) (49 ) Total $ 21,854 $ 19,260 Interest income (2) Natural Gas Distribution $ 119 $ 75 Midstream 664 462 Subtotal 783 537 Home Services and Other 204 121 Eliminations (931 ) (583 ) Total $ 56 $ 75 (1) Includes sales to Canada, which accounted for .02 and 1.9 percent of total operating revenues during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 , respectively. (2) Included in other income, net on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Interest expense, net of capitalized interest Natural Gas Distribution $ 6,536 $ 6,824 Clean Energy Ventures 4,208 3,324 Energy Services 1,257 571 Midstream 309 56 Subtotal 12,310 10,775 Home Services and Other 90 74 Eliminations (495 ) (234 ) Total $ 11,905 $ 10,615 Income tax provision (benefit) Natural Gas Distribution $ 11,704 $ 14,887 Clean Energy Ventures (73,988 ) (11,887 ) Energy Services 13,743 (3,176 ) Midstream (12,843 ) 1,649 Subtotal (61,384 ) 1,473 Home Services and Other 11,698 (245 ) Eliminations (482 ) 790 Total $ (50,168 ) $ 2,018 Equity in earnings of affiliates Midstream $ 4,129 $ 3,331 Eliminations (865 ) (1,020 ) Total $ 3,264 $ 2,311 Net financial earnings Natural Gas Distribution $ 34,109 $ 30,348 Clean Energy Ventures 71,250 2,842 Energy Services 20,274 3,487 Midstream 17,511 2,387 Subtotal 143,144 39,064 Home Services and Other (7,716 ) 1,542 Eliminations (95 ) (223 ) Total $ 135,333 $ 40,383 Capital expenditures Natural Gas Distribution $ 47,390 $ 38,855 Clean Energy Ventures 18,387 46,785 Subtotal 65,777 85,640 Home Services and Other 1,313 171 Total $ 67,090 $ 85,811 Investments in equity investees Midstream $ 7,202 $ 4,636 Total $ 7,202 $ 4,636
Reconciliation of Consolidated NFE to Consolidated Net Income	A reconciliation of consolidated NFE to consolidated net income is as follows: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Net financial earnings $ 135,333 $ 40,383 Less: Unrealized loss on derivative instruments and related transactions 34,855 28,302 Tax effect (8,059 ) (9,757 ) Effects of economic hedging related to natural gas inventory (25,387 ) (17,939 ) Tax effect 8,244 6,204 Net income to NFE tax adjustment 1,981 (1,356 ) Net income $ 123,699 $ 34,929
Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated	The Company's assets for the various business segments and business operations are detailed below: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Assets at end of period: Natural Gas Distribution $ 2,590,623 $ 2,519,578 Clean Energy Ventures 797,951 771,340 Energy Services 547,388 398,277 Midstream 248,498 232,806 Subtotal 4,184,460 3,922,001 Home Services and Other 125,149 114,801 Intercompany assets (1) (122,681 ) (108,295 ) Total $ 4,186,928 $ 3,928,507 (1) Consists of transactions between subsidiaries that are eliminated and reclassified in consolidation.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Tab

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Schedule Of Demand Fees And Demand Fees Payable	Demand fees, net of eliminations, associated with Steckman Ridge were as follows: Three Months Ended December 31, (Thousands) 2017 2016 Natural Gas Distribution $ 1,448 $ 1,410 Energy Services 701 701 Total $ 2,149 $ 2,111 The following table summarizes demand fees payable to Steckman Ridge as of: (Thousands) December 31, September 30, Natural Gas Distribution $ 775 $ 775 Energy Services 375 377 Total $ 1,150 $ 1,152

NATURE OF THE BUSINESS (Details

NATURE OF THE BUSINESS (Details) shares in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017subsidiarycustomershares
Common Units
Nature of Business [Line Items]
Ownership interest exchanged (in shares) | shares	1,840
Steckman Ridge
Nature of Business [Line Items]
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	50.00%
PennEast
Nature of Business [Line Items]
Equity method investment, ownership percentage	20.00%
Natural Gas Distribution
Nature of Business [Line Items]
Total retail customers | customer	534,400
NJR Retail Holdings Corporation
Nature of Business [Line Items]
Number of principal subsidiaries | subsidiary	2

