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Segment and Related Information
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
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 and battery energy storage 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 (through June 30, 2021), 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 $167 million and $361 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, and $101 million and $279 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to the traditional electric operating companies were immaterial for all periods presented. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to Southern Power were $18 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, which represented sales from Sequent through June 30, 2021, and $9 million and $22 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, 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, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:
Electric Utilities
Traditional
Electric Operating
Companies		Southern
Power		EliminationsTotalSouthern Company GasAll
Other		EliminationsConsolidated
(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
Operating revenues$5,018 $679 $(170)$5,527 $623 $124 $(36)$6,238 
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(c)
1,085 78 — 1,163 56 (121)3 1,101 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Operating revenues$12,813 $1,610 $(372)$14,051 $2,994 $412 $(111)$17,346 
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)
2,352 211 — 2,563 389 (338)(6)2,608 
At September 30, 2021
Goodwill$— $2 $— $2 $5,015 $263 $— $5,280 
Assets held for sale3 — — 3 — 48 — 51 
Total assets89,057 13,611 (708)101,960 22,958 3,704 (761)127,861 
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)$15,258 
Segment net income (loss)(a)(c)(f)(g)
2,571 212 — 2,783 360 (420)9 2,732 
At December 31, 2020
Goodwill$— $2 $— $2 $5,015 $263 $— $5,280 
Assets held for sale5 — — 5 — 55 — 60 
Total assets85,486 13,235 (680)98,041 22,630 3,168 (904)122,935 
(a)Attributable to Southern Company.
(b)For Southern Company Gas, includes a preliminary pre-tax gain of $121 million ($93 million after tax) related to its sale of Sequent, as well as the resulting $85 million of additional tax expense due to changes in state apportionment rates. See Note (K) under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information.
(c)For the traditional electric operating companies, includes pre-tax charges at Georgia Power for estimated losses associated with the construction of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 of $264 million ($197 million after tax) and $772 million ($576 million after tax) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, and $149 million ($111 million after tax) for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. See Note (B) and Note 2 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Georgia Power – Nuclear Construction" for additional information.
(d)For Southern Power, includes gains on wind turbine equipment contributed to various equity method investments totaling approximately $37 million pre-tax ($28 million after tax). See Notes (E) and (K) under "Southern Power" for additional information.
(e)For Southern Company Gas, includes pre-tax impairment charges totaling $84 million ($67 million after tax) related to its equity method investment in the PennEast Pipeline project. See Notes (C) and (E) under "Other Matters – Southern Company Gas" and "Southern Company Gas," respectively, for additional information.
(f)For the "All Other" column, includes pre-tax impairment charges related to leveraged lease investments of $7 million ($6 million after tax) and $154 million ($74 million after tax) for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. See Note 3 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Other Matters – Southern Company" for additional information.
(g)For Southern Power, includes a $39 million pre-tax gain ($23 million gain after tax) on the sale of Plant Mankato. See Note 15 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Southern Power" for additional information.
Products and Services
 Electric Utilities' Revenues
RetailWholesaleOtherTotal
(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021$4,551 $731 $245 $5,527 
Three Months Ended September 30, 20204,243 584 222 5,049 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021$11,492 $1,822 $737 $14,051 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 202010,503 1,473 652 12,628 
 Southern Company Gas' Revenues
Gas
Distribution
Operations
Wholesale
Gas
Services(*)
Gas
Marketing
Services		OtherTotal
(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021$553 $— $52 $18 $623 
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020476 (51)39 13 477 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021$2,451 $188 $311 $44 $2,994 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 20202,072 (19)272 37 2,362 
(*)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. See Note 15 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information on the disposition activities described herein.
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 project, and a 50% joint ownership interest in the Dalton Pipeline. These natural gas pipelines enable the provision of diverse sources of natural gas supplies to the customers of Southern Company Gas. Gas pipeline investments also included a 5% ownership interest in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction project prior to its sale on March 24, 2020. See Note (C) under "Other Matters – Southern Company Gas" for information regarding the September 2021 cancellation of the PennEast Pipeline project.
Wholesale gas services (until the sale of Sequent on July 1, 2021) provided 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. The Virginia Natural Gas asset management agreement ended on March 31, 2021 and was not extended. Additionally, wholesale gas services engaged in natural gas storage and gas pipeline arbitrage and related activities. See Note (K) under "Southern Company Gas" for information regarding the sale of Sequent on July 1, 2021.
Gas marketing services provides natural gas marketing to end-use customers primarily in Georgia and Illinois through SouthStar.
The all other column includes segments and subsidiaries that fall below the quantitative threshold for separate disclosure, including storage and fuels operations. The all other column included Jefferson Island through its sale on December 1, 2020 and Pivotal LNG through its sale on March 24, 2020.
Business segment financial data for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:
Gas Distribution OperationsGas Pipeline Investments
Wholesale Gas Services(a)
Gas Marketing ServicesTotalAll OtherEliminationsConsolidated
(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
Operating revenues$556 $8 $— $52 $616 $11 $(4)$623 
Segment net income (loss)(b)(c)
45 10 94 (2)147 (91)— 56 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Operating revenues$2,466 $24 $188 $311 $2,989 $29 $(24)$2,994 
Segment net income (loss)(b)(c)(d)
308 3 108 60 479 (90)— 389 
Total assets at September 30, 2021
20,619 1,478 132 1,534 23,763 11,387 (12,192)22,958 
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)$2,362 
Segment net income (loss)284 74 (45)59 372 (12)— 360 
Total assets at December 31, 2020
19,090 1,597 850 1,503 23,040 11,336 (11,746)22,630 
(a)The revenues for wholesale gas services are netted with costs associated with its energy and risk management activities. A reconciliation of operating revenues and intercompany revenues is shown in the following table.
Third Party Gross RevenuesIntercompany RevenuesTotal Gross Revenues Less Gross Gas CostsOperating Revenues
(in millions)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021$— $— $— $— $— 
Three Months Ended September 30, 20201,050 33 1,083 1,134 (51)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021$3,881 $90 $3,971 $3,783 $188 
Nine Months Ended September 30, 20203,089 81 3,170 3,189 (19)
(b)For wholesale gas services, includes a preliminary pre-tax gain of $121 million ($93 million after tax) related to the sale of Sequent. See Note (K) under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information.
(c)For the "All Other" column, includes $85 million of additional tax expense due to changes in state apportionment rates as a result of the sale of Sequent. See Note (K) under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information.
(d)For gas pipeline investments, includes pre-tax impairment charges totaling $84 million ($67 million after tax) related to the equity method investment in the PennEast Pipeline project. See Notes (C) and (E) under "Other Matters – Southern Company Gas" and "Southern Company Gas," respectively, for additional information.