XML 130 R86.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.22.0.1

SEGMENT AND RELATED INFORMATION (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2021
Segment Reporting [Abstract] |
Financial data for business segments | Financial data for business segments and products and services for the years ended December 31, 2021, 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)
2021 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 16,614 |  | $ | 2,216 |  | $ | (530) |  | $ | 18,300 |  | $ | 4,380 |  | $ | 582 |  | $ | (149) |  | $ | 23,113 |
Depreciation and amortization | 2,436 |  | 517 |  | — |  | 2,953 |  | 536 |  | 76 |  | — |  | 3,565 |
Interest income | 20 |  | 1 |  | — |  | 21 |  | — |  | 4 |  | (3) |  | 22 |
Earnings from equity method investments | 1 |  | — |  | — |  | 1 |  | 50 |  | 24 |  | 1 |  | 76 |
Interest expense | 821 |  | 147 |  | — |  | 968 |  | 238 |  | 631 |  | — |  | 1,837 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 232 |  | (13) |  | — |  | 219 |  | 275 |  | (227) |  | — |  | 267 |
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) | 1,981 |  | 266 |  | — |  | 2,247 |  | 539 |  | (384) |  | (9) |  | 2,393 |
Goodwill | — |  | 2 |  | — |  | 2 |  | 5,015 |  | 263 |  | — |  | 5,280 |
Assets held for sale | 39 |  | — |  | — |  | 39 |  | — |  | 3 |  | — |  | 42 |
Total assets | 89,051 |  | 13,390 |  | (667) |  | 101,774 |  | 23,560 |  | 2,975 |  | (775) |  | 127,534 |
2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 15,135 |  | $ | 1,733 |  | $ | (371) |  | $ | 16,497 |  | $ | 3,434 |  | $ | 596 |  | $ | (152) |  | $ | 20,375 |
Depreciation and amortization | 2,447 |  | 494 |  | — |  | 2,941 |  | 500 |  | 77 |  | — |  | 3,518 |
Interest income | 26 |  | 4 |  | — |  | 30 |  | 5 |  | 6 |  | (4) |  | 37 |
Earnings from equity method investments | — |  | — |  | — |  | — |  | 141 |  | 12 |  | — |  | 153 |
Interest expense | 825 |  | 151 |  | — |  | 976 |  | 231 |  | 614 |  | — |  | 1,821 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 514 |  | 3 |  | — |  | 517 |  | 173 |  | (297) |  | — |  | 393 |
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(f)(g)(h) | 2,877 |  | 238 |  | — |  | 3,115 |  | 590 |  | (592) |  | 6 |  | 3,119 |
Goodwill | — |  | 2 |  | — |  | 2 |  | 5,015 |  | 263 |  | — |  | 5,280 |
Assets held for sale | 5 |  | — |  | — |  | 5 |  | — |  | 55 |  | — |  | 60 |
Total assets | 85,486 |  | 13,235 |  | (680) |  | 98,041 |  | 22,630 |  | 3,168 |  | (904) |  | 122,935 |
2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 15,569 |  | $ | 1,938 |  | $ | (412) |  | $ | 17,095 |  | $ | 3,792 |  | $ | 690 |  | $ | (158) |  | $ | 21,419 |
Depreciation and amortization | 1,993 |  | 479 |  | — |  | 2,472 |  | 487 |  | 79 |  | — |  | 3,038 |
Interest income | 38 |  | 9 |  | — |  | 47 |  | 3 |  | 16 |  | (6) |  | 60 |
Earnings from equity method investments | 2 |  | 3 |  | — |  | 5 |  | 157 |  | — |  | — |  | 162 |
Interest expense | 818 |  | 169 |  | — |  | 987 |  | 232 |  | 517 |  | — |  | 1,736 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 764 |  | (56) |  | — |  | 708 |  | 130 |  | 960 |  | — |  | 1,798 |
Segment net income (loss)(a)(f)(i)(j)(k) | 2,929 |  | 339 |  | — |  | 3,268 |  | 585 |  | 908 |  | (22) |  | 4,739 |
Goodwill | — |  | 2 |  | — |  | 2 |  | 5,015 |  | 263 |  | — |  | 5,280 |
Assets held for sale | — |  | 618 |  | — |  | 618 |  | 171 |  | — |  | — |  | 789 |
Total assets | 81,063 |  | 14,300 |  | (713) |  | 94,650 |  | 21,687 |  | 3,511 |  | (1,148) |  | 118,700 |
