Fair Value Measurements - Fair Value of Commodity Derivative Contracts that Include a Significant Unobservable Component (Details) - SOUTHERN Co GAS $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation, Calculation [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 0
Transfers to Level 3	(30)
Changes in fair value	11
Ending balance	$ (19)

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of gain (loss) recognized in the income statement of financial instrument classified as a derivative asset (liability) after deduction of derivative liability (asset), measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99377789&loc=d3e19207-110258

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-Publisher FASB
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- Definition

Amount of transfers of financial instrument classified as a derivative asset (liability) after deduction of derivative liability (asset) into level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99377789&loc=d3e19207-110258

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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-Section 50
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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99377789&loc=d3e19279-110258

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- Definition

Fair value of financial instrument classified as derivative asset (liability) after deduction of derivative liability (asset), measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99377789&loc=d3e19207-110258

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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99377789&loc=d3e19279-110258

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