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN37

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - GAS IN STORAGE (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)Bcf	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)Bcf
Inventory [Line Items]
Gas in Storage, value | $	$ 203,447	$ 202,063
Gas in Storage, Bcf | Bcf	68.4	75.7
Energy Services
Inventory [Line Items]
Gas in Storage, value | $	$ 144,456	$ 122,884
Gas in Storage, Bcf | Bcf	51.9	53.9
Natural Gas Distribution
Inventory [Line Items]
Gas in Storage, value | $	$ 58,991	$ 79,179
Gas in Storage, Bcf | Bcf	16.5	21.8

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN38

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - SALES TAX ACCOUNTING (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Jan. 01, 2018	Jan. 01, 2017
Principal Transaction Revenue [Line Items]
Sales tax	$ 13.3	$ 11.2
NEW JERSEY
Principal Transaction Revenue [Line Items]
State sales tax, percent		7.00%		6.875%
Subsequent Event | NEW JERSEY
Principal Transaction Revenue [Line Items]
State sales tax, percent			6.625%

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN39

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - AVAILABLE FOR SALE SECURITIES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Available for sale securities	$ 55,995		$ 65,752
Unrealized gain	9,900		12,800
Unrealized gain, net of tax	5,600		$ 7,700
Proceeds from sale of available for sale securities	6,616	$ 3,218
Pre-tax gain on sale of available-for-sale securities	$ 5,300	$ 2,600

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN40

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Billed	$ 325,406	$ 196,467
Receivable by subsidiary, percentage	100.00%	100.00%
Unbilled revenues	$ 70,138	$ 7,202
Energy Services
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Billed	$ 246,203	$ 150,322
Receivable by subsidiary, percentage	76.00%	77.00%
Natural Gas Distribution
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Billed	$ 72,067	$ 37,432
Receivable by subsidiary, percentage	22.00%	19.00%
Clean Energy Ventures
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Billed	$ 3,072	$ 2,655
Receivable by subsidiary, percentage	1.00%	1.00%
NJRHS and other
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Billed	$ 4,064	$ 6,058
Receivable by subsidiary, percentage	1.00%	3.00%

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUN41

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - LOAN RECEIVABLE (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loans receivable in other current assets	$ 9,400,000	$ 8,900,000
Loans receivable in other noncurrent assets	$ 40,700,000	40,400,000
Threshold period in establishing allowance for doubtful accounts	60 days
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 0	$ 0
Minimum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan term	3 years
Maximum
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan term	10 years

REGULATION - REGULATORY ASSETS

REGULATION - REGULATORY ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-current	$ 41,574	$ 50,791
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	362,150	375,919
Regulatory liability-current	434	78
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	237,838	14,507
Deferred income taxes
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	229,315	0
Derivatives at fair value, net
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory liability-current	434	78
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	0	146
Cost of removal obligation
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	0	7,902
New Jersey Clean Energy Program
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	7,527	5,795
Other noncurrent regulatory liabilities
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory liabilities-noncurrent	996	664
New Jersey Clean Energy Program
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-current	12,626	14,202
Underrecovered gas costs
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-current	490	9,910
Derivatives at fair value, net
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-current	18,471	9,010
Conservation Incentive Program
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-current	9,987	17,669
Expended, net of recoveries
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	31,236	28,547
Liability for future expenditures
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	144,046	149,000
Deferred income taxes
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	16,356	21,795
SAVEGREEN
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	13,419	16,302
Postemployment and other benefit costs
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	138,681	141,433
Deferred Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy costs
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	12,487	13,030
Other noncurrent regulatory assets
Regulatory Assets And Liabilities [Line Items]
Regulatory assets-noncurrent	$ 5,925	$ 5,812

REGULATION - REGULATORY FILINGS

REGULATION - REGULATORY FILINGS (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Nov. 01, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017
SAVEGREEN
Schedule of Regulatory Filings [Line Items]
Approved rate increase (decrease), amount	$ (3.9)
RAC
Schedule of Regulatory Filings [Line Items]
Requested rate increase (decrease), amount		$ (2.4)
NJCEP
Schedule of Regulatory Filings [Line Items]
Requested rate increase (decrease), amount		1.8
Natural Gas Distribution
Schedule of Regulatory Filings [Line Items]
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, regulatory liability		228
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, revaluation of deferred income taxes, provisional liability		164.3
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, income tax effects on revaluation, provisional liability		$ 63.7

