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Segment and Related Information
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 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, 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 $81 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and $86 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to the traditional electric operating companies were immaterial for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020. Revenues from sales of natural gas from Southern Company Gas to Southern Power were $12 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and $10 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. 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 months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:
Electric Utilities
Traditional
Electric Operating
Companies		Southern
Power		EliminationsTotalSouthern Company GasAll
Other		EliminationsConsolidated
(in millions)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
Operating revenues$3,764 $440 $(87)$4,117 $1,694 $134 $(35)$5,910 
Segment net income (loss)(a)(b)(c)
756 97 — 853 398 (108)(8)1,135 
At March 31, 2021
Goodwill$— $2 $— $2 $5,015 $263 $— $5,280 
Total assets86,053 13,995 (637)99,411 23,377 3,392 (787)125,393 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Operating revenues$3,407 $375 $(87)$3,695 $1,249 $114 $(40)$5,018 
Segment net income (loss)(a)(d)
642 75 — 717 275 (121)(3)868 
At December 31, 2020
Goodwill$— $2 $— $2 $5,015 $263 $— $5,280 
Total assets85,486 13,235 (680)98,041 22,630 3,168 (904)122,935 
(a)Attributable to Southern Company.
(b)For the traditional electric operating companies, includes a $48 million pre-tax charge ($36 million after tax) at Georgia Power for estimated loss on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. See Note (B) 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 (E) and (K) under "Southern Power" for additional information.
(d)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 March 31, 2021$3,342 $545 $230 $4,117 
Three Months Ended March 31, 20203,078 418 199 3,695 
 Southern Company Gas' Revenues
Gas
Distribution
Operations
Wholesale
Gas
Services(*)
Gas
Marketing
Services		OtherTotal
(in millions)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021$1,192 $298 $195 $9 $1,694 
Three Months Ended March 31, 20201,013 51 177 8 1,249 
(*)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.
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. The Virginia Natural Gas asset management agreement ended on March 31, 2021 and was not extended. Additionally, wholesale gas services engages 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, which is expected to be completed during the third quarter 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 months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:
Gas Distribution OperationsGas Pipeline Investments
Wholesale Gas Services(*)
Gas Marketing ServicesTotalAll OtherEliminationsConsolidated
(in millions)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
Operating revenues$1,200 $8 $298 $195 $1,701 $7 $(14)$1,694 
Segment net income (loss)183 29 126 56 394 4 — 398 
Total assets at
March 31, 2021
20,161 1,596 939 1,553 24,249 11,477 (12,349)23,377 
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Operating revenues$1,020 $8 $51 $177 $1,256 $8 $(15)$1,249 
Segment net income (loss)164 30 23 57 274 1 — 275 
Total assets at
December 31, 2020
19,090 1,597 850 1,503 23,040 11,336 (11,746)22,630 
(*)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 March 31, 2021$2,588 $63 $2,651 $2,353 $298 
Three Months Ended March 31, 20201,185 29 1,214 1,163 51