SEGMENT AND RELATED INFORMATION

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

SEGMENT AND RELATED INFORMATION

SEGMENT AND RELATED INFORMATION

Southern Company

The primary businesses of the Southern Company system are electricity sales by the traditional electric operating companies and Southern Power and the distribution of natural gas by Southern Company Gas. The traditional electric operating companies – Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power – are vertically integrated utilities providing electric service in three Southeastern states. Southern Power develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects, and sells electricity at market-based rates in the wholesale market. Southern Company Gas distributes natural gas through its natural gas distribution utilities and is involved in several other complementary businesses including gas pipeline investments, wholesale gas services, and gas marketing services.

Southern Company's reportable business segments are the sale of electricity by the traditional electric operating companies, the sale of electricity in the competitive wholesale market by Southern Power, and the sale of natural gas and other complementary products and services by Southern Company Gas. Revenues from sales by Southern Power to the traditional electric operating companies were $101 million and $279 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $116 million and $320 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to the traditional electric operating companies were immaterial for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and $9 million and $13 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to Southern Power were $9 million and $22 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively, and $20 million and $53 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. The "All Other" column includes the Southern Company parent entity, which does not allocate operating expenses to business segments. Also, this category includes segments below the quantitative threshold for separate disclosure. These segments include providing energy solutions to electric utilities and their customers in the areas of distributed generation, energy storage and renewables, and energy efficiency, as well as investments in telecommunications and leveraged lease projects. All other inter-segment revenues are not material.

Financial data for business segments and products and services for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was as follows:

	Electric Utilities
	Traditional Electric Operating Companies		Southern Power		Eliminations		Total		Southern Company Gas		All Other		Eliminations		Consolidated
	(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
Operating revenues	$	4,629	$	523	$	(103)	$	5,049	$	477	$	132	$	(38)	$	5,620
Segment net income (loss)(a)	1,284		74		—		1,358		14		(122)		1		1,251
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
Operating revenues	$	11,576	$	1,337	$	(285)	$	12,628	$	2,362	$	380	$	(112)	$	15,258
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(c)(d)	2,571		212		—		2,783		360		(420)		9		2,732
At September 30, 2020
Goodwill	$	—	$	2	$	—	$	2	$	5,015	$	263	$	—	$	5,280
Total assets	85,218		13,424		(671)		97,971		21,932		4,116		(861)		123,158
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
Operating revenues	$	4,908	$	574	$	(119)	$	5,363	$	498	$	146	$	(12)	$	5,995
Segment net income (loss)(a)(e)(f)	1,373		86		—		1,459		(29)		(110)		(4)		1,316
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
Operating revenues	$	12,252	$	1,527	$	(331)	$	13,448	$	2,661	$	514	$	(118)	$	16,505
Segment net income (loss)(a)(e)(f)(g)	2,719		316		—		3,035		347		931		(15)		4,298
At December 31, 2019
Goodwill	$	—	$	2	$	—	$	2	$	5,015	$	263	$	—	$	5,280
Total assets	81,063		14,300		(713)		94,650		21,687		3,511		(1,148)		118,700

(a)Attributable to Southern Company.

(b)Segment net income (loss) for the traditional electric operating companies includes a pre-tax charge of $149 million ($111 million after tax) related to Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. See Note (B) under "Georgia Power – Nuclear Construction" for additional information.

(c)Segment net income (loss) for the "All Other" column includes a pre-tax impairment charge of $154 million ($74 million after tax) related to a leveraged lease investment. See Note (C) under "Other Matters – Southern Company" for additional information.

(d)Segment net income (loss) for Southern Power includes a $39 million pre-tax gain ($23 million gain after tax) on the sale of Plant Mankato. See Note (K) under "Southern Power" for additional information.

(e)Segment net income (loss) for Southern Company Gas includes a pre-tax impairment charge of $92 million ($65 million after tax) related to a natural gas storage facility in Louisiana. See Note 3 to the financial statements under "Other Matters – Southern Company Gas – Natural Gas Storage Facilities" in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for additional information.

(f)Segment net income (loss) for the "All Other" column includes the preliminary pre-tax gain associated with the sale of Gulf Power of $2.5 billion ($1.3 billion after tax) for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, as well as impairment charges in contemplation of the sales of two of PowerSecure's business units totaling $18 million and $50 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. See Note 15 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Southern Company" for additional information.

