Return of investment through inclusion in cost of service (and rates) of a pro rata part of the cost of property, calculated to spread the total investment cost over a certain period of time or number of units that measure the useful life of the investment. Depreciation (in the Code of Federal Regulations) is to reimburse the company for "...the loss in service value not restored by current maintenance, incurred in connection with the consumption or prospective retirement of gas plant in the course of service from causes which are known to be in current operation and against which the utility is not protected by insurance. Among the causes to be given consideration are wear and tear, decay, action of the elements, inadequacy, obsolescence, changes in the art, changes in demand and requirements of public authorities, and, in the case of a natural gas company, the exhaustion of natural resources."