(a) All amounts included in the accounts for service company property must be stated at the cost incurred by the service company, except for property acquired by lease which qualifies as capital lease property under General Instructions in § 367.18, Criteria for classifying leases, and is recorded in Account 101.1, Property under capital leases (§ 367.1011).

(b) When the consideration given for property is other than cash, the value of the consideration must be determined on a cash basis (See, however, Definitions § 367.1(a)(11)). In the entry recording the transaction, the actual consideration must be described with sufficient particularity to identify it. The service company must be prepared to furnish the Commission the particulars of its determination of the cash value of the consideration, if other than cash.

(c) When property is purchased under a plan involving deferred payments, no charge must be made to the service company property accounts for interest, insurance, or other expenditures occasioned solely by such form of payment.

(d) The service company property accounts must not include the cost or other value of service company property contributed to the company. Contributions in the form of money or its equivalent toward the construction of property must be credited to accounts charged with the cost of such construction. Property constructed from contributions of cash or its equivalent must be shown as a reduction to gross property constructed when assembling cost data for posting to property ledgers of accounts. The accumulated gross costs of property must be recorded as a debit in the plant ledger of accounts along with the related amount of contributions concurrently recorded as a credit.

(a) For service companies, the cost of construction properly included in the service company property accounts must include, where applicable, the direct and overhead costs as listed and defined as follows:

(1) Contract work includes amounts paid for work performed under contract by other companies, firms, or individuals, costs incident to the award of such contracts, and the inspection of the work.

(2) Labor includes the pay and expenses of employees of the service company engaged in construction work, and related workmen's compensation insurance, payroll taxes and similar items of expense. It does not include the pay and expenses of employees that are distributed to construction through clearing accounts nor the pay and expenses included in other items in this section.

(3)(i) Materials and supplies includes the purchase price at the point of free delivery plus customs duties, excise taxes, the cost of inspection, loading and transportation, the related stores expenses, and the cost of fabricated materials from the service company's shop. In determining the cost of materials and supplies used for construction, proper allowance must be made for unused materials and supplies, for materials recovered from temporary structures used in performing the work involved, and for discounts allowed and realized in the purchase of materials and supplies.

(ii) The cost of individual items of equipment of small value (for example, $500 or less) or of short life, including small portable tools and implements, must not be charged to service company property accounts unless the correctness of the accounting is verified by current inventories. The cost must be charged to the appropriate operating expense or clearing accounts, according to the use of the items, or, if the items are consumed directly in construction work, the cost must be included as part of the cost of the construction.

(4) Transportation includes the cost of transporting employees, materials and supplies, tools, purchased equipment, and other work equipment (when not under own power) to and from points of construction. It includes amounts paid to others as well as the cost of operating the service company's own transportation equipment. (See paragraph (a)(5) of this section.)

(5) Special machine service includes the cost of labor (optional), materials and supplies, depreciation, and other expenses incurred in the maintenance, operation and use of special machines, such as steam shovels, pile drivers, derricks, ditchers, scrapers, material unloaders, and other labor saving machines; also expenditures for rental, maintenance and operation of machines of others. It does not include the cost of small tools and other individual items of small value or short life which are included in the cost of materials and supplies. (See paragraph (a)(3) of this section.) When a particular construction job requires the use for an extended period of time of special machines, transportation or other equipment, the associated net book cost, less the appraised or salvage value at time of release from the job, must be included in the cost of construction.

(6) Shop service includes the proportion of the expense of the service company's shop department assignable to construction work except that the cost of fabricated materials from the service company's shop must be included in materials and supplies.

(7) Protection includes the cost of protecting the service company's property from fire or other casualties and the cost of preventing damages to others, or to the property of others, including payments for discovery or extinguishment of fires, cost of apprehending and prosecuting incendiaries, related witness fees, amounts paid to municipalities and others for fire protection, and other analogous items of expenditures in connection with construction work.

(8) Injuries and damages includes expenditures or losses in connection with construction work on account of injuries to persons and damages to the property of others; also the cost of investigation of, and defense against, actions for the injuries and damages. Insurance recovered or recoverable on account of compensation paid for injuries to persons incident to construction must be credited to the account or accounts to which such compensation is charged. Insurance recovered or recoverable on account of property damages incident to construction must be credited to the account or accounts charged with the cost of the damages.