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - BALANC

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - BALANCE SHEET RELATED DISCLOSURES (Details) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 01, 2015
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Benchmark interest rate			3.26%
Notional amount of foreign currency derivatives			$ 125,000,000
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	$ 46,299,000	$ 30,081,000
Derivative liabilities, current	96,788,000	46,544,000
Derivative assets, noncurrent	5,537,000	9,164,000
Derivative liabilities, noncurrent	25,759,000	11,330,000
Derivative assets	51,836,000	39,245,000
Derivative liabilities	122,547,000	57,874,000
Foreign currency contracts
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Notional amount of foreign currency derivatives	9,700,000
Energy Services | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	13,247,000	14,588,000
Derivative liabilities, current	24,531,000	16,589,000
Derivative assets, noncurrent	2,801,000	7,127,000
Derivative liabilities, noncurrent	14,256,000	8,710,000
Energy Services | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	32,559,000	15,302,000
Derivative liabilities, current	56,188,000	20,267,000
Derivative assets, noncurrent	2,706,000	2,033,000
Derivative liabilities, noncurrent	11,477,000	2,620,000
Energy Services | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Foreign currency contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	6,000	40,000
Derivative liabilities, current	4,000	0
Derivative assets, noncurrent	30,000	4,000
Derivative liabilities, noncurrent	26,000	0
Natural Gas Distribution | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	487,000	151,000
Derivative liabilities, current	53,000	72,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	0	0
Derivative liabilities, current	3,478,000	1,149,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Not Designated as Hedging Instrument | Interest rate contracts
Fair Value
Derivative assets, current	0	0
Derivative liabilities, current	12,534,000	$ 8,467,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Series Ll
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Debt issued	$ 125,000,000
Interest rate, stated percentage	5.60%

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - OFFSET

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - OFFSETTING OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Energy Services
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	$ 51,349	$ 39,094
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(32,601)	(16,294)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(5,527)	(200)
Net Amounts	13,221	22,600
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	106,482	48,186
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(32,601)	(16,294)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(38,231)	(8,766)
Net Amounts	35,650	23,126
Energy Services | Physical commodity contracts
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	16,048	21,715
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(3,137)	(2,173)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(200)	(200)
Net Amounts	12,711	19,342
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	38,787	25,299
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(3,137)	(2,173)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	35,650	23,126
Energy Services | Financial commodity contracts
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	35,265	17,335
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(29,434)	(14,121)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(5,327)	0
Net Amounts	504	3,214
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	67,665	22,887
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(29,434)	(14,121)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(38,231)	(8,766)
Net Amounts	0	0
Energy Services | Foreign currency contracts
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	36	44
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(30)	0
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	6	44
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	30
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(30)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0
Net Amounts	0
Natural Gas Distribution
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	487	151
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(25)	(20)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	462	131
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	16,065	9,688
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(25)	(20)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(3,478)	(1,149)
Net Amounts	12,562	8,519
Natural Gas Distribution | Physical commodity contracts
Derivative assets:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	487	151
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(25)	(20)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	462	131
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	53	72
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	(25)	(20)
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	28	52
Natural Gas Distribution | Financial commodity contracts
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	3,478	1,149
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	0	0
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	(3,478)	(1,149)
Net Amounts	0	0
Natural Gas Distribution | Interest rate contracts
Derivative liabilities:
Amounts Presented in Balance Sheets	12,534	8,467
Offsetting Derivative Instruments	0	0
Financial Collateral Received/Pledged	0	0
Net Amounts	$ 12,534	$ 8,467

