The Southern Company (Southern Company) engages in providing electric service to customers.
Southern Company is a holding company that owns all of the outstanding common stock of three traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company, and Southern Company Gas.
The traditional electric operating companies – Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power – are each operating public utility companies providing electric service to retail customers in three Southeastern states...
The Southern Company (Southern Company) engages in providing electric service to customers.
Southern Company is a holding company that owns all of the outstanding common stock of three traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company, and Southern Company Gas.
The traditional electric operating companies – Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power – are each operating public utility companies providing electric service to retail customers in three Southeastern states in addition to wholesale customers in the Southeast.
Southern Power Company is also an operating public utility company. Southern Power develops, constructs, acquires, owns, operates, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects, and sells electricity at market-based rates in the wholesale market.
Southern Company Gas is an energy services holding company whose primary business is the distribution of natural gas in four states – Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee – through the natural gas distribution utilities. Southern Company Gas is also involved in several other businesses that are complementary to the distribution of natural gas.
Southern Company also owns SCS, Southern Linc, Southern Holdings, Southern Nuclear, PowerSecure, and other direct and indirect subsidiaries. SCS, the system service company, has contracted with Southern Company, each of the Subsidiary Registrants, Southern Nuclear, SEGCO, and other subsidiaries to furnish, at direct or allocated cost and upon request, the following services: general executive and advisory, general and design engineering, operations, purchasing, accounting, finance, treasury, legal, tax, information technology, marketing, auditing, insurance and pension administration, human resources, systems and procedures, digital wireless communications, cellular tower space, and other services with respect to business and operations, construction management, and Southern Company power pool transactions. Southern Linc provides digital wireless communications for use by Southern Company and its subsidiary companies and markets these services to the public and provides fiber optics services through its subsidiary, Southern Telecom, Inc. Southern Linc's system covers approximately 122,000 square miles in the Southeast. Southern Holdings is an intermediate holding company subsidiary, which invests in various projects. Southern Nuclear operates and provides services to the Southern Company system's nuclear power plants. PowerSecure develops distributed energy and resilience solutions and deploys microgrids for commercial, industrial, governmental, and utility customers.
The Southern Company System
Traditional Electric Operating Companies
The traditional electric operating companies are vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission, and distribution facilities. Each company's transmission facilities are connected to the respective company's own generating plants and other sources of power (including certain generating plants owned by Southern Power) and are interconnected with the transmission facilities of the other traditional electric operating companies and SEGCO.
Agreements in effect with principal neighboring utility systems provide for capacity and energy transactions that may be entered into for reasons related to reliability or economics. Additionally, the traditional electric operating companies have entered into various reliability agreements with certain neighboring utilities, each of which provides for the establishment and periodic review of principles and procedures for planning and operation of generation and transmission facilities, maintenance schedules, load retention programs, emergency operations, and other matters affecting the reliability of bulk power supply. The traditional electric operating companies have joined with other utilities in the Southeast to form the SERC to augment further the reliability and adequacy of bulk power supply. Through the SERC, the traditional electric operating companies are represented at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. In 2022, the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) began service. SEEM, whose members include the traditional electric operating companies and many of the other electric service providers in the Southeast, is an extension of the existing bilateral market where participants use an automated, intra-hour energy exchange to buy and sell power close to the time the energy is consumed, utilizing available unreserved transmission. In July 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated certain Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders related to SEEM and remanded the proceeding to the FERC. The ultimate outcome of this matter cannot be determined at this time.
The utility assets of the traditional electric operating companies and certain utility assets of Southern Power Company are operated as a single integrated electric system, or Southern Company power pool, pursuant to the IIC. Activities under the IIC are administered by SCS, which acts as agent for the traditional electric operating companies and Southern Power Company. The fundamental purpose of the Southern Company power pool is to provide for the coordinated operation of the electric facilities in an effort to achieve the maximum possible economies consistent with the highest practicable reliability of service. Subject to service requirements and other operating limitations, system resources are committed and controlled through the application of centralized economic dispatch. Under the IIC, each traditional electric operating company and Southern Power Company retains its lowest cost energy resources for the benefit of its own customers and delivers any excess energy to the Southern Company power pool for use in serving customers of other traditional electric operating companies or Southern Power Company or for sale by the Southern Company power pool to third parties. The IIC provides for the recovery of specified costs associated with the affiliated operations thereunder, as well as the proportionate sharing of costs and revenues resulting from Southern Company power pool transactions with third parties.