(9) Privileges and permits includes payments for and expenses incurred in securing temporary privileges, permits or rights in connection with construction work, such as for the use of private or public property, streets, or highways, but it does not include rents.

(10) Rents include amounts paid for the use of construction quarters and office space occupied by construction forces and amounts properly includible in construction costs for the facilities jointly used.

(11) Engineering and supervision includes the portion of the pay and expenses of engineers, surveyors, draftsmen, inspectors, superintendents and their assistants applicable to construction work.

(12) General administration capitalized includes the portion of the pay and expenses of the general officers and administrative and general expenses applicable to construction work.

(13) Engineering services includes amounts paid to other companies, firms, or individuals engaged by the service company to plan, design, prepare estimates, supervise, inspect, or give general advice and assistance in connection with construction work.

(14) Insurance includes premiums paid or amounts provided or reserved as self-insurance for the protection against loss and damages in connection with construction, by fire or other casualty injuries to or death of persons other than employees, damages to property of others, defalcation of employees and agents, and the nonperformance of contractual obligations of others. It does not include workmen's compensation or similar insurance on employees included as labor in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(15) Law expenditures includes the general law expenditures incurred in connection with construction and the directly related court and legal costs, other than law expenses included in protection in paragraph (a)(7) of this section, and in injuries and damages in paragraph (a)(8) of this section.

(16) Taxes include taxes on physical property (including land) during the period of construction and other taxes properly includible in construction costs before the facilities become available for service.

(17) Interest cost on funds used during construction which are allowed to be capitalized following generally accepted accounting principles.

(18) Earnings and expenses during construction. The earnings and expenses during construction must constitute a component of construction costs.

(19) Training costs. When it is necessary that employees be trained to operate or maintain property that is being constructed and the property is not conventional in nature, or is new to the company's operations, these costs may be capitalized as a component of construction cost. Once property is placed in service, the capitalization of training costs must cease and subsequent training costs must be expensed. (See Operating Expense Instructions in § 367.83.)

(20) Studies include the costs of studies such as safety or environmental studies mandated by regulatory bodies relative to property under construction. Studies relative to facilities in service must be charged to account 183, Preliminary survey and investigation charges (§ 367.1830).

(21) Asset retirement costs. The costs recognized as a result of asset retirement obligations incurred during the construction and testing of service company property must constitute a component of construction costs.

(b) [Reserved]

(a) All overhead construction costs, such as engineering, supervision, general office salaries and expenses, construction engineering and supervision by others than the service company, law expenses, insurance, injuries and damages, relief and pensions, taxes and interest, must be charged to particular jobs or units on the basis of the amounts of the reasonably applicable overheads.

(b) As far as practicable, the determination of payroll charges includible in construction overheads must be based on the related time card distributions. Where this procedure is impractical, special studies must be made periodically of the time of supervisory employees devoted to construction activities to the end that only the overhead costs that have a definite relation to construction must be capitalized.

(c) The records supporting the entries for overhead construction costs must be kept so as to show the total amount of each overhead for each year, the nature and amount of each overhead expenditure charged to each construction project and to each property account, and the bases of distribution of such costs.

(a) When service company property is acquired by purchase, merger, consolidation, liquidation, or otherwise, after the effective date of this system of accounts, the costs of acquisition, including related incidental expenses, must be charged to the appropriate service company property accounts and account 107, Construction work in progress (§ 367.1070), as appropriate.

(b) If property acquired is in a physical condition so that it is necessary to rehabilitate it substantially in order to bring the property up to the standards of the service company, the cost of the work, except replacements, must be accounted for as a part of the purchase price of the property.

(c) Unless otherwise authorized by the Commission, all service company property acquired from an affiliate company must be recorded at its book value. Additionally, if property is acquired that is in excess of $10 million and has been previously devoted to public service at a price above book value, the service company must file with the Commission the proposed journal entries associated with the acquisition within six months from the date of acquisition of the property.

(d) When service company property is sold, conveyed, or transferred to another by sale, merger, consolidation, or otherwise, the book cost of the property sold or transferred to another must be credited to the appropriate service company property accounts. The amounts (estimated, if not known) carried with respect the accounts for accumulated provision for depreciation and amortization must be charged to those accounts. The difference, if any, between the net amount of debits and credits and the consideration received for the property (less commissions and other expenses of making the sale) must be included in account 421.1, Gain on disposition of property (§ 367.4211), or account 421.2, Loss on disposition of property (§ 367.4212).

(e) In connection with the acquisition of service company property previously devoted to service company operations or acquired from an associate company, the service company must procure, if possible, all existing records relating to the property acquired or related certified copies, and must preserve the records in conformity with regulations or practices governing the preservation of records of its own construction.

(a) The cost of substantial initial improvements (including repairs, rearrangements, additions, and betterments) made to prepare service company property leased to be used for a period of more than one year, and the cost of subsequent substantial additions, replacements, or betterments to the property, must be charged to the service company property account appropriate for the class of property leased. If the service life of the improvements is terminable by action of the lease, the cost, less net salvage, of the improvements must be spread over the life of the lease by charges to account 404, Amortization of limited-term service property (§ 367.4040). However, if the service life is not terminated by action of the lease but by depreciation proper, the cost of the improvements, less net salvage, must be accounted for as depreciable property. The provisions of this paragraph are applicable to property leased under either capital leases or operating leases.

(b) If improvements made to property leased for a period of more than one year are of relatively minor cost, or if the lease is for a period of not more than one year, the cost of the improvements must be charged to the account in which the rent is included, either directly or by amortization.

(a) The accounts for land and land rights must include the cost of land owned in fee by the service company and rights. Interests, and privileges held by the service company in land owned by others, such as leaseholds, easements, water and water power rights, diversion rights, submersion rights, rights-of-way, and other like interests in land. Do not include in the accounts for land and land rights and rights-of-way costs incurred in connection with first clearing and grading of land and rights-of-way and the damage costs associated with the construction and installation of property. The costs must be included in the appropriate property accounts directly benefited.

(b) Where special assessments for public improvements provide for deferred payments, the full amount of the assessments must be charged to the appropriate land account and the unpaid balance must be carried in an appropriate liability account. Interest on unpaid balances must be charged to the appropriate interest account. If any part of the cost of public improvements is included in the general tax levy, the related amount must be charged to the appropriate tax account.

(c) The net profit from the sale of timber, cord wood, sand, gravel, other resources or other property acquired with the rights-of-way or other lands must be credited to the appropriate property account to which it is related. Where land is held for a considerable period of time and timber and other natural resources on the land at the time of purchase increases in value, the net profit (after giving effect to the cost of the natural resources) from the sales of timber or its products or other natural resources must be credited to the appropriate operating income account when the land has been recorded in account 101, Service company property (§ 367.1010), otherwise to account 421, Miscellaneous income or loss (§ 367.4210).

(d) Separate entries must be made for the acquisition, transfer, or retirement of each parcel of land, and each land right (except rights of way for distribution lines), or water right, having a life of more than one year. A record must be maintained showing the nature of ownership, full legal description, area, map reference, purpose for which used, city, county, and tax district on which situated, from whom purchased or to whom sold, payment given or received, other costs, contract date and number, date of recording of deed, and book and page of record. Entries transferring or retiring land or land rights must refer to the original entry recording its acquisition.

(e) Any difference between the amount received from the sale of land or land rights, less agents' commissions and other costs incident to the sale, and the book cost of such land or rights, must be included in account 421.1, Gain on disposition of property (§ 367.4211), or account 421.2, Loss on disposition of property (§ 367.4212), when the property has been recorded in account 101, Service company property (§ 367.1010). Appropriate adjustments of the accounts must be made with respect to any structures or improvements located on the land sold.

(f) The cost of buildings and other improvements (other than public improvements) must not be included in the land accounts. If, at the time of acquisition of an interest in land the interest extends to buildings or other improvements (other than public improvements) that are then devoted to operations, the land and improvements must be separately appraised and the cost allocated to land and buildings or improvements on the basis of the appraisals. If the improvements are removed or wrecked without being used in operations, the cost of removing or wrecking must be charged and the salvage credited to the account in which the cost of the land is recorded.

(g) Provisions must be made for amortizing amounts carried in the accounts for limited-term interests in land so as to apportion equitably the cost of each interest over the life thereof. (See account 111, Accumulated provision for amortization of service company property in § 367.1110, and account 404, Amortization of limited-term property in § 367.4040.)