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - INCOME

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - INCOME STATEMENT RELATED DISCLOSURES (Details) - Not Designated as Hedging Instrument - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Energy Services
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	$ (47,532)	$ (37,753)
Energy Services | Physical commodity contracts | Operating revenues
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	1,210	1,743
Energy Services | Physical commodity contracts | Gas purchases
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(22,697)	(8,799)
Energy Services | Financial commodity contracts | Gas purchases
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(25,997)	(30,611)
Energy Services | Foreign currency contracts | Gas purchases
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(48)	(86)
Natural Gas Distribution
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(15,851)	32,599
Natural Gas Distribution | Physical commodity contracts
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(2,976)	1,050
Natural Gas Distribution | Financial commodity contracts
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	(8,808)	11,178
Natural Gas Distribution | Interest rate contracts
Derivative Instruments, Gain (Loss) [Line Items]
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivatives	$ (4,067)	$ 20,371

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - VOLUME

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - VOLUME (Details) certificate in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)Bcfcertificate	Sep. 30, 2017Bcf	Jun. 01, 2015USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative, notional amount | $			$ 125,000,000
Foreign currency contracts
Derivative [Line Items]
Derivative, notional amount | $	$ 9,700,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Long | Futures
Derivative [Line Items]
Volume	(20.4)	(18.2)
Natural Gas Distribution | Long | Physical
Derivative [Line Items]
Volume	(26.8)	(32.1)
Energy Services | Physical commodity contracts
Derivative [Line Items]
Number of SRECs | certificate	403
Energy Services | Short | Futures
Derivative [Line Items]
Volume	(33.4)	(16.4)
Energy Services | Short | Physical
Derivative [Line Items]
Volume	(4.6)	(13.1)

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - BROKER

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - BROKER MARGIN DEPOSITS (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Natural Gas Distribution
Derivative [Line Items]
Broker margin - Current assets	$ 4,632	$ 2,661
Energy Services
Derivative [Line Items]
Broker margin - Current assets	$ 48,218	$ 23,166

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - CREDIT

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS - CREDIT RISK EXPOSURE (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Credit Risk Exposure [Line Items]
Gross Credit Exposure	$ 294,742
Derivative, net liability position, aggregate fair value	14,000	$ 8,700
Additional collateral, aggregate fair value	13,100	$ 8,600
Investment grade
Credit Risk Exposure [Line Items]
Gross Credit Exposure	182,514
Noninvestment grade
Credit Risk Exposure [Line Items]
Gross Credit Exposure	25,079
Internally rated investment grade
Credit Risk Exposure [Line Items]
Gross Credit Exposure	25,435
Internally rated noninvestment grade
Credit Risk Exposure [Line Items]
Gross Credit Exposure	$ 61,714

- DEBT (Details)

- DEBT (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Capital leases	$ 45,000	$ 39,700
Level 2 | Carrying Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt, fair value	1,097,045	1,097,045
Level 2 | Fair market value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt, fair value	1,111,265	1,107,676
Natural Gas Distribution
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Issuance Costs, Gross	6,200	6,300
NJR
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Debt Issuance Costs, Gross	$ 804	$ 770

FAIR VALUE - HIERARCHY (Details

FAIR VALUE - HIERARCHY (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	$ 51,836	$ 39,245
Liabilities	122,547	57,874
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available for sale equity securities - energy industry	55,995	65,752
Other	1,106	1,202
Total assets at fair value	108,937	106,199
Total liabilities at fair value	122,547	57,874
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	16,535	21,866
Liabilities	38,840	25,371
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	35,265	17,335
Liabilities	71,143	24,036
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Foreign currency contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	36	44
Liabilities	30
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Interest rate contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Liabilities	12,534	8,467
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available for sale equity securities - energy industry	55,995	65,752
Other	1,106	1,202
Total assets at fair value	92,366	84,289
Total liabilities at fair value	71,143	24,036
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1) | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0	0
Liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1) | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	35,265	17,335
Liabilities	71,143	24,036
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1) | Foreign currency contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0	0
Liabilities	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1) | Interest rate contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available for sale equity securities - energy industry	0	0
Other	0	0
Total assets at fair value	16,571	21,910
Total liabilities at fair value	51,404	33,838
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	16,535	21,866
Liabilities	38,840	25,371
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0
Liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Foreign currency contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	36	44
Liabilities	30
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Interest rate contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Liabilities	12,534	8,467
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Available for sale equity securities - energy industry	0	0
Other	0	0
Total assets at fair value	0	0
Total liabilities at fair value	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | Physical commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0	0
Liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | Financial commodity contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0
Liabilities	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | Foreign currency contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets	0	0
Liabilities	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | Interest rate contracts
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Liabilities	0	0
Money market funds | Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets, (Level 1)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Money market funds	$ 4	$ 112

