National Grid 2008 Annual Report Download - page 301

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BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 17689
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: (212)924-5500Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: EX-2.B.6.1, Doc: 6, Page: 95
Description: EXH 2(B).6.1
0/2699.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/699/2*
BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 17689
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: (212)924-5500Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: EX-2.B.6.1, Doc: 6, Page: 95
Description: EXH 2(B).6.1
0/2699.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[E/O] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/699/2*
F-10
NOTE A – SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
1 Nature of Operations
National Grid USA (the Company) is a public utility holdin
g
company with re
g
ulated subsidiaries en
g
a
g
ed in the transmission,
distribution, and sale of electricity and natural
g
as. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid plc. The
Company’s electricity and
g
as distribution subsidiaries serve approximately 4.1 million customers in New York State,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The Company’s transmission subsidiaries provide electricity transmission in
New York throu
g
h Nia
g
ara Mohawk Power Corporation (Nia
g
ara Mohawk) and in New En
g
land principally throu
g
h New
En
g
land Power Company (NEP) and The Narra
g
ansett Electric Company (Narra
g
ansett). In Au
g
ust 2006, the Company
acquired the Rhode Island gas assets of New England Gas Company (see Note L — Acquisitions). For unre
g
ulated
subsidiaries engaged in construction and leasing of telecommunications infrastructures see Note M — “Discontinued
Operations.”
2 Basis of Presentation
The Company’s accountin
g
policies conform to
g
enerally accepted accountin
g
principles in the United States of America (US
GAAP), including accounting principles for rate-regulated entities with respect to the Company’s transmission, distribution and
g
as operations (re
g
ulated subsidiaries), and are in accordance with the accountin
g
requirements and ratemakin
g
practices of
the re
g
ulator
y
authorities havin
g
j
urisdiction
(
see below
)
.
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries and
minorit
y
interests. All intercom
p
an
y
transactions and balances between consolidated subsidiaries have been eliminated.
The Company owns approximately 53.7 percent of the outstanding common stock of both New England Hydro-Transmission
Electric Company, Inc. and New England Hydro-Transmission Corporation (together, the Hydro-Transmission companies). The
Hydro-Transmission companies own and operate an international transmission interconnection between Hydro-Quebec (a
g
eneration facility in Quebec, Canada) and New En
g
land. The consolidated financial statements include 100 percent of the
assets, liabilities, and earnings of the Hydro-Transmission companies. Minority interests in the Hydro-Transmission companies,
which represent the minority stockholders’ proportionate share of the equity, is separately disclosed on the Company’s
consolidated balance sheet and the proportionate share of income is included in ‘Other deductions, net’ on the Company’s
consolidated statements of income.
NEP has a minority ownership interest in each of three re
g
ional nuclear
g
eneratin
g
companies which own
g
eneratin
g
facilities
that are
p
ermanentl
y
shut down. NEP accounts for these ownershi
p
interests under the e
q
uit
y
method.
3 Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires mana
g
ement to make estimates that affect the
reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosures of contin
g
ent assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance
sheets, and revenues and expenses for the period. These estimates may differ from actual amounts if future circumstances
cause a change in the assumptions used to calculate these estimates.
4 Re
g
ulation
The Company’s re
g
ulated subsidiaries must comply with the rules prescribed by the Federal Ener
g
y Re
g
ulatory Commission
(FERC) and the applicable state utility commissions of New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. See Note
B – “Rates and Regulatory.” Niagara