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REPORTING SEGMENT AND OTHER OPERATIONS DATA
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
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 business operations: Natural Gas Distribution consists of regulated energy and off-system, capacity and storage management operations; Clean Energy Ventures consists of capital investments in clean energy projects; Energy Services consists of unregulated wholesale and retail energy operations; Storage and Transportation consists of the Company’s investments in natural gas transportation and storage 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 business operations is detailed below:

(Thousands)
Fiscal Years Ended September 30,202220212020
Operating revenues
Natural Gas Distribution
External customers$1,127,417 $731,796 $729,923 
Intercompany1,350 — — 
Clean Energy Ventures
External customers128,280 95,275 102,617 
Energy Services
External customers (1)
1,529,178 1,228,846 1,029,303 
Intercompany94 (426)1,116 
Storage and Transportation
External customers65,286 49,252 42,015 
Intercompany2,449 1,768 2,713 
Subtotal2,854,054 2,106,511 1,907,687 
Home Services and Other
External customers55,818 51,444 49,810 
Intercompany364 785 1,207 
Eliminations(4,257)(2,127)(5,036)
Total$2,905,979 $2,156,613 $1,953,668 
Depreciation and amortization
Natural Gas Distribution$94,579 $80,045 $71,883 
Clean Energy Ventures21,396 20,567 25,329 
Energy Services (2)
148 111 123 
Storage and Transportation12,302 9,960 9,293 
Subtotal128,425 110,683 106,628 
Home Services and Other824 980 1,032 
Eliminations— (276)(292)
Total$129,249 $111,387 $107,368 
Interest income (3)
Natural Gas Distribution$895 $85 $538 
Clean Energy Ventures— 241 240 
Energy Services16 11 99 
Storage and Transportation2,110 2,243 3,510 
Subtotal3,021 2,580 4,387 
Home Services and Other944 522 8,633 
Eliminations(1,249)(935)(10,061)
Total$2,716 $2,167 $2,959 
(1)Includes sales to Canada for Energy Services, which are $2.4 million, $75,000 and $584,000 in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(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 30,202220212020
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest
Natural Gas Distribution$46,394 $36,405 $30,975 
Clean Energy Ventures21,968 22,548 20,253 
Energy Services4,725 2,204 3,276 
Storage and Transportation12,097 13,348 13,124 
Subtotal85,184 74,505 67,628 
Home Services and Other646 4,054 10,327 
Eliminations— — (10,358)
Total$85,830 $78,559 $67,597 
Income tax provision (benefit)
Natural Gas Distribution$40,141 $19,054 $27,021 
Clean Energy Ventures11,361 5,048 11,034 
Energy Services21,776 18,371 (3,615)
Storage and Transportation1,879 (10,043)4,247 
Subtotal75,157 32,430 38,687 
Home Services and Other1,059 (196)(2,478)
Eliminations(21)1,052 285 
Total$76,195 $33,286 $36,494 
Equity in earnings (loss) of affiliates
Storage and Transportation$9,865 $(81,072)$15,903 
Eliminations(1,688)(2,140)(1,592)
Total$8,177 $(83,212)$14,311 
Net financial earnings (loss)
Natural Gas Distribution$140,124 $107,375 $126,902 
Clean Energy Ventures39,403 16,789 22,111 
Energy Services39,121 71,117 (7,873)
Storage and Transportation22,454 13,046 18,311 
Subtotal241,102 208,327 159,451 
Home Services and Other(781)(826)5,784 
Eliminations— 211 98 
Total$240,321 $207,712 $165,333 
Capital expenditures
Natural Gas Distribution$298,374 $426,628 $290,040 
Clean Energy Ventures146,676 87,852 133,841 
Storage and Transportation151,988 107,500 20,998 
Subtotal597,038 621,980 444,879 
Home Services and Other1,390 2,630 3,230 
Total$598,428 $624,610 $448,109 
(Return of capital from) investments in equity investees
Storage and Transportation$(5,479)$690 $2,117 
Total$(5,479)$690 $2,117 
The Company’s assets for the various reporting segments and other business operations are detailed below:
(Thousands)202220212020
Assets at end of period:
Natural Gas Distribution$4,030,686 $3,707,461 $3,531,477 
Clean Energy Ventures1,015,065 914,788 814,277 
Energy Services333,064 365,423 244,836 
Storage and Transportation999,520 862,407 844,799 
Subtotal6,378,335 5,850,079 5,435,389 
Home Services and Other159,068 162,134 138,375 
Intercompany assets (1)
(275,987)(289,935)(257,287)
Total$6,261,416 $5,722,278 $5,316,477 
(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 other business operations, is the chief operating decision maker of the Company. A reconciliation of consolidated NFE to consolidated net income is as follows:
(Thousands)202220212020
Net financial earnings$240,321 $207,712 $165,333 
Less:
Unrealized (gain) loss on derivative instruments and related transactions(59,906)54,203 (9,644)
Tax effect14,248 (12,887)2,296 
Effects of economic hedging related to natural gas inventory19,939 (42,405)12,690 
Tax effect(4,738)10,078 (3,016)
(Gain on) impairment of equity method investment(5,521)92,000 — 
Tax effect1,377 (11,167)— 
Net income$274,922 $117,890 $163,007 

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 certain transactions associated with equity method investments, including impairment charges, which are non-cash charges, and return of capital in excess of the carrying value of our investment. These are considered unusual in nature and occur infrequently such that they are not indicative of the Company’s performance for our ongoing operations. Included in the tax effects are current and deferred income tax expense corresponding with the components of NFE.