(a)Attributable to Southern Company. (b)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 $1.7 billion ($1.3 billion after tax) in 2021 and $325 million ($242 million after tax) in 2020. See Note 2 under "Georgia Power – Nuclear Construction" for additional information. (c)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 7 and 15 under "Southern Power" for additional information. (d)For Southern Company Gas, includes a pre-tax gain of $121 million ($92 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, and pre-tax impairment charges totaling $84 million ($67 million after tax) related to its equity method investment in the PennEast Pipeline project. See Notes 7 and 15 under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information. (e)For the "All Other" column, includes a pre-tax gain of $93 million ($99 million gain after tax) associated with the termination of two leveraged leases projects. See Note 15 under "Southern Company" for additional information. (f)For the "All Other" column, includes pre-tax impairment charges totaling $7 million ($6 million after tax) in 2021, $206 million ($105 million after tax) in 2020, and $17 million ($13 million after tax) in 2019 related to leveraged lease investments. See Notes 9 and 15 under "Southern Company Leveraged Lease" and "Southern Company," respectively, 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 under "Southern Power" for additional information. (h)For Southern Company Gas, includes a $22 million pre-tax gain ($16 million gain after tax) on the sale of Jefferson Island. See Note 15 under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information. (i)For Southern Power, includes a $23 million pre-tax gain ($88 million gain after tax) on the sale of Plant Nacogdoches. See Note 15 under "Southern Power" for additional information. (j)For Southern Company Gas, includes pre-tax impairment charges totaling $115 million ($86 million after tax). See Note 15 under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information. (k)For the "All Other" column, includes the pre-tax gain associated with the sale of Gulf Power of $2.6 billion ($1.4 billion after tax) and the pre-tax loss, including related impairment charges, on the sales of certain PowerSecure business units totaling $58 million ($52 million after tax). See Note 15 under "Southern Company" for additional information. Financial data for business segments for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 was as follows:
| Gas Distribution Operations | Gas Pipeline Investments | Wholesale Gas Services(a) | Gas Marketing Services | Total | All Other | Eliminations | Consolidated
| (in millions)
2021 |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 3,679 |  | $ | 32 |  | $ | 188 |  | $ | 475 |  | $ | 4,374 |  | $ | 38 |  | $ | (32) |  | $ | 4,380 |
Depreciation and amortization | 482 |  | 5 |  | — |  | 18 |  | 505 |  | 31 |  | — |  | 536 |
Operating income (loss) | 708 |  | 21 |  | 241 |  | 125 |  | 1,095 |  | (40) |  | — |  | 1,055 |
Earnings from equity method investments | — |  | 50 |  | — |  | — |  | 50 |  | — |  | — |  | 50 |
Interest expense | 207 |  | 25 |  | 2 |  | 3 |  | 237 |  | 1 |  | — |  | 238 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 120 |  | 27 |  | 32 |  | 34 |  | 213 |  | 62 |  | — |  | 275 |
Segment net income (loss)(b)(c)(d) | 412 |  | 19 |  | 107 |  | 88 |  | 626 |  | (87) |  | — |  | 539 |
Total assets | 20,917 |  | 1,467 |  | 31 |  | 1,556 |  | 23,971 |  | 12,114 |  | (12,525) |  | 23,560 |
2020 |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 2,952 |  | $ | 32 |  | $ | 74 |  | $ | 408 |  | $ | 3,466 |  | $ | 36 |  | $ | (68) |  | $ | 3,434 |
Depreciation and amortization | 442 |  | 5 |  | 1 |  | 22 |  | 470 |  | 30 |  | — |  | 500 |
Operating income (loss) | 655 |  | 20 |  | 20 |  | 119 |  | 814 |  | (7) |  | 5 |  | 812 |
Earnings from equity method investments | — |  | 141 |  | — |  | — |  | 141 |  | — |  | — |  | 141 |
Interest expense | 192 |  | 29 |  | 4 |  | 3 |  | 228 |  | 3 |  | — |  | 231 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 114 |  | 33 |  | 3 |  | 28 |  | 178 |  | (5) |  | — |  | 173 |
Segment net income (loss)(e) | 390 |  | 99 |  | 14 |  | 89 |  | 592 |  | (2) |  | — |  | 590 |
Total assets | 19,090 |  | 1,597 |  | 850 |  | 1,503 |  | 23,040 |  | 11,336 |  | (11,746) |  | 22,630 |
2019 |  |  |  |  |
Operating revenues | $ | 3,028 |  | $ | 32 |  | $ | 294 |  | $ | 456 |  | $ | 3,810 |  | $ | 44 |  | $ | (62) |  | $ | 3,792 |
Depreciation and amortization | 422 |  | 5 |  | 1 |  | 26 |  | 454 |  | 33 |  | — |  | 487 |
Operating income (loss) | 573 |  | 20 |  | 219 |  | 112 |  | 924 |  | (154) |  | — |  | 770 |
