Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies

CONTINGENCIESSee Note 3 to the financial statements in Item 8 of the Form 10-K for information relating to various lawsuits and other contingencies.

General Litigation Matters

The Registrants are involved in various matters being litigated and regulatory matters. The ultimate outcome of such pending or potential litigation or regulatory matters against each Registrant and any subsidiaries cannot be determined at this time; however, for current proceedings not specifically reported herein, management does not anticipate that the ultimate liabilities, if any, arising from such current proceedings would have a material effect on such Registrant's financial statements.

The Registrants believe the pending legal challenges discussed below have no merit; however, the ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined at this time.

Southern Company

In February 2017, Jean Vineyard and Judy Mesirov each filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Each of these lawsuits names as defendants Southern Company, certain of its directors, certain of its current and former officers, and certain former Mississippi Power officers. In 2017, these two shareholder derivative lawsuits were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of

Georgia. The complaints allege that the defendants caused Southern Company to make false or misleading statements regarding the Kemper County energy facility cost and schedule. Further, the complaints allege that the defendants were unjustly enriched and caused the waste of corporate assets and also allege that the individual defendants violated their fiduciary duties.

In May 2017, Helen E. Piper Survivor's Trust filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia that names as defendants Southern Company, certain of its directors, certain of its current and former officers, and certain former Mississippi Power officers. The complaint alleges that the individual defendants, among other things, breached their fiduciary duties in connection with schedule delays and cost overruns associated with the construction of the Kemper County energy facility. The complaint further alleges that the individual defendants authorized or failed to correct false and misleading statements regarding the Kemper County energy facility schedule and cost and failed to implement necessary internal controls to prevent harm to Southern Company. In August 2019, the court granted a motion filed by the plaintiff in July 2019 to substitute a new named plaintiff, Martin J. Kobuck, in place of Helen E. Piper Survivor's Trust.

The plaintiffs in each of these cases seek to recover, on behalf of Southern Company, unspecified actual damages and, on each plaintiff's own behalf, attorneys' fees and costs in bringing the lawsuit. The plaintiffs also seek certain changes to Southern Company's corporate governance and internal processes. On January 21, 2022, the plaintiffs in the federal court action filed a motion for preliminary approval of settlement, together with an executed stipulation of settlement, which applies to both actions. On March 11, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered an order preliminarily approving the settlement. The proposed settlement consists of an aggregate payment by Southern Company's insurers of approximately $4.5 million for attorneys' fees and expenses, as well as adoption of various corporate governance reforms by Southern Company. The terms of the proposed settlement and the corporate governance reforms remain subject to final approval by the court.

Georgia Power

In 2011, plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Georgia Power in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia alleging that Georgia Power's collection in rates of amounts for municipal franchise fees (which fees are paid to municipalities) exceeded the amounts allowed in orders of the Georgia PSC and alleging certain state law claims. This case has been ruled upon and appealed numerous times over the last several years. In 2019, the Georgia PSC issued an order that found Georgia Power has appropriately implemented the municipal franchise fee schedule. In March 2021, the Superior Court of Fulton County granted class certification and Georgia Power's motion for summary judgment and the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal. In April 2021, Georgia Power filed a notice of cross appeal on the issue of class certification. In December 2021, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court's ruling that granted summary judgment to Georgia Power and dismissed Georgia Power's cross appeal on the issue of class certification as moot. Also in December 2021, the plaintiffs filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the Georgia Supreme Court. The amount of any possible losses cannot be estimated at this time because, among other factors, it is unknown whether any losses would be subject to recovery from any municipalities.