(Details)

(Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)mi	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Investments in equity investees	$ 179,429	$ 172,585
Steckman Ridge
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Investments in equity investees	119,433	120,262
Steckman Ridge | Equity Method Investee
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Total outstanding principal balance of loans	70,400	70,400
PennEast
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Investments in equity investees	$ 59,996	$ 52,323
Construction plan, project area (in miles) | mi	120

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details)

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income (loss), as reported	$ 123,699	$ 34,929
Basic earnings per share
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic (shares)	86,996,000	86,084,000
Basic earnings per common share (usd per share)	$ 1.42	$ 0.41
Diluted earnings per share
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-basic (shares)	86,996,000	86,084,000
Incremental shares	351,000	771,000
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding-diluted (shares)	87,347,000	86,855,000
Diluted (loss) earnings per common share (usd per share)	$ 1.42	$ 0.40
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share	0	0

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - NARRATIVE

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - NARRATIVE (Details) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Equity [Abstract]
Equity raised through the DRP	$ 3.8	$ 4.6
Number of treasury shares issued from raising of equity through the DRP	90	139
Equity raised through the DRP waiver discount feature	$ 22.7
Shares issued through the DRP waiver discount feature (in shares)	554

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - CHANGE IN

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - CHANGE IN COMMON STOCK EQUITY (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period (shares)	86,555,507
Balance as of beginning of period	$ 1,236,643
Net income	123,699	$ 34,929
Other comprehensive income	(5,204)	$ 5,832
Common stock issued:
Incentive plan	$ 15,404
Dividend reinvestment plan (in shares)	90,000	139,000
Dividend reinvestment plan	$ 3,799
Waiver discount (in shares)	554,000
Waiver discount	$ 22,690
Cash dividend declared ($.2725 per share)	(23,831)
Treasury stock and other	$ (25,430)
Balance as of end of period (shares)	87,475,456
Balance as of end of period	$ 1,347,770
Cash dividend declared per share (usd per share)	$ 0.2725	$ 0.255
Common Stock
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period (shares)	86,556,000
Balance as of beginning of period	$ 222,258
Common stock issued:
Incentive plan (in shares)	525,000
Incentive plan	$ 1,453
Dividend reinvestment plan (in shares)	90,000
Waiver discount (in shares)	554,000
Waiver discount	$ 1,384
Treasury stock and other (shares)	(250,000)
Balance as of end of period (shares)	87,475,000
Balance as of end of period	$ 225,095
Premium on Common Stock
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	219,696
Common stock issued:
Incentive plan	13,951
Dividend reinvestment plan	245
Waiver discount	21,306
Treasury stock and other	(56)
Balance as of end of period	255,142
Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	(3,256)	$ (15,155)
Other comprehensive income	(5,204)
Common stock issued:
Balance as of end of period	(8,460)	$ (9,323)
Treasury Stock And Other
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	(70,039)
Common stock issued:
Dividend reinvestment plan	3,554
Treasury stock and other	(25,374)
Balance as of end of period	(91,859)
Retained Earnings
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	867,984
Net income	123,699
Common stock issued:
Cash dividend declared ($.2725 per share)	(23,831)
Balance as of end of period	$ 967,852