Southern Power and Southern Linc have secured from the traditional electric operating companies certain services which are furnished in compliance with FERC regulations.
Alabama Power and Georgia Power each have agreements with Southern Nuclear to operate the Southern Company system's existing nuclear plants, Plants Farley, Hatch, and Vogtle.
Southern Power
Southern Power develops, constructs, acquires, owns, operates, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects, and sells electricity at market-based rates (under authority from the FERC) in the wholesale market. Southern Power seeks opportunities to execute its strategy to create value through various transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, and sales of partnership interests, development and construction of new generating facilities, and entry into PPAs, including contracts for differences that provide the owner of a renewable facility a certain fixed price for electricity sold to the grid, primarily with investor-owned utilities, IPPs, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and other load-serving entities, as well as commercial and industrial customers. The electricity from the natural gas generating facilities owned by Southern Power is primarily sold under long-term, fixed-price capacity PPAs both with unaffiliated wholesale purchasers, as well as with the traditional electric operating companies. Southern Power has attempted to insulate itself from significant fuel supply, fuel transportation, and electric transmission risks by generally making such risks the responsibility of the counterparties to its PPAs. However, Southern Power's future earnings will depend on the parameters of the wholesale market and the efficient operation of its wholesale generating assets, as well as Southern Power's ability to execute its growth strategy and to develop and construct generating facilities. Southern Power's business activities are not subject to traditional state regulation like the traditional electric operating companies, but the majority of its business activities are subject to regulation by the FERC.
Southern Power Company directly owns and manages generation assets primarily in the Southeast, which are included in the Southern Company power pool, and has various subsidiaries whose generation assets are not included in the Southern Company power pool. These subsidiaries were created to own, operate, and pursue power generation facilities, either wholly or in partnership with various third parties. As of December 31, 2024, Southern Power's generation fleet, which was owned in part with various partners, totaled 12,648 MWs of nameplate capacity in commercial operation (including 5,268 MWs of nameplate capacity owned by its subsidiaries).
A majority of Southern Power's partnerships in renewable facilities allow for the sharing of cash distributions and tax benefits at differing percentages, with Southern Power being the controlling partner and thus consolidating the assets and operations of the partnerships. As of December 31, 2024, Southern Power had eight tax equity partnership arrangements where the tax equity investors receive substantially all of the tax benefits from the facilities, including ITCs and PTCs. In addition, Southern Power holds controlling interests in non-tax equity partnerships with its ownership interests primarily ranging from 51% to 66%.
Southern Power calculates an investment coverage ratio for its generating assets, including those owned with various partners, based on the ratio of investment under contract to total investment using the respective facilities' net book value (or expected in-service value for facilities under construction) as the investment amount.
Southern Power's electricity sales from natural gas generating facilities are primarily through long-term PPAs that consist of two types of agreements. The first type, referred to as a unit or block sale, is a customer purchase from a dedicated plant unit where all or a portion of the generation from that unit is reserved for that customer. Southern Power typically has the ability to serve the unit or block sale customer from an alternate resource. The second type, referred to as requirements service, provides that Southern Power serves the customer's capacity and energy requirements from a combination of the customer's own generating units and from Southern Power resources not dedicated to serve unit or block sales. Southern Power has rights to purchase power provided by the requirements customers' resources when economically viable.
Southern Power's electricity sales from solar and wind generating facilities are also primarily through long-term PPAs; however, these solar and wind PPAs do not have a capacity charge and customers either purchase the energy output of a dedicated renewable facility through an energy charge or provide Southern Power a certain fixed price for the electricity sold to the grid. As a result, Southern Power's ability to recover fixed and variable operations and maintenance expenses is dependent upon the level of energy generated from these facilities, which can be impacted by weather conditions, equipment performance, transmission constraints, and other factors. Generally, under the renewable generation PPAs, the purchasing party retains the right to keep or resell the renewable energy credits.
Southern Power actively pursues replacement PPAs prior to the expiration of its current PPAs and anticipates that the revenues attributable to one customer may be replaced by revenues from a new customer; however, the expiration of any of Southern Power's current PPAs without the successful remarketing of a replacement PPA could have a material negative impact on Southern Power's earnings but is not expected to have a material impact on Southern Company's earnings.
Southern Company Gas
Southern Company Gas is an energy services holding company whose primary business is the distribution of natural gas through the natural gas distribution utilities. Southern Company Gas is also involved in several other businesses that are complementary to the distribution of natural gas, including gas pipeline investments and gas marketing services. Southern Company Gas also has an all-other non-reportable segment that includes segments below the quantitative threshold for separate disclosure.