In July 2020, a group of individual plaintiffs filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia against Georgia Power alleging that releases from Plant Scherer have impacted groundwater, surface water, and air, resulting in alleged personal injuries and property damage. The plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of monetary damages including punitive damages, a medical monitoring fund, and injunctive relief. Georgia Power has filed multiple motions to dismiss the complaint. In October 2021, three additional complaints were filed in the Superior Court of Monroe County, Georgia against Georgia Power alleging that releases from Plant Scherer have impacted groundwater and air, resulting in alleged personal injuries and property damage. The plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of monetary damages including punitive damages. In November 2021, Georgia Power filed a notice to remove the three cases pending in the Superior Court of Monroe County, Georgia to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. On February 7, 2022, four additional complaints were filed in the Superior Court of Monroe County, Georgia against Georgia Power seeking damages for alleged personal injuries or property damage. On March 9, 2022, Georgia Power filed a notice to remove the four cases pending in the Superior Court of Monroe

County, Georgia to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The amount of any possible losses from these matters cannot be estimated at this time.

Mississippi Power

In 2018, Ray C. Turnage and 10 other individual plaintiffs filed a putative class action complaint against Mississippi Power and the three then-serving members of the Mississippi PSC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, which was amended in March 2019 to include four additional plaintiffs. Mississippi Power received Mississippi PSC approval in 2013 to charge a mirror CWIP rate premised upon including in its rate base pre-construction and construction costs for the Kemper IGCC prior to placing the Kemper IGCC into service. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed that approval and ordered Mississippi Power to refund the amounts paid by customers under the previously-approved mirror CWIP rate. The plaintiffs allege that the initial approval process, and the amount approved, were improper and make claims for gross negligence, reckless conduct, and intentional wrongdoing. They also allege that Mississippi Power underpaid customers by up to $23.5 million in the refund process by applying an incorrect interest rate. The plaintiffs seek to recover, on behalf of themselves and their putative class, actual damages, punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, attorney's fees, and costs. The district court dismissed the amended complaint; however, in March 2020, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to name the new members of the Mississippi PSC, the Mississippi Development Authority, and Southern Company as additional defendants and add a cause of action against all defendants based on a dormant commerce clause theory under the U.S. Constitution. In July 2020, the plaintiffs filed a motion for leave to file a third amended complaint, which included the same federal claims as the proposed second amended complaint, as well as several additional state law claims based on the allegation that Mississippi Power failed to disclose the annual percentage rate of interest applicable to refunds. In November 2020, the district court denied each of the plaintiffs' pending motions and entered final judgment in favor of Mississippi Power. In January 2021, the district court denied further motions by the plaintiffs to vacate the judgment and to file a revised second amended complaint. In February 2021, the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion affirming the dismissal of the claims against the Mississippi PSC defendants but reversing the dismissal of the claims against Mississippi Power. The appellate court remanded the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi for further proceedings. The appellate court's decision is not final until the opportunity for rehearing en banc is resolved. An adverse outcome in this proceeding could have a material impact on Mississippi Power's financial statements.

Environmental Remediation

The Southern Company system must comply with environmental laws and regulations governing the handling and disposal of waste and releases of hazardous substances. Under these various laws and regulations, the Southern Company system could incur substantial costs to clean up affected sites. The traditional electric operating companies and the natural gas distribution utilities in Illinois and Georgia have each received authority from their respective state PSCs or other applicable state regulatory agencies to recover approved environmental remediation costs through regulatory mechanisms. These regulatory mechanisms are adjusted annually or as necessary within limits approved by the state PSCs or other applicable state regulatory agencies.

Georgia Power's environmental remediation liability was $16 million and $17 million at March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Georgia Power has been designated or identified as a potentially responsible party at sites governed by the Georgia Hazardous Site Response Act and/or by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and assessment and potential cleanup of such sites is expected.

Southern Company Gas' environmental remediation liability was $249 million at both March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 based on the estimated cost of environmental investigation and remediation associated with known former manufactured gas plant operating sites.

The ultimate outcome of these matters cannot be determined at this time; however, as a result of the regulatory treatment for environmental remediation expenses described above, the final disposition of these matters is not expected to have a material impact on the financial statements of the applicable Registrants.