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REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA
17. REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA

The Company organizes its businesses based on a combination of factors, including its products and its regulatory environment. As a result, the Company manages its businesses through the following reporting segments and other operations: the Natural Gas Distribution segment consists of regulated energy and off-system, capacity and storage management operations; the Clean Energy Ventures segment consists of capital investments in clean energy projects; the Energy Services segment consists of unregulated wholesale and retail energy operations; the Storage and Transportation segment consists of the Company’s investments in natural gas storage and transportation facilities; the Home Services and Other operations consist of heating, cooling and water appliance sales, installations and services, other investments and general corporate activities.
Information related to the Company’s various reporting segments and other operations is detailed below:
(Thousands)
Fiscal Years Ended September 30,202120202019
Operating revenues
Natural Gas Distribution
External customers$731,796 $729,923 $710,793 
Clean Energy Ventures
External customers95,275 102,617 98,099 
Energy Services
External customers (1)
1,228,846 1,029,303 1,734,553 
Intercompany(426)1,116 8,238 
Storage and Transportation
External customers49,252 42,015 — 
Intercompany1,768 2,713 — 
Subtotal2,106,511 1,907,687 2,551,683 
Home Services and Other
External customers51,444 49,810 48,600 
Intercompany785 1,207 2,302 
Eliminations(2,127)(5,036)(10,540)
Total$2,156,613 $1,953,668 $2,592,045 
Depreciation and amortization
Natural Gas Distribution$80,045 $71,883 $57,980 
Clean Energy Ventures20,567 25,329 22,376 
Energy Services (2)
111 123 118 
Storage and Transportation9,960 9,293 6 
Subtotal110,683 106,628 80,480 
Home Services and Other980 1,032 914 
Eliminations(276)(292)(285)
Total$111,387 $107,368 $81,109 
Interest income (3)
Natural Gas Distribution$85 $538 $994 
Clean Energy Ventures241 240 — 
Energy Services11 99 78 
Storage and Transportation2,243 3,510 4,000 
Subtotal2,580 4,387 5,072 
Home Services and Other522 8,633 1,942 
Eliminations(935)(10,061)(5,391)
Total$2,167 $2,959 $1,623 
(1)Includes sales to Canada for the Energy Services segment, which are immaterial.
(2)The amortization of acquired wholesale energy contracts is excluded above and is included in natural gas purchases - nonutility on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(3)Included in other income, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(Thousands)
Fiscal Years Ended September 30,202120202019
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest
Natural Gas Distribution$36,405 $30,975 $26,134 
Clean Energy Ventures22,548 20,253 14,846 
Energy Services2,204 3,276 5,205 
Storage and Transportation13,348 13,124 2,185 
Subtotal74,505 67,628 48,370 
Home Services and Other4,054 10,327 1,535 
Eliminations— (10,358)(2,823)
Total$78,559 $67,597 $47,082 
Income tax provision (benefit)
Natural Gas Distribution$19,054 $27,021 $9,434 
Clean Energy Ventures5,048 11,034 7,270 
Energy Services18,371 (3,615)(1,573)
Storage and Transportation(10,043)4,247 2,254 
Subtotal32,430 38,687 17,385 
Home Services and Other(196)(2,478)1,428 
Eliminations1,052 285 (373)
Total$33,286 $36,494 $18,440 
Equity in earnings of affiliates
Storage and Transportation$(81,072)$15,903 $15,832 
Eliminations(2,140)(1,592)(2,204)
Total$(83,212)$14,311 $13,628 
Net financial earnings (loss)
Natural Gas Distribution$107,375 $126,902 $78,062 
Clean Energy Ventures16,789 22,111 31,903 
Energy Services71,117 (7,873)2,918 
Storage and Transportation13,046 18,311 14,689 
Subtotal208,327 159,451 127,572 
Home Services and Other(826)5,784 1,911 
Eliminations211 98 (93)
Total$207,712 $165,333 $129,390 
Capital expenditures
Natural Gas Distribution$426,628 $290,040 $345,004 
Clean Energy Ventures87,852 133,841 157,828 
Storage and Transportation107,500 20,998 20,616 
Subtotal621,980 444,879 523,448 
Home Services and Other2,630 3,230 2,484 
Total$624,610 $448,109 $525,932 
Investments in equity investees
Storage and Transportation$690 $2,117 $4,102 
Total$690 $2,117 $4,102 
The Company’s assets for the various reporting segments and business operations are detailed below:
(Thousands)202120202019
Assets at end of period:
Natural Gas Distribution$3,707,461 $3,531,477 $3,064,309 
Clean Energy Ventures914,788 814,277 694,439 
Energy Services365,423 244,836 290,847 
Storage and Transportation862,407 844,799 240,955 
Subtotal5,850,079 5,435,389 4,290,550 
Home Services and Other162,134 138,375 104,411 
Intercompany assets (1)
(289,935)(257,287)(237,019)
Total$5,722,278 $5,316,477 $4,157,942 
(1)Consists of transactions between subsidiaries that are eliminated and reclassified in consolidation.

The Chief Executive Officer, who uses NFE as a measure of profit or loss in measuring the results of the Company’s reporting segments and operations, is the chief operating decision maker of the Company. A reconciliation of consolidated NFE to consolidated net income is as follows:
(Thousands)202120202019
Net financial earnings$207,712 $165,333 $129,390 
Less:
Unrealized loss (gain) on derivative instruments and related transactions54,203 (9,644)2,881 
Tax effect(12,887)2,296 (711)
Effects of economic hedging related to natural gas inventory(42,405)12,690 4,309 
Tax effect10,078 (3,016)(1,024)
Impairment of equity method investment92,000 — — 
Tax effect(11,167)— — 
Net income$117,890 $163,007 $123,935 

The Company uses derivative instruments as economic hedges of purchases and sales of physical natural gas inventory. For GAAP purposes, these derivatives are recorded at fair value and related changes in fair value are included in reported earnings. Revenues and cost of natural gas related to physical natural gas flow are recognized when the natural gas is delivered to customers. Consequently, there is a mismatch in the timing of earnings recognition between the economic hedges and physical natural gas flows. Timing differences occur in two ways:

•unrealized gains and losses on derivatives are recognized in reported earnings in periods prior to physical natural gas inventory flows; and

•unrealized gains and losses of prior periods are reclassified as realized gains and losses when derivatives are settled in the same period as physical natural gas inventory movements occur.

NFE is a measure of the earnings based on eliminating these timing differences, to effectively match the earnings effects of the economic hedges with the physical sale of natural gas, SRECs and foreign currency contracts. Consequently, to reconcile between net income and NFE, current-period unrealized gains and losses on the derivatives are excluded from NFE as a reconciling item. Realized derivative gains and losses are also included in current-period net income. However, NFE includes only realized gains and losses related to natural gas sold out of inventory, effectively matching the full earnings effects of the derivatives with realized margins on physical natural gas flows. NFE also excludes impairment charges associated with equity method investments, which are non-cash charges considered unusual in nature that occur infrequently and are not indicative of the Company's performance for its ongoing operations. Included in the tax effects are current and deferred income tax expense corresponding with the components of NFE.