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - ACCUMULAT

COMMON STOCK EQUITY - ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Increase (Decrease) in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	$ 1,236,643
Other comprehensive income (loss), before reclassifications, net of tax	(2,290)	$ 7,042
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	(2,914)	(1,210)
Other comprehensive (loss) income	(5,204)	5,832
Balance as of end of period	1,347,770
Available for Sale Securities
Increase (Decrease) in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	11,044	4,198
Other comprehensive income (loss), before reclassifications, net of tax	(2,290)	7,042
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	(3,154)	(1,527)
Other comprehensive (loss) income	(5,444)	5,515
Balance as of end of period	5,600	9,713
Tax on other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	(851)	4,840
Tax on amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income	(2,178)	(1,054)
Tax on net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)	(3,029)	3,786
Postemployment Benefit Obligation
Increase (Decrease) in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	(14,300)	(19,353)
Other comprehensive income (loss), before reclassifications, net of tax	0	0
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	240	317
Other comprehensive (loss) income	240	317
Balance as of end of period	(14,060)	(19,036)
Tax on other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	0	0
Tax on amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income	136	217
Tax on net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)	136	217
Total
Increase (Decrease) in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Roll Forward]
Balance as of beginning of period	(3,256)	(15,155)
Balance as of end of period	(8,460)	(9,323)
Tax on other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications	(851)	4,840
Tax on amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income	(2,042)	(837)
Tax on net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)	$ (2,893)	$ 4,003

DEBT - CREDIT FACILITIES (Detai

DEBT - CREDIT FACILITIES (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 19, 2018	Dec. 14, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Letter of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding, amount				$ 13,400,000
Revolving Credit Facility | Line Of Credit Facility Due April 14, 2018
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Term of line of credit facility	4 months
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding	$ 0
NJR | Letter of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding, amount	11,000,000
NJR | Notes
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Amount outstanding at end of period	$ 327,200,000			$ 255,000,000
Weighted average interest rate at end of period	2.26%			2.14%
Amount available at end of period	$ 86,834,000			$ 156,601,000
NJR | Committed Credit Facilities Due April 2018 | Notes
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Amount available at end of period	75,000,000			0
NJR | Revolving Credit Facility | Committed Credit Facilities Due September 2020
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Bank revolving credit facilities	425,000,000			425,000,000
NJR | Revolving Credit Facility | Committed Credit Facilities Due April 2018
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Bank revolving credit facilities	75,000,000		$ 75,000,000	0
Natural Gas Distribution | Commercial Paper
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Amount outstanding at end of period	$ 46,000,000			$ 11,000,000
Weighted average interest rate at end of period	1.33%			1.13%
Amount available at end of period	$ 203,269,000			$ 238,269,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Letter of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding, amount	731,000			731,000
Natural Gas Distribution | Revolving Credit Facility | Committed Credit Facilities Due May 2019
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Bank revolving credit facilities	$ 250,000,000			$ 250,000,000
Subsequent Event | Revolving Credit Facility | Line Of Credit Facility Due April 14, 2018
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Bank revolving credit facilities		$ 100,000,000

DEBT - LONG TERM DEBT (Details)

DEBT - LONG TERM DEBT (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Jan. 26, 2018	Aug. 18, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Payments of long-term debt	$ 1,690	$ 2,716
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transaction	7,820	9,587
Natural Gas Distribution
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale-leaseback transaction	7,800	9,600
Sale leaseback transaction, other payments required	$ 1,100	$ 1,000
Credit Agreement Due August 16, 2019 | Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes				$ 100,000
Subsequent Event | Credit Agreement Due August 16, 2019 | Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate at end of period			2.84%

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Details

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Components of net periodic cost
Discretionary contribution	$ 0
Pension
Components of net periodic cost
Service cost	2,035,000	$ 2,087,000
Interest cost	2,623,000	2,443,000
Expected return on plan assets	(4,910,000)	(4,828,000)
Recognized actuarial loss	1,884,000	2,207,000
Prior service cost amortization	27,000	27,000
Net periodic benefit cost	1,659,000	1,936,000
OPEB
Components of net periodic cost
Service cost	1,152,000	1,095,000
Interest cost	1,591,000	1,386,000
Expected return on plan assets	(1,338,000)	(1,192,000)
Recognized actuarial loss	1,165,000	1,093,000
Prior service cost amortization	(91,000)	(91,000)
Net periodic benefit cost	$ 2,479,000	$ 2,291,000

INCOME TAXES (Details)