(h) The items of cost to be included in the accounts for land and land rights are as follows:

(1) Bulkheads, buried, not requiring maintenance or replacement.

(2) Cost, first, of acquisition including mortgages and other liens assumed (but not the related subsequent interest).

(3) Condemnation proceedings, including court and counsel costs.

(4) Consents and abutting damages, payment for.

(5) Conveyancers' and notaries' fees.

(6) Fees, commissions, and salaries to brokers, agents and others in connection with the acquisition of the land or land rights.

(7) Leases, cost of voiding upon purchase to secure possession of land.

(8) Removing, relocating, or reconstructing, property of others, such as buildings, highways, railroads, bridges, cemeteries, churches, telephone and power lines, in order to acquire quiet possession.

(9) Retaining walls unless identified with structures.

(10) Special assessments levied by public authorities for public improvements on the basis of benefits for new roads, new bridges, new sewers, new curbing, new pavements, and other public improvements, but not taxes levied to provide for the maintenance of such improvements.

(11) Surveys in connection with the acquisition, but not amounts paid for topographical surveys and maps where the costs are attributable to structures or plant equipment erected or to be erected or installed on the land.

(12) Taxes assumed, accrued to date of transfer of title.

(13) Title, examining, clearing, insuring and registering in connection with the acquisition and defending against claims relating to the period prior to the acquisition.

(14) Appraisals prior to closing title.

(15) Cost of dealing with distributees or legatees residing outside of the state or county, such as recording power of attorney, recording will or exemplification of will, recording satisfaction of state tax.

(16) Filing satisfaction of mortgage.

(17) Documentary stamps.

(18) Photographs of property at acquisition.

(19) Fees and expenses incurred in the acquisition of water rights and grants.

(20) Cost of fill to extend bulkhead line over land under water, where riparian rights are held, which is not occasioned by the erection of a structure.

(21) Sidewalks and curbs constructed by the service company on public property.

(22) Labor and expenses in connection with securing rights of way, where performed by company employees and company agents.

(a) The accounts for structures and improvements must include the cost of all buildings and facilities to house, support, or safeguard property or persons, including all fixtures permanently attached to and made a part of buildings and that cannot be removed from the buildings and facilities without cutting into the walls, ceilings, or floors, or without in some way impairing the buildings, and improvements of a permanent character on, or to, land. Also include those costs incurred in connection with the first clearing and grading of land and rights-of-way and the damage costs associated with construction and installation of property.

(b) The cost of specially-provided foundations not intended to outlast the machinery or apparatus for which provided, and associated costs, such as angle irons, castings, and other items installed at the base of an item of equipment, must be charged to the same account as the cost of the machinery, apparatus, or equipment.

(c) Where the structure of a dam also forms the foundation of the service company building, the foundation must be considered a part of the dam.

(d) The cost of disposing of materials excavated in connection with construction of structures must be considered as a part of the cost of that work, except as follows:

(1) When the material is used for filling, the cost of loading, hauling, and dumping must be equitably apportioned between the work in connection with which the removal occurs and the work in connection with which the material is used.

(2) When the material is sold, the net amount realized from the sales must be credited to the work in connection with which the removal occurs. If the amount realized from the sale of excavated materials exceeds the removal costs and the costs in connection with the sale, the excess must be credited to the land account in which the site is carried.

(e) Lighting or other fixtures temporarily attached to buildings for purposes of display or demonstration must not be included in the cost of the building but in the appropriate equipment account.

(f) This account must include the following items:

(1) Architects” plans and specifications including supervision.

(2) Ash pits (when located within the building).

(3) Athletic field structures and improvements.

(4) Boilers, furnaces, piping, wiring, fixtures, and machinery for heating, lighting, signaling, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, plumbing, vacuum cleaning systems, incinerator and smoke pipe, flues and similar items.

(5) Bulkheads, including dredging, riprap fill, piling, decking, concrete, fenders, and similar items when exposed and subject to maintenance and replacement.

(6) Chimneys.

(7) Coal bins and bunkers.

(8) Commissions and fees to brokers, agents, architects, and others.

(9) Conduit (not to be removed) with its contents.