Gas distribution operations, the largest segment of Southern Company Gas' business, operates, constructs, and maintains approximately 78,500 miles of natural gas pipelines and 14 storage facilities, with total capacity of 157 Bcf, to provide natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Gas distribution operations serve approximately 4.4 million customers across four states.
Gas pipeline investments primarily consist of joint ventures in natural gas pipeline investments, including a 50% interest in SNG 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. SNG, the largest natural gas pipeline investment, is the owner of a 7,000-mile pipeline connecting natural gas supply basins in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Gas marketing services is consisted of SouthStar, which serves approximately 668,000 natural gas commodity customers, markets gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers and offers energy-related products that provide natural gas price stability and utility bill management in competitive markets or markets that provide for customer choice.
Construction Programs
The subsidiary companies of Southern Company are engaged in continuous construction programs.
Fuel Supply
Electric
The traditional electric operating companies' and Southern Electric Generating Company, 50% owned by each of Alabama Power and Georgia Power (SEGCO's) supply of electricity is primarily fueled by natural gas and coal, as well as nuclear for Alabama Power and Georgia Power. Southern Power's supply of electricity is primarily fueled by natural gas.
SCS, acting on behalf of the traditional electric operating companies and Southern Power Company, has agreements in place for the natural gas burn requirements of the Southern Company system. For 2025, SCS has contracted for 627 Bcf of natural gas supply under agreements with remaining terms up to 10 years. In addition to natural gas supply, SCS has contracts in place for both firm natural gas transportation and storage.
Alabama Power and Georgia Power have multiple contracts covering their nuclear fuel needs for uranium, conversion services, enrichment services, and fuel fabrication with remaining terms up to 10 years. Alabama Power and Georgia Power also have contracts with the United States, acting through the DOE, that provide for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
Natural Gas
Southern Company Gas' procurement plans for natural gas supply and transportation to serve regulated utility customers are reviewed and approved by the regulatory agencies in the states where it operates. Southern Company Gas purchases natural gas supplies in the open market by contracting with producers and marketers and, for Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas, under asset management agreements approved by the applicable state regulatory agency. Southern Company Gas also contracts for transportation and storage services from interstate pipelines that are regulated by the FERC. When firm pipeline services are temporarily not needed, Southern Company Gas may release the services in the secondary market under FERC-approved capacity release provisions or utilize asset management arrangements, thereby reducing the net cost of natural gas charged to customers for most of the natural gas distribution utilities. Peak-use requirements are met through utilization of company-owned storage facilities, pipeline transportation capacity, purchased storage services, peaking facilities, and other supply sources, arranged by either transportation customers or Southern Company Gas.
Territory Served by the Southern Company System
Traditional Electric Operating Companies and Southern Power
The territory in which the traditional electric operating companies provide retail electric service comprises most of the states of Alabama and Georgia, together with southeastern Mississippi. In this territory there are non-affiliated electric distribution systems that obtain some or all of their power requirements either directly or indirectly from the traditional electric operating companies. As of December 31, 2024, the territory had an area of approximately 116,000 square miles and an estimated population of approximately 17 million. Southern Power sells wholesale electricity at market-based rates across various U.S. utility markets, primarily to investor-owned utilities, IPPs, municipalities, and other load-serving entities, as well as commercial and industrial customers.
Alabama Power is engaged, within the state of Alabama, in the generation, transmission, distribution, and purchase of electricity and the sale of electric service, at retail in approximately 400 cities and towns (including Anniston, Birmingham, Gadsden, Mobile, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa), as well as in rural areas, and at wholesale to 11 municipally-owned electric distribution systems, all of which are served indirectly through sales to Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA), and two rural distributing cooperative associations. The sales contract with AMEA will expire on December 31, 2025. In addition, Alabama Power sells, and cooperates with dealers in promoting the sale of, electric appliances and products and markets and sells outdoor lighting services.
Georgia Power is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, and purchase of electricity and the sale of electric service within the state of Georgia, at retail in over 530 cities and towns (including Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Rome, and Savannah), as well as in rural areas, and at wholesale to OPC, MEAG Power, Dalton, various EMCs, and non-affiliated utilities. Georgia Power also markets and sells outdoor lighting services and other customer-focused utility services.
Mississippi Power is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, and purchase of electricity and the sale of electric service within 23 counties in southeastern Mississippi, at retail in 123 communities (including Biloxi, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, and Pascagoula), as well as in rural areas, and at wholesale to one municipality, six rural electric distribution cooperative associations, and one generating and transmitting cooperative.