(g)Segment net income (loss) for Southern Power includes a $23 million pre-tax gain ($88 million gain after tax) on the sale of Plant Nacogdoches. See Note 15 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Southern Power – Sale of Natural Gas and Biomass Plants" for additional information.

Products and Services

	Electric Utilities' Revenues
	Retail		Wholesale		Other		Total
	(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	4,243	$	584	$	222	$	5,049
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019	4,512		625		226		5,363
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	10,503	$	1,473	$	652	$	12,628
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019	11,136		1,667		645		13,448

	Southern Company Gas' Revenues
	Gas Distribution Operations		Wholesale Gas Services(*)		Gas Marketing Services		Other		Total
	(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	476	$	(51)	$	39	$	13	$	477
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019	445		(2)		39		16		498
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	2,072	$	(19)	$	272	$	37	$	2,362
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019	2,169		132		326		34		2,661

(*)The revenues for wholesale gas services are netted with costs associated with its energy and risk management activities. See "Southern Company Gas" herein for additional information.

Southern Company Gas

Southern Company Gas manages its business through four reportable segments – gas distribution operations, gas pipeline investments, wholesale gas services, and gas marketing services. The non-reportable segments are combined and presented as all other.

Gas distribution operations is the largest component of Southern Company Gas' business and includes natural gas local distribution utilities that construct, manage, and maintain intrastate natural gas pipelines and gas distribution facilities in four states.

Gas pipeline investments consists of joint ventures in natural gas pipeline investments including a 50% interest in SNG, a 20% ownership interest in the PennEast Pipeline construction project, a 50% joint ownership interest in the Dalton Pipeline, and a 5% ownership interest in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction project through its sale on March 24, 2020. These natural gas pipelines enable the provision of diverse sources of natural gas supplies to the customers of Southern Company Gas.

Wholesale gas services provides natural gas asset management and/or related logistics services for each of Southern Company Gas' utilities except Nicor Gas as well as for non-affiliated companies. Additionally, wholesale gas services engages in natural gas storage and gas pipeline arbitrage and related activities.

Gas marketing services provides natural gas marketing to end-use customers primarily in Georgia, Illinois, and Ohio through SouthStar.

The all other column includes segments below the quantitative threshold for separate disclosure, including natural gas storage businesses, fuels operations through the sale of Southern Company Gas' interest in Pivotal LNG on March 24, 2020, the investment in Triton through its sale on May 29, 2019, and other subsidiaries that fall below the quantitative threshold for separate disclosure. See Notes (E) and (K) under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information.

Business segment financial data for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was as follows:

	Gas Distribution Operations		Gas Pipeline Investments		Wholesale Gas Services(a)		Gas Marketing Services		Total		All Other(b)		Eliminations		Consolidated
	(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
Operating revenues	$	479	$	8	$	(51)	$	39	$	475	$	8	$	(6)	$	477
Segment net income (loss)	46		23		(45)		(3)		21		(7)		—		14
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
Operating revenues	$	2,086	$	24	$	(19)	$	272	$	2,363	$	24	$	(25)	$	2,362
Segment net income (loss)	284		74		(45)		59		372		(12)		—		360
Total assets at September 30, 2020	18,715		1,609		650		1,461		22,435		10,979		(11,482)		21,932
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
Operating revenues	$	448	$	8	$	(2)	$	39	$	493	$	10	$	(5)	$	498
Segment net income (loss)	37		6		(9)		(4)		30		(59)		—		(29)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019
Operating revenues	$	2,188	$	24	$	132	$	326	$	2,670	$	34	$	(43)	$	2,661
Segment net income (loss)	228		63		61		54		406		(59)		—		347
Total assets at December 31, 2019	18,204		1,678		850		1,496		22,228		10,759		(11,300)		21,687

(a)The revenues for wholesale gas services are netted with costs associated with its energy and risk management activities. A reconciliation of operating revenues and intercompany revenues is shown in the following table.

	Third Party Gross Revenues		Intercompany Revenues		Total Gross Revenues		Less Gross Gas Costs		Operating Revenues
	(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	1,050	$	33	$	1,083	$	1,134	$	(51)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019	1,138		72		1,210		1,212		(2)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020	$	3,089	$	81	$	3,170	$	3,189	$	(19)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019	4,287		223		4,510		4,378		132

(b)Segment net income (loss) for the "All Other" column includes a pre-tax impairment charge of $92 million ($65 million after tax) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 related to a natural gas storage facility in Louisiana. See Note 3 to the financial statements under "Other Matters – Southern Company Gas – Natural Gas Storage Facilities" in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for additional information.