Introduction (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The condensed quarterly financial statements of each registrant included herein have been prepared by such registrant, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. The Condensed Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2015 have been derived from the audited financial statements of each registrant. In the opinion of each registrant's management, the information regarding such registrant furnished herein reflects all adjustments, which, except as otherwise disclosed, are of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the results of operations for the periods ended September 30, 2016 and 2015. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations, although each registrant believes that the disclosures regarding such registrant are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. Disclosures which would substantially duplicate the disclosures in the Form 10-K and details which have not changed significantly in amount or composition since the filing of the Form 10-K are generally omitted from this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q unless specifically required by GAAP. Therefore, these Condensed Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Form 10-K. Due to the seasonal variations in the demand for energy, operating results for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full year.

Reclassification

Certain prior year data presented in the financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications had no impact on the results of operations, financial position, or cash flows of any registrant.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (ASU 2016-02). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize on the balance sheet a lease liability and a right-of-use asset for all leases. ASU 2016-02 also changes the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expense associated with leases and provides clarification regarding the identification of certain components of contracts that would represent a lease. The accounting required by lessors is relatively unchanged and there is no change to the accounting for existing leveraged leases. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The registrants are currently evaluating the new standard and have not yet determined its ultimate impact; however, adoption of ASU 2016-02 is expected to have a significant impact on the registrants' balance sheets.

On March 30, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (ASU 2016-09). ASU 2016-09 changes the accounting for income taxes and the cash flow presentation for share-based payment award transactions. Most significantly, entities are required to recognize all excess tax benefits and deficiencies related to the exercise or vesting of stock compensation as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement. Southern Company and the traditional electric operating companies currently recognize any excess tax benefits and deficiencies related to the exercise and vesting of stock compensation as additional paid-in capital. ASU 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted and Southern Company and the traditional electric operating companies intend to adopt the ASU in the fourth quarter 2016. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on the results of operations, financial position, or cash flows of Southern Company and the traditional electric operating companies.

Asset Retirement Obligations

The cost estimates below are based on information as of September 30, 2016. The cost estimates for AROs related to the disposal of CCR are based on various assumptions related to closure and post-closure costs, timing of future cash outlays, inflation and discount rates, and the potential methods for complying with the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities final rule requirements for closure in place or by other methods. As further analysis is performed, including evaluation of the expected method of compliance, refinement of assumptions underlying the cost estimates, such as the quantities of CCR at each site, and the determination of timing, including the potential for closing ash ponds prior to the end of their currently anticipated useful life, the traditional electric operating companies expect to continue to periodically update these estimates.

As of September 30, 2016, details of the AROs included in the registrants' Condensed Balance Sheets were as follows:



	Southern Company			Alabama Power			Georgia Power			Gulf Power		Mississippi Power			Southern Power
	(in millions)
Balance at beginning of year	$	3,759		$	1,448		$	1,916		$	130	$	177		$	21
Liabilities incurred	41			5			—			—		15			18
Liabilities settled	(117		)	(12		)	(93		)	—		(12		)	—
Accretion	119			55			56			2		3			1
Cash flow revisions	712			31			675			2		7			—
Balance at end of period	$	4,514		$	1,527		$	2,554		$	134	$	190		$	40

The traditional electric operating companies' increases in cash flow revisions for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 primarily relate to changes in ash pond closure strategy. The increase for Georgia Power reflects its decision in June 2016 to cease operating and stop receiving coal ash at all of its ash ponds within the next three years and to eventually close all of its ash ponds either by removal, consolidation, and/or recycling for the beneficial use of coal ash or through closure in place using advanced engineering methods.

Valuation Methodologies

The energy-related derivatives primarily consist of exchange-traded and over-the-counter financial products for natural gas and physical power products, including, from time to time, basis swaps. These are standard products used within the energy industry and are valued using the market approach. The inputs used are mainly from observable market sources, such as forward natural gas prices, power prices, implied volatility, and overnight index swap interest rates. Interest rate derivatives are also standard over-the-counter products that are valued using observable market data and assumptions commonly used by market participants. The fair value of interest rate derivatives reflects the net present value of expected payments and receipts under the swap agreement based on the market's expectation of future interest rates. Additional inputs to the net present value calculation may include the contract terms, counterparty credit risk, and occasionally, implied volatility of interest rate options. The fair value of cross-currency swaps reflects the net present value of expected payments and receipts under the swap agreement based on the market's expectation of future foreign currency exchange rates. Additional inputs to the net present value calculation may include the contract terms, counterparty credit risk, and discount rates. The interest rate derivatives and cross-currency swaps are categorized as Level 2 under Fair Value Measurements as these inputs are based on observable data and valuations of similar instruments. See Note (H) for additional information on how these derivatives are used.

The NRC requires licensees of commissioned nuclear power reactors to establish a plan for providing reasonable assurance of funds for future decommissioning. For fair value measurements of the investments within the nuclear decommissioning trusts, external pricing vendors are designated for each asset class with each security specifically assigned a primary pricing source. For investments held within commingled funds, fair value is determined at the end of each business day through the net asset value, which is established by obtaining the underlying securities' individual prices from the primary pricing source. A market price secured from the primary source vendor is then evaluated by management in its valuation of the assets within the trusts. As a general approach, fixed income market pricing vendors gather market data (including indices and market research reports) and integrate relative credit information, observed market movements, and sector news into proprietary pricing models, pricing systems, and mathematical tools. Dealer quotes and other market information, including live trading levels and pricing analysts' judgments, are also obtained when available. See Note 1 to the financial statements of Southern Company, Alabama Power, and Georgia Power under "Nuclear Decommissioning" in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for additional information.

Southern Power has contingent payment obligations related to certain acquisitions whereby Southern Power is obligated to pay generation-based payments to the seller over a 10-year period beginning at the commercial operation date. The obligation is measured at fair value using significant inputs such as forecasted facility generation in MW-hours, a fixed dollar amount per MW-hour, and a discount rate, and is evaluated periodically. The fair value of contingent consideration reflects the net present value of expected payments and any change arising from forecasted generation is expected to be immaterial.

"Other investments" include investments that are not traded in the open market. The fair value of these investments have been determined based on market factors including comparable multiples and the expectations regarding cash flows and business plan executions.

Earnings per Share

For Southern Company, the only difference in computing basic and diluted earnings per share is attributable to awards outstanding under the stock option and performance share plans. See Note 8 to the financial statements of Southern Company in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for information on the stock option and performance share plans. The effect of both stock options and performance share award units was determined using the treasury stock method.

Southern Company, the traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power, and Southern Company Gas are exposed to market risks, including commodity price risk, interest rate risk, weather risk, and occasionally foreign currency risk. To manage the volatility attributable to these exposures, each company nets its exposures, where possible, to take advantage of natural offsets and enters into various derivative transactions for the remaining exposures pursuant to each company's policies in areas such as counterparty exposure and risk management practices. Each company's policy is that derivatives are to be used primarily for hedging purposes and mandates strict adherence to all applicable risk management policies. Derivative positions are monitored using techniques including, but not limited to, market valuation, value at risk, stress testing, and sensitivity analysis. Derivative instruments are recognized at fair value in the balance sheets as either assets or liabilities and are presented on a net basis. See Note (C) for additional information. In the statements of cash flows, the cash impacts of settled energy-related and interest rate derivatives are recorded as operating activities. The cash impacts of settled foreign currency derivatives are classified as operating or financing activities to correspond with classification of the hedged interest or principal, respectively.

Energy-Related Derivatives

Southern Company, the traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power, and Southern Company Gas enter into energy-related derivatives to hedge exposures to electricity, natural gas, and other fuel price changes. However, due to cost-based rate regulations and other various cost recovery mechanisms, the traditional electric operating companies and the natural gas distribution utilities of Southern Company Gas have limited exposure to market volatility in energy-related commodity prices. Each of the traditional electric operating companies and certain natural gas distribution utilities of Southern Company Gas manage fuel-hedging programs, implemented per the guidelines of their respective state PSCs or other applicable state regulatory agencies, through the use of financial derivative contracts, which is expected to continue to mitigate price volatility. The traditional electric operating companies (with respect to wholesale generating capacity), Southern Power, and Southern Company Gas have limited exposure to market volatility in energy-related commodity prices because their long-term sales contracts shift substantially all fuel cost responsibility to the purchaser. However, the traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power, and Southern Company Gas may be exposed to market volatility in energy-related commodity prices to the extent any uncontracted capacity is used to sell electricity and natural gas.

Southern Company Gas uses storage and transportation capacity contracts to manage market price risks. Southern Company Gas purchases natural gas for storage when the current market price paid to buy and transport natural gas plus the cost to store and finance the natural gas is less than the market price Southern Company Gas will receive in the future, resulting in a positive net operating margin. Southern Company Gas uses New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) futures and over-the-counter (OTC) contracts to sell natural gas at that future price to substantially protect the operating margin ultimately realized when the stored natural gas is sold. Southern Company Gas also enters into transactions to secure transportation capacity between delivery points in order to serve its customers and various markets. Southern Company Gas uses NYMEX futures and OTC contracts to capture the price differential between the locations served by the capacity in order to substantially protect the operating margin ultimately realized when natural gas is physically flowed between the delivery points. These contracts generally meet the definition of derivatives, but are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes.

Southern Company Gas also enters into weather derivative contracts as economic hedges of operating margins in the event of warmer-than-normal weather. Exchange-traded options are carried at fair value, with changes reflected in operating revenues. Non exchange-traded options are accounted for using the intrinsic value method. Changes in the intrinsic value for non-exchange-traded contracts are reflected in the statements of income.

Energy-related derivative contracts are accounted for under one of three methods:

•

Regulatory Hedges — Energy-related derivative contracts which are designated as regulatory hedges relate primarily to the traditional electric operating companies' and Southern Company Gas' fuel-hedging programs, where gains and losses are initially recorded as regulatory liabilities and assets, respectively, and then are included in fuel expense as the underlying fuel is used in operations and ultimately recovered through the respective fuel cost recovery clauses.


•	Cash Flow Hedges — Gains and losses on energy-related derivatives designated as cash flow hedges (which are mainly used to hedge anticipated purchases and sales) are initially deferred in OCI before being recognized in the statements of income in the same period as the hedged transactions are reflected in earnings.


•	Not Designated — Gains and losses on energy-related derivative contracts that are not designated or fail to qualify as hedges are recognized in the statements of income as incurred.

Some energy-related derivative contracts require physical delivery as opposed to financial settlement, and this type of derivative is both common and prevalent within the electric and natural gas industries. When an energy-related derivative contract is settled physically, any cumulative unrealized gain or loss is reversed and the contract price is recognized in the respective line item representing the actual price of the underlying goods being delivered.

Interest Rate Derivatives

Southern Company and certain subsidiaries may also enter into interest rate derivatives to hedge exposure to changes in interest rates. The derivatives employed as hedging instruments are structured to minimize ineffectiveness. Derivatives related to existing variable rate securities or forecasted transactions are accounted for as cash flow hedges where the effective portion of the derivatives' fair value gains or losses is recorded in OCI and is reclassified into earnings at the same time the hedged transactions affect earnings, with any ineffectiveness recorded directly to earnings. Derivatives related to existing fixed rate securities are accounted for as fair value hedges, where the derivatives' fair value gains or losses and hedged items' fair value gains or losses are both recorded directly to earnings, providing an offset, with any difference representing ineffectiveness. Fair value gains or losses on derivatives that are not designated or fail to qualify as hedges are recognized in the statements of income as incurred.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for (1) legal obligations associated with the disposal or removal of a long-lived asset from service that result from the acquisition, construction, or development or from the normal operation of a long-lived asset (except obligations of a lessee in connection with leased property that are minimum lease payments or contingent rentals, or obligations that arise solely from a plan to sell or otherwise dispose of a long-lived asset); and (2) certain environmental remediation liabilities that resulted from the improper or other-than-normal operation of a long-lived asset. This accounting policy may address (1) whether the related remediation costs are expensed or capitalized, (2) whether the obligation is measured on a discounted basis, (3) the event, situation, or set of circumstances that generally triggers recognition of loss contingencies arising from the entity's environmental remediation-related obligations, and (4) the timing of recognition of any recoveries.

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