Earnings from equity method investments | — |  | 162 |  | — |  | — |  | 162 |  | (5) |  | — |  | 157 |
Interest expense | 187 |  | 30 |  | 5 |  | 3 |  | 225 |  | 7 |  | — |  | 232 |
Income taxes (benefit) | 63 |  | 58 |  | 52 |  | 27 |  | 200 |  | (70) |  | — |  | 130 |
Segment net income (loss)(f) | 337 |  | 94 |  | 163 |  | 83 |  | 677 |  | (92) |  | — |  | 585 |
Total assets | 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)
2021 | $ | 3,881 |  | $ | 90 |  | $ | 3,971 |  | $ | 3,783 |  | $ | 188 |
2020 | 4,544 |  | 115 |  | 4,659 |  | 4,585 |  | 74 |
2019 | 5,703 |  | 275 |  | 5,978 |  | 5,684 |  | 294 |
(b)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 Note 7 under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information. (c)For wholesale gas services, includes a pre-tax gain of $121 million ($92 million after tax) related to the sale of Sequent. (d)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. (e)For the "All Other" column include s a $22 million pre-tax gain ($16 million g ain after tax) on the sale of Jefferson Island. (f)For the "All Other" column, includes pre-tax impairment charges totaling $115 million ($86 million after tax). See Note 15 under "Southern Company Gas" for additional information.
Financial data for products and services | Products and Services
Electric Utilities' Revenues
Year | Retail |  | Wholesale |  | Other |  | Total
| (in millions)
2021 | $ | 14,852 |  |  | $ | 2,455 |  |  | $ | 993 |  |  | $ | 18,300 |
2020 | 13,643 |  |  | 1,945 |  |  | 909 |  |  | 16,497 |
2019 | 14,084 |  |  | 2,152 |  |  | 859 |  |  | 17,095 |
Southern Company Gas' Revenues
Year | Gas Distribution Operations |  | Gas Marketing Services |  |  |  | All Other |  |  | Total
| (in millions)
2021 | $ | 3,656 |  |  | $ | 475 |  |  |  |  | $ | 249 |  |  |  | $ | 4,380 |
2020 | 2,902 |  |  | 408 |  |  |  |  | 124 |  |  |  | 3,434 |
2019 | 3,001 |  |  | 456 |  |  |  |  | 335 |  |  |  | 3,792 |
Schedule of reconciliation of operating revenues and intercompany revenues | 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)
2021 | $ | 3,881 |  | $ | 90 |  | $ | 3,971 |  | $ | 3,783 |  | $ | 188 |
2020 | 4,544 |  | 115 |  | 4,659 |  | 4,585 |  | 74 |
2019 | 5,703 |  | 275 |  | 5,978 |  | 5,684 |  | 294 |

X
- Definition Financial data for products and services. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | so_FinancialDataForProductsAndServicesTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | so_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of all significant reconciling items in the reconciliation of total revenues from reportable segments to the entity's consolidated revenues. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 31 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e8924-108599 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 30 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e8906-108599 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ReconciliationOfRevenueFromSegmentsToConsolidatedTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of the profit or loss and total assets for each reportable segment. An entity discloses certain information on each reportable segment if the amounts (a) are included in the measure of segment profit or loss reviewed by the chief operating decision maker or (b) are otherwise regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker, even if not included in that measure of segment profit or loss. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 22 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e8736-108599 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 25 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e8813-108599 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267 Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 30 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e8906-108599 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfSegmentReportingInformationBySegmentTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_SegmentReportingAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration