Cost Accounting Change. The cost accounting for the Pipeline Integrity Management Program will be revised so that beginning January 1, 2008, the costs for the first in-line inspection tool runs will be expensed, rather than capitalized. On June 30, 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) provided this accounting guidance for interstate pipelines. Although the CPUC and its jurisdictional utilities are not bound by FERC accounting rules, they generally follow them. While the costs for the initial in-line inspection tool run will be expensed beginning on January 1, 2008, all other expenditures within the Internal Line Inspection program that are currently capitalized will continue to be capitalized.
