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One-time enrollment · 12-month access
Enroll NowGroup pricing available →Go beyond the standard work order. This course tackles the complex, non-routine construction accounting scenarios that every utility eventually faces — from asset retirement obligations and depreciation to storm damage accounting and jointly-owned power plants.
CPE Hours
Most utility construction projects follow a predictable path from work order to fixed asset. But real utility accounting regularly produces situations that fall outside the standard rules — and those situations have real consequences for financial reporting, rate recovery, and regulatory compliance.
This course addresses exactly those situations. You'll work through asset retirement obligations, depreciation expense and its role in cost-of-service studies, the accounting treatment for leases and critical spares, contributions in aid of construction, preliminary survey expenses, and how to account for jointly-owned power plants. The course also covers asset impairments and the accounting required when construction is damaged or destroyed by storms.
Grounded in FERC and GASB guidance, the concepts apply to investor-owned utilities, public power, and electric cooperatives. It's the natural follow-on to Mastering Electric Construction Cost Accounting and the second course in the FERC & RUS Construction Accounting Career Track.
Detail the fundamental principles of electric system construction accounting
Course materials are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute legal, accounting, or professional advice. Users should consult their own qualified legal, accounting, or other professional advisors regarding their specific circumstances.
Course orientation, learning objectives, and an overview of current power industry trends shaping construction accounting. | 1. Course Introduction | 2. Course Overview | 3. Learning Objectives | 4. Course Roadmap | 5. Power Industry Trends
Understand how construction accounting decisions directly affect customer rates, and review the foundational principles that underpin the advanced topics ahead. | 1. How Construction Accounting Impacts Customer Rates | 2. Review of Construction Accounting Fundamentals | 3. Review Questions — Part 1
Work through the full range of complex scenarios — preliminary survey costs, leases, critical spares, jointly-owned plants, asset impairments, AROs, depreciation, and storm damage accounting. | 1. Preliminary Survey, Leases, Completed Construction, Critical Spares & Jointly-Owned Power Plants | 2. Asset Impairments | 3. Review Questions | 4. Asset Retirement Obligations & Depreciation Expense | 5. Accounting for Utility Storm Damage
Review key takeaways | 1. Review Questions | 2. Course Summary & Wrap-Up | 3. Course Evaluation | 4. Final Exam