As of December 31, 2024, there were 62 electric cooperative distribution systems operating in the territories in which the traditional electric operating companies provide electric service at retail or wholesale.
PowerSouth is a generating and transmitting cooperative selling power to several distributing cooperatives, municipal systems, and other customers in south Alabama. As of December 31, 2024, PowerSouth owned generating units with more than 2,300 MWs of nameplate capacity, including an undivided 8.16% ownership interest in Alabama Power's Plant Miller Units 1 and 2.
In accordance with an agreement executed in 2021, Alabama Power began providing approximately 100 MWs of year-round capacity service to PowerSouth on February 1, 2024.
In 2021, Alabama Power and PowerSouth began operations under a coordinated planning and operations agreement, with a minimum term of 10 years. The agreement includes combined operations (including joint commitment and dispatch) and real-time energy sales and purchases and is expected to create energy cost savings and enhanced system reliability for both parties. Projected revenues are expected to offset any increased administrative costs incurred by Alabama Power. Under the agreement, Alabama Power has the right to participate in a portion of PowerSouth's future incremental load growth.
Alabama Power also has a separate agreement with PowerSouth involving interconnection between their systems. The delivery of capacity and energy from PowerSouth to certain distributing cooperatives in the service territory of Alabama Power is governed by the Southern Company/PowerSouth Network Transmission Service Agreement. The rates for this service to PowerSouth are on file with the FERC.
OPC is an EMC owned by its 38 retail electric distribution cooperatives, which provide retail electric service to customers in Georgia. OPC provides wholesale electric power to its members through its generation assets, some of which are jointly owned with Georgia Power, and power purchased from other suppliers. OPC and the 38 retail electric distribution cooperatives are members of Georgia Transmission Corporation, an EMC (GTC), which provides transmission services to its members and third parties.
Mississippi Power has an interchange agreement with Cooperative Energy, a generating and transmitting cooperative, pursuant to which various services are provided. Cooperative Energy also has a 10-year network integration transmission service agreement with SCS for transmission service to certain delivery points on Mississippi Power's transmission system through March 31, 2031.
As of December 31, 2024, there were 72 municipally-owned electric distribution systems operating in the territory in which the traditional electric operating companies provide electric service at retail or wholesale.
As of December 31, 2024, 48 municipally-owned electric distribution systems and one county-owned system received their requirements through MEAG Power. MEAG Power serves these requirements from self-owned generation facilities, some of which are jointly-owned with Georgia Power, and purchases from other resources. MEAG Power also has a pseudo scheduling and services agreement with Georgia Power. Dalton serves its requirements from self-owned generation facilities, some of which are jointly-owned with Georgia Power, and through purchases from Southern Power through a service agreement.
Georgia Power has entered into substantially similar agreements with GTC, MEAG Power, and Dalton providing for the establishment of an integrated transmission system to carry the power and energy of all parties. The agreements require an investment by each party in the integrated transmission system in proportion to its respective share of the aggregate system load.
Southern Power has PPAs with Georgia Power, investor-owned utilities, IPPs, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and other load-serving entities, as well as commercial and industrial customers.
SCS, acting on behalf of the traditional electric operating companies, also has a contract with SEPA providing for the use of the traditional electric operating companies' facilities at government expense to deliver to certain cooperatives and municipalities, entitled by federal statute to preference in the purchase of power from SEPA, quantities of power equivalent to the amounts of power allocated to them by SEPA from certain U.S. government hydroelectric projects.
Southern Company Gas
Southern Company Gas is engaged in the distribution of natural gas in four states through the natural gas distribution utilities. The natural gas distribution utilities construct, manage, and maintain intrastate natural gas pipelines and distribution facilities.
Seasonality
During normal weather conditions, the Southern Company system's electric power sales peak during both the summer and winter. In most of the areas Southern Company Gas serves, natural gas demand peaks during the winter. In addition, the Subsidiary Registrants have historically sold less power and natural gas when weather conditions are milder.
Regulation
The traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company and certain of its generation subsidiaries, and SEGCO are all public utilities engaged in wholesale sales of energy in interstate commerce and, therefore, are subject to the rate, financial, and accounting jurisdiction of the FERC under the Federal Power Act. The FERC must approve certain financings and allows an ‘at cost standard’ for services rendered by system service companies, such as SCS and Southern Nuclear.
