Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

BASIS OF PRESENTATION – These notes are an integral part of the accompanying unaudited financial statements of Spire Inc. (“Spire” or the “Company”) presented on a consolidated basis, Spire Missouri Inc. (“Spire Missouri”) and Spire Alabama Inc. (“Spire Alabama”). Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and Spire EnergySouth Inc. (“Spire EnergySouth”) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Spire. Spire Missouri, Spire Alabama and the subsidiaries of Spire EnergySouth (Spire Gulf Inc. and Spire Mississippi Inc.) are collectively referred to as the “Utilities.”

The accompanying unaudited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim financial information with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S‑X. Accordingly, they do not include all the disclosures required for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the results of operations for the periods presented. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Notes to Financial Statements contained in Spire, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama’s combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

The consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of Spire include the accounts of the Company and all its subsidiaries. Transactions and balances between consolidated entities have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements of Spire. In compliance with GAAP, transactions between Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama and their affiliates, as well as intercompany balances on their balance sheets, have not been eliminated from their separate financial statements.

NATURE OF OPERATIONS – Spire has three reportable segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. The Gas Utility segment consists of the regulated natural gas distribution operations of the Company and is the core business segment of Spire in terms of revenue and earnings. The Gas Utility segment is comprised of the operations of: Spire Missouri, serving St. Louis, Kansas City, and other areas in Missouri; Spire Alabama, serving central and northern Alabama; and the subsidiaries of Spire EnergySouth, serving the Mobile, Alabama area and south-central Mississippi. The Gas Marketing segment includes Spire’s largest gas-related business, Spire Marketing Inc. (“Spire Marketing”), which provides non-regulated natural gas services throughout the United States (U.S.). The Midstream segment includes Spire Storage and Spire STL Pipeline, which are subsidiaries engaged in the storage and transportation of natural gas. The activities of the Company’s other subsidiaries are reported as Other and are described in Note 10, Information by Operating Segment. Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama each have a single reportable segment. 

The Company’s earnings are derived primarily from its Gas Utility segment. Due to the seasonal nature of the Utilities’ business and the volumetric Spire Missouri rate design, earnings are typically concentrated during the heating season of November through April each fiscal year. As a result, the interim statements of income for Spire, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama are not necessarily indicative of annual results or representative of succeeding quarters of the fiscal year.

Public Utilities, Policy [Policy Text Block]

REGULATED OPERATIONS – The Utilities account for their regulated operations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 980, Regulated Operations. This topic sets forth the application of GAAP for those companies whose rates are established by or are subject to approval by an independent third-party regulator. The provisions of this accounting guidance require, among other things, that financial statements of a regulated enterprise reflect the actions of regulators, where appropriate. These actions may result in the recognition of revenues and expenses in time periods that are different than non-regulated enterprises. When this occurs, costs are deferred as assets in the balance sheet (regulatory assets) and recorded as expenses when those amounts are reflected in rates. In addition, regulators can impose liabilities upon a regulated company for amounts previously collected from customers and for recovery of costs that are expected to be incurred in the future (regulatory liabilities). Management believes that the current regulatory environment supports the continued use of these regulatory accounting principles and that all regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities are recoverable or refundable through the regulatory process.

As authorized by the Missouri Public Service Commission (MoPSC), the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MSPSC) and the Alabama Public Service Commission (APSC), the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) clauses and Gas Supply Adjustment (GSA) riders allow the Utilities to pass through to customers the cost of purchased gas supplies. Regulatory assets and liabilities related to the PGA clauses and the GSA riders are both labeled Unamortized Purchased Gas Adjustments herein. See additional information about regulatory assets and liabilities in Note 5, Regulatory Matters.

Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]

DERIVATIVES – In the course of their business, certain subsidiaries of Spire enter into commitments associated with the purchase or sale of natural gas. Certain of their derivative natural gas contracts are designated as normal purchases or normal sales and, as such, are excluded from the scope of FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. Those contracts are accounted for as executory contracts and recorded on an accrual basis. Revenues and expenses from such contracts are recorded gross. Contracts not designated as normal purchases or normal sales are recorded as derivatives with changes in fair value recognized in earnings in the periods prior to physical delivery. Certain of Spire Marketing’s wholesale purchase and sale transactions are classified as trading activities for financial reporting purposes, with income and expenses presented on a net basis in natural gas expenses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. Spire also enters into cash flow hedges through execution of interest rate swap contracts to protect itself against adverse movements in interest rates. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, Spire management determined it was probable the anticipated issuance of certain debt, and therefore the hedged forecasted interest payments, would not occur. The related swap was settled, hedge accounting was discontinued, and amounts previously deferred in “Accumulated other comprehensive income” were reclassified to earnings, such that the entire realized gain of $8.2 was included in “Other income” for Spire Inc. in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Transactions With Affiliates [Policy Text Block]

TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES – Transactions between affiliates of the Company have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements of Spire. As reflected in their separate financial statements, Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama borrowed funds from the Company and incurred related interest. Spire Missouri and Spire Alabama also participated in normal intercompany shared services transactions. Spire Missouri’s and Spire Alabama’s other transactions with affiliates are presented below:

	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
Spire Missouri
Purchases of natural gas from Spire Marketing	$	5.0	$	28.5
Transportation services received from Spire STL Pipeline		8.2		8.1
Natural gas storage services from Spire Storage Salt Plains LLC		0.3		—
Spire Alabama
Purchases of natural gas from Spire Marketing	$	3.4	$	1.1

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

RESTRICTED CASH AND OTHER INVESTMENTS – In Spire’s statement of cash flows for the period ended December 31, 2023, total Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash included $20.5, $20.2 and $14.2 of restricted cash reported in “Other Investments” on the Company’s balance sheet as of December 31, 2023,  September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, respectively (in addition to amounts shown as “Cash and cash equivalents”). This restricted cash has been segregated and invested in debt securities in a trust account based on collateral requirements for reinsurance at Spire’s risk management company.

Business Combinations Policy [Policy Text Block]

BUSINESS COMBINATIONS – After the date of these financial statements, a subsidiary in Spire’s Midstream segment acquired MoGas Pipeline, an interstate natural gas pipeline, and Omega Pipeline, a connected gas distribution system in Missouri, effective January 20, 2024. The $177.6 preliminary cash consideration transferred remains subject to further working capital adjustments as provided in the purchase agreement. The assets acquired (primarily property, plant and equipment) and liabilities assumed will be recorded based on their fair value at the acquisition date.

Accrued Capital Expenditures [Policy Text Block]

ACCRUED CAPITAL EXPENDITURES – Accrued capital expenditures, shown in the following table, are excluded from capital expenditures in the statements of cash flows until paid.

	December 31,		September 30,		December 31,
	2023		2023		2022
Spire	$	90.5	$	104.3	$	63.1
Spire Missouri		38.1		56.5		32.8
Spire Alabama		2.4		4.6		9.4

Receivable [Policy Text Block]

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES – Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the amounts due from customers, including unbilled amounts. Accounts receivable are written off when they are deemed to be uncollectible. An allowance for expected credit losses is estimated and updated based on relevant data and trends such as accounts receivable aging, historical write-off experience, current write-off trends, economic conditions, and the impact of weather and availability of customer payment assistance on collection trends. For the Utilities, net write-offs as a percentage of revenue has historically been the best predictor of base net write-off experience over time. Management judgment is applied in the development of the allowance due to the complexity of variables and subjective nature of certain relevant factors. The accounts receivable of Spire’s non-utility businesses are evaluated separately from those of the Utilities. The allowance for credit losses for those other businesses is based on a continuous evaluation of the individual counterparty risk and is not significant for the periods presented. Activity in the allowance for credit losses is shown in the following table.

	Spire						Spire Missouri						Spire Alabama
Three Months Ended December 31,	2023			2022			2023			2022			2023			2022
Allowance at beginning of period	$	32.5		$	31.9		$	26.2		$	24.9		$	5.7		$	6.3
Provision for expected credit losses		4.1			4.1			3.6			3.8			0.3			0.2
Write-offs, net of recoveries		(1.2	)		(1.5	)		(0.9	)		(0.5	)		(0.3	)		(1.0	)
Allowance at end of period	$	35.4		$	34.5		$	28.9		$	28.2		$	5.7		$	5.5