(10) Damages to abutting property during construction.

(11) Docks.

(12) Door checks and door stops.

(13) Drainage and sewerage systems.

(14) Elevators, cranes, hoists, and the machinery for operating them.

(15) Excavation, including shoring, bracing, bridging, refill and disposal of excess excavated material, cofferdams around foundation, pumping water from cofferdams during construction, and test borings.

(16) Fences and fence curbs (not including protective fences isolating items of equipment, which must be charged to the appropriate equipment account).

(17) Fire protection systems when forming a part of a structure.

(18) Flagpole.

(19) Floor covering (permanently attached).

(20) Foundations and piers for machinery, constructed as a permanent part of a building or other item listed in this paragraph (f).

(21) Grading and clearing when directly occasioned by the building of a structure.

(22) Intrasite communication system, poles, pole fixtures, wires, and cables.

(23) Landscaping, lawns, shrubbery and similar items.

(24) Leases, voiding upon purchase to secure possession of structures.

(25) Leased property, expenditures on.

(26) Lighting fixtures and outside lighting system.

(27) Mail chutes when part of a building.

(28) Marquee, permanently attached to building.

(29) Painting, first cost.

(30) Permanent paving, concrete, brick, flagstone, asphalt, within the property lines.

(31) Partitions, including movable.

(32) Permits and privileges.

(33) Platforms, railings, and gratings when constructed as a part of a structure.

(34) Power boards for services to a building.

(35) Refrigerating systems for general use.

(36) Retaining walls except when identified with land.

(37) Roadways, railroads, bridges, and trestles intrasite except railroads provided for in equipment accounts.

(38) Roofs.

(39) Scales, connected to and forming a part of a structure.

(40) Screens.

(41) Sewer systems, for general use.

(42) Sidewalks, culverts, curbs and streets constructed by the service company on its property.

(43) Sprinkling systems.

(44) Sump pumps and pits.

(45) Stacks—brick, steel, or concrete, when set on foundation forming part of general foundation and steelwork of a building.

(46) Steel inspection during construction.

(47) Storage facilities constituting a part of a building.

(48) Storm doors and windows.

(49) Subways, areaways, and tunnels, directly connected to and forming part of a structure.

(50) Tanks, constructed as part of a building or as a distinct structural unit.

(51) Temporary heating during construction (net cost).

(52) Temporary water connection during construction (net cost).

(53) Temporary shanties and other facilities used during construction (net cost).

(54) Topographical maps.

(55) Tunnels, intake and discharge, when constructed as part of a structure, including sluice gates, and those constructed to house mains.

(56) Vaults constructed as part of a building.

(57) Watchmen's sheds and clock systems (net cost when used during construction only).

(58) Water basins or reservoirs.

(59) Water front improvements.

(60) Water meters and supply system for a building or for general company purposes.

(61) Water supply piping, hydrants and wells.

(62) Wharves.

(63) Window shades and ventilators.

(64) Yard drainage system.

(65) Yard lighting system.

(66) Yard surfacing, gravel, concrete, or oil. (First cost only.)

(g) Structures and Improvements accounts must be credited with the cost of structures created to house, support, or safeguard equipment, the use of which has terminated with the removal of the equipment with which they are associated even though they have not been physically removed.

(a) The cost of equipment chargeable to the service company property accounts, unless otherwise indicated in the text of an equipment account, includes the related net purchase price, sales taxes, investigation and inspection expenses necessary to such purchase, expenses of transportation when borne by the service company, labor employed, materials and supplies consumed, and expenses incurred by the service company in unloading and placing the equipment in readiness to operate. Also include those costs incurred in connection with the first clearing and grading of land and rights-of-way and the damage costs associated with construction and installation of property.

(b) Exclude from equipment accounts hand and other portable tools, that are likely to be lost or stolen or that have relatively small value (for example, $500 or less) or short life, unless the correctness of the related accounting as service company property is verified by current inventories. Special tools acquired and included in the purchase price of equipment must be included in the appropriate property account. Portable drills and similar tool equipment when used in connection with the operation and maintenance of a particular plant or department, such as production, transmission, distribution, or similar items, or in stores, must be charged to the property account appropriate for their use.

(c) The equipment accounts must include angle irons and similar items that are installed at the base of an item of equipment, but piers and foundations that are designed to be as permanent as the buildings that house the equipment, or that are constructed as a part of the building and that cannot be removed without cutting into the walls, ceilings or floors or without in some way impairing the building, must be included in the building accounts.

(d) The cost of efficiency or other tests made subsequent to the date equipment becomes available for service must be charged to the appropriate expense accounts, except that tests to determine whether equipment meets the specifications and requirements as to efficiency, performance, and similar items, guaranteed by manufacturers, made after operations have commenced and within the period specified in the agreement or contract of purchase may be charged to the appropriate service company property account.

(a) Each service company must keep its cost allocation system so as to show the nature of each addition to or retirement of service company property, the related total cost, the source or sources of costs, and the property account or accounts to which charged or credited. Records covering jobs of short duration may be cleared monthly.

(b) Each service company must maintain records in which, for each property account, the amounts of the annual additions and retirements are classified so as to show the number and cost of the various record units or retirement units.

(a) For the purpose of avoiding undue refinement in accounting for additions to and retirements and replacements of service company property, all property will be considered as consisting of retirement units and minor items of property. Each company must maintain a written property units listing for use in accounting for additions and retirements of property and apply the listing consistently.

(b) The addition and retirement of retirement units must be accounted for as follows:

(1) When a retirement unit is added, the related cost must be added to the appropriate service company property account.

(2) When a retirement unit is retired, with or without replacement, the related book cost must be credited to the property account in which it is included, determined in the manner provided in paragraph (d) of this section. If the retirement unit is of a depreciable class, the book cost of the unit retired and credited to service company property must be charged to the accumulated provision for depreciation applicable to the property. The cost of removal and the salvage must be charged or credited, as appropriate, to the depreciation account.

(c) The addition and retirement of minor items of property must be accounted for as follows:

(1) When a minor item of property that did not previously exist is added to service company property, the related cost must be accounted for in the same manner as for the addition of a retirement unit, as provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, if a substantial addition results, otherwise the charge must be to the appropriate maintenance expense account.

(2) When a minor item of property is retired and not replaced, the related book cost must be credited to the property account in which it is included; and, in the event the minor item is a part of depreciable property, the account for accumulated provision for depreciation must be charged with the book cost and cost of removal and credited with the salvage. If, however, the book cost of the minor item retired and not replaced has been or will be accounted for by its inclusion in the retirement unit of which it is a part when the unit is retired, no separate credit to the property account is required when the minor item is retired.

(3) When a minor item of depreciable property is replaced independently of the retirement unit of which it is a part, the cost of replacement must be charged to the maintenance account appropriate for the item. However, if the replacement effects a substantial betterment (the primary aim of which is to make the property affected more useful, more efficient, of greater durability, or of greater capacity), the excess cost of the replacement over the estimated cost at current prices of replacing without betterment must be charged to the appropriate property account.

(d) The book cost of service company property retired must be the amount at which the property is included in the property accounts, including all components of construction costs. The book cost must be determined from the service company's records and, if this cannot be done, it must be estimated. Service companies must furnish the particulars of the estimates to the Commission, if requested. When it is impracticable to determine the book cost of each unit, due to the relatively large number or related small cost, an appropriate average book cost of the units, with due allowance for any differences in size and character, must be used as the book cost of the units retired.

(e) The book cost of land retired must be credited to the appropriate land account. If the land is sold, the difference between the book cost (less any accumulated provision for related depreciation or amortization that has been authorized and provided) and the sale price of the land (less commissions and other expenses of making the sale) must be recorded in accounts 421.1, Gain on disposition of property (§ 367.4211) or 421.2, Loss on disposition of property (§ 367.4212), as appropriate.

(f) The book cost less net salvage of depreciable service company property retired must be charged in its entirety to account 108, Accumulated provision for depreciation of service company property (§ 367.1080).

(g) The accounting for the retirement of amounts included in account 303, Miscellaneous intangible property (§ 367.3030), and the items of limited-term interest in land included in the accounts for land and land rights, must be as provided for in the text of account 111, Accumulated provision for amortization of service company property (§ 367.1110), account 404, Amortization of limited-term property (§ 367.4040), and account 405, Amortization of other property (§ 367.4050).