Alabama Power and Georgia Power are also subject to the provisions of the Federal Power Act or the earlier Federal Water Power Act applicable to licensees with respect to their hydroelectric developments. As of December 31, 2024, among the hydroelectric projects subject to licensing by the FERC were 14 existing Alabama Power generating stations having an aggregate installed capacity of 1.7 million KWs and 17 existing Georgia Power generating stations and one generating station partially owned by Georgia Power, with a combined aggregate installed capacity of 1.1 million KWs.
On September 10, 2024, Georgia Power received a new 40-year FERC license for the Lloyd Shoals project on the Ocmulgee River.
Georgia Power and OPC also have a license, expiring in 2026, for the Rocky Mountain project, a pure pumped storage facility of 903,000 KW installed capacity.
Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Southern Nuclear are subject to regulation by the NRC. The NRC licenses for Georgia Power's Plant Hatch Units 1 and 2 expire in 2034 and 2038, respectively. Southern Nuclear has notified the NRC of its intent to seek to renew the plant's licenses for an additional 20 years (through 2057 and 2061 for Units 1 and 2, respectively), with a license renewal application projected to be submitted by the fourth quarter 2026. The NRC licenses for Plant Vogtle Units 1, 2, 3, and 4 expire in 2047, 2049, 2062, and 2063, respectively.
Properties
Electric
Mississippi Power owns a lignite mine that was intended to provide fuel for the Kemper IGCC. Liberty Fuels Company, LLC, the operator of the mine, has a legal obligation to perform mine reclamation and Mississippi Power has a contractual obligation to fund all reclamation activities. As a result of the abandonment of the Kemper IGCC, final mine reclamation began in 2018 and was substantially completed in 2020, with monitoring expected to continue through 2028.
In conjunction with Southern Company's 2019 sale of Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and NextEra Energy, Inc. agreed to negotiate a mutually acceptable revised operating agreement for Plant Daniel. In 2022, the co-owners executed a revised operating agreement. The dispatch procedures in the revised operating agreement for the two jointly-owned coal units at Plant Daniel resulted in Mississippi Power designating one of the two units as primary and the other as secondary in lieu of each company separately owning 100% of a single generating unit.
In 2024, the maximum demand on the traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company, and SEGCO was 38,194,000 KWs and occurred on January 17, 2024, which also represents the all-time maximum demand. These amounts exclude demand served by capacity retained by the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (an EMC) (OPC), and Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA). The reserve margin for the traditional electric operating companies, Southern Power Company, and SEGCO in 2024 was 16%.
Jointly-Owned Facilities
Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power have contracted to operate and maintain the respective units in which each has an interest (other than Rocky Mountain) as agent for the joint owners. Southern Nuclear operates and provides services to Alabama Power's and Georgia Power's nuclear plants.
Distribution and Transmission Mains
Southern Company Gas' distribution systems transport natural gas from its pipeline suppliers to customers in its service areas. These systems consist primarily of distribution and transmission mains, compressor stations, peak shaving/storage plants, service lines, meters, and regulators. At December 31, 2024, Southern Company Gas' gas distribution operations segment owned approximately 78,500 miles of underground distribution and transmission mains, which are located on easements or rights-of-way that generally provide for perpetual use.
Storage Assets
Gas Distribution Operations
Southern Company Gas owns and operates eight underground natural gas storage fields in Illinois with a total working capacity of approximately 150 Bcf, approximately 135 Bcf of which is usually cycled on an annual basis. This system is designed to meet about 50% of the estimated peak-day deliveries and approximately 40% of the normal winter deliveries in Illinois.
Southern Company Gas also has four LNG plants located in Georgia and Tennessee with total LNG storage capacity of approximately 7.0 Bcf (Billion cubic feet). In addition, Southern Company Gas owns two propane storage facilities in Virginia, each with storage capacity of approximately 0.3 Bcf. The LNG plants and propane storage facilities are used by Southern Company Gas' gas distribution operations segment to supplement natural gas supply during peak usage periods.
All Other
In September 2022, certain affiliates of Southern Company Gas entered into agreements to sell two natural gas storage facilities located in California and Texas. The sale of the Texas facility was completed in November 2022 and the sale of the California facility was completed in September 2023.
Jointly-Owned Properties
Southern Company Gas' gas pipeline investments segment has a 50% undivided ownership interest in a 115-mile pipeline facility in northwest Georgia. Southern Company Gas also has an agreement to lease its 50% undivided ownership in the pipeline facility.
History
The Southern Company was incorporated in 1946.
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