Company: ATO
Filing Date: 2025-11-14
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000731802-25-000056
Chunk: 1

Company: ATMOS ENERGY CORP
Filing Date: 2025-11-14
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 1
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 In addition, we transport natural gas for others through our distribution systems.

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Table of Contents

Rates established by regulatory authorities often include cost adjustment mechanisms for costs that (i) are subject to significant price fluctuations compared to our other costs, (ii) represent a large component of our cost of service, and (iii) are generally outside our control.

Purchased gas cost adjustment mechanisms represent a traditional and common form of cost adjustment mechanism. Purchased gas cost adjustment mechanisms provide a method of recovering purchased gas costs on an ongoing basis without filing a rate case because they provide a dollar-for-dollar offset to increases or decreases in the cost of natural gas. Therefore, although substantially all of our distribution operating revenues fluctuate with the cost of gas that we purchase, distribution operating income is generally not affected by fluctuations in the cost