28 NOVEMBER 2011 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 184 5313

TRANSPOWER NEW ZEALAND LIMITED LINES BUSINESS

Easements are deemed to have an indefinite useful life, as the contracts do not have a maturity date and the Transpower Lines Business expects to use the easements indefinitely. Therefore, easements are not amortised. Their value is assessed annually for impairment, and their carrying value is written down if found impaired. The Transpower Lines Business capitalises the direct costs associated with putting the easements in place. These costs include registration and associated valuation and legal costs and also any injurious affection payments. Where the Transpower Lines Business buys land and then establishes an easement, a valuation is obtained for the easement. This valuation is used as deemed easement cost and capitalised, with a corresponding reduction in the land valuation.

Certain easements have been donated by the Crown. These are recognised at cost (nil) plus any direct cost associated with putting the easement in place.

For intangibles with a finite life, where the periods of expected benefit or recoverable values have diminished due to technological change or market conditions, amortisation is accelerated or the carrying value is written down.

r) Impairment of assets
At each reporting date, the Transpower Lines Business reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where the asset does not generate cash flows that are largely independent from other assets, the Transpower Lines Business estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.

Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives and intangible assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment annually and whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired.

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.

If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried at fair value, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.

Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but only to the extent that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried at fair value, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.

s) Debt
Debt is designated as fair value through profit or loss on the basis of preventing an “accounting mismatch”. The Transpower Lines Business’s net debt and derivatives are managed as one integrated portfolio, therefore, measuring derivatives and net debt on different bases would create a recognition inconsistency or accounting mismatch.

Fair values of quoted debt are based on prices current at balance date. If the market for a financial liability is not active, fair value is established by using valuation techniques including recent arm’s length transactions, reference to similar instruments and discounted cash flow analysis.

The effect on fair values of credit risk (i.e. the premium over the basis interest rate risk for credit to reflect the credit rating of the relevant counterparty or the Transpower Lines Business) is based on quoted market prices.