INCOME TAXES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent	24.50%
Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017, income tax benefit	$ (57.6)
Forecasted effective tax rate	13.90%	8.70%
Forecasted tax credits, net of deferred tax				$ 36.4
Excess tax benefits associated with vesting of share-based awards	$ 2.8	$ 1.2
Actual effective tax rate since tax effects of awards are treated as discrete item	(68.20%)	5.50%
Deferred tax assets, federal	$ 28.5			28.5
Deferred tax asset, state	27.7			23.6
ITC carryforward	$ 122.9			109.3
ITC carryforward, expiration period	20 years
Federal
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards	$ 125.3			125.3
State
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards	526.4			471.7
Scenario, Forecast
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Forecasted tax credits, net of deferred tax			$ 21.9
MONTANA
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Valuation allowance	$ 1.3			$ 1

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LI61

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES - SCHEDULE OF FUTURE COMMITTED EXPENSES (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Current charges recoverable through BGSS	$ 75,900
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	486,419
2,019	334,822
2,020	231,984
2,021	182,870
2,022	162,716
Thereafter	$ 782,866
Maximum
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Storage and pipeline capacity, contract term	10 years
Energy Services
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	$ 370,940
2,019	190,624
2,020	74,369
2,021	44,054
2,022	25,142
Thereafter	22,500
Energy Services | Natural gas purchases
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	287,394
2,019	117,129
2,020	21,504
2,021	11,443
2,022	0
Thereafter	0
Energy Services | Storage demand fees
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	24,479
2,019	22,933
2,020	13,573
2,021	9,263
2,022	6,055
Thereafter	3,523
Energy Services | Pipeline demand fees
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	59,067
2,019	50,562
2,020	39,292
2,021	23,348
2,022	19,087
Thereafter	$ 18,977
Energy Services | Minimum
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Storage and pipeline capacity, contract term	1 year
Natural Gas Distribution
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	$ 115,479
2,019	144,198
2,020	157,615
2,021	138,816
2,022	137,574
Thereafter	760,366
Natural Gas Distribution | Natural gas purchases
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	39,542
2,019	41,287
2,020	40,046
2,021	38,234
2,022	38,794
Thereafter	79,894
Natural Gas Distribution | Storage demand fees
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	22,531
2,019	27,193
2,020	16,482
2,021	9,380
2,022	8,952
Thereafter	11,373
Natural Gas Distribution | Pipeline demand fees
Natural Gas Purchases and Future Demand Fees, Next Five Fiscal Years
2,018	53,406
2,019	75,718
2,020	101,087
2,021	91,202
2,022	89,828
Thereafter	$ 669,099

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LI62

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES - LEGAL PROCEEDINGS (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)site	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Number of MGP sites | site	5
Recovery of expenditures, including carrying costs, rolling period approved by the BPU	7 years
Regulatory assets	$ 362,150,000	$ 375,919,000
Manufactured gas plant remediation	144,046,000	149,000,000
Minimum
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Product liability contingency, loss exposure in excess of accrual, best estimate	117,600,000
Loss contingency, estimate of possible loss	600,000
Maximum
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Product liability contingency, loss exposure in excess of accrual, best estimate	205,200,000
Loss contingency, estimate of possible loss	3,200,000
Expended, net of recoveries
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Regulatory assets	31,236,000	28,547,000
Liability for future expenditures
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Regulatory assets	144,046,000	$ 149,000,000
RAC
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Public utilities, approved rate, amount	9,400,000
Public utilities, requested rate, amount	$ 7,000,000

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER O63

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA - RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT INCOME TO CONSOLIDATED (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Utility	$ 209,787	$ 185,556
Nonutility	495,518	355,472
Total operating revenues	705,305	541,028
Depreciation and amortization	21,854	19,260
Interest income	56	75
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	11,905	10,615
Income tax (benefit) provision	(50,168)	2,018
Equity in earnings of affiliates	3,264	2,311
Net financial earnings	135,333	40,383
Capital expenditures	67,090	85,811
Investments in equity investees	$ 7,202	$ 4,636
Canada
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Percentage to total operating revenues	0.02%	1.90%
Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total operating revenues	$ 701,764	$ 530,304
Depreciation and amortization	21,733	19,088
Interest income	783	537
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	12,310	10,775
Income tax (benefit) provision	(61,384)	1,473
Net financial earnings	143,144	39,064
Capital expenditures	65,777	85,640
Operating Segments | Natural Gas Distribution
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Utility	209,787	185,556
Depreciation and amortization	12,783	12,030
Interest income	119	75
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	6,536	6,824
Income tax (benefit) provision	11,704	14,887
Net financial earnings	34,109	30,348
Capital expenditures	47,390	38,855
Operating Segments | Clean Energy Ventures
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	13,996	7,567
Depreciation and amortization	8,935	7,041
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	4,208	3,324
Income tax (benefit) provision	(73,988)	(11,887)
Net financial earnings	71,250	2,842
Capital expenditures	18,387	46,785
Operating Segments | Energy Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	472,171	338,930
Depreciation and amortization	14	16
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	1,257	571
Income tax (benefit) provision	13,743	(3,176)
Net financial earnings	20,274	3,487
Operating Segments | Midstream
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization	1	1
Interest income	664	462
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	309	56
Income tax (benefit) provision	(12,843)	1,649
Equity in earnings of affiliates	4,129	3,331
Net financial earnings	17,511	2,387
Investments in equity investees	7,202	4,636
Intercompany
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	606	1,031
Intercompany | Energy Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	5,810	(1,749)
Home Services and Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	9,351	8,975
Depreciation and amortization	188	221
Interest income	204	121
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	90	74
Income tax (benefit) provision	11,698	(245)
Net financial earnings	(7,716)	1,542
Capital expenditures	1,313	171
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Nonutility	(6,416)	718
Depreciation and amortization	(67)	(49)
Interest income	(931)	(583)
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	(495)	(234)
Income tax (benefit) provision	(482)	790
Equity in earnings of affiliates	(865)	(1,020)
Net financial earnings	$ (95)	$ (223)

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER O64

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA - NET FINANCIAL EARNINGS (LOSS) RECONCILIATION (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Net financial earnings	$ 135,333	$ 40,383
Less:
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments and related transactions	34,855	28,302
Tax effect	(8,059)	(9,757)
Effects of economic hedging related to natural gas inventory	(25,387)	(17,939)
Tax effect	8,244	6,204
Net income to NFE tax adjustment	1,981	(1,356)
NET INCOME	$ 123,699	$ 34,929

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER O65

REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA - RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT ASSETS TO CONSOLIDATED (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 4,186,928	$ 3,928,507
Operating Segments
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	4,184,460	3,922,001
Operating Segments | Natural Gas Distribution
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	2,590,623	2,519,578
Operating Segments | Energy Services
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	547,388	398,277
Operating Segments | Clean Energy Ventures
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	797,951	771,340
Operating Segments | Midstream
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	248,498	232,806
Home Services and Other
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	125,149	114,801
Intercompany Assets
Segment Reporting, Asset Reconciling Item [Line Items]
Total assets	$ (122,681)	$ (108,295)

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Det

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Details) $ in Thousands	Apr. 01, 2010USD ($)Bcf	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)Bcf / dcontract	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Demand fees expense recognized pertaining to related party agreement		$ 2,149	$ 2,111
Demand fees payable		$ 1,150		$ 1,152
Number of asset management agreements | contract		4
NJNG to NJRES Affilate
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Asset management agreement, period	10 years
NJNG to Steckman RIdge Affiliate
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Natural gas sold at cost under asset management agreement (in Bcf) | Bcf	3
Approximate annual demand fees under agreement	$ 9,300
Demand fees expense recognized pertaining to related party agreement		$ 1,448	1,410
Demand fees payable		775		775
NJRES to Steckman Ridge Affiliate
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Demand fees expense recognized pertaining to related party agreement		701	$ 701
Demand fees payable		$ 375		$ 377
NJNG to PennEast Affiliate
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Transportation precedent agreement, period		15 years
Transportation capacity under precedent agreement from NJNG with PennEast (in bcf per day) | Bcf / d		0.18

ACQUISITION (Details)

ACQUISITION (Details) $ in Thousands	Nov. 07, 2017USD ($)	Oct. 27, 2017USD ($)mi	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payment made at closing			$ 10,000	$ 0
Talen Generation, LLC | Talen's Membership Interests In IEC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pipeline length owned | mi		84
Adelphia | Talen Generation, LLC | Talen's Membership Interests In IEC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration to be transferred		$ 166,000
Contingent consideration arrangements, additional consideration		$ 23,000
Payment made at closing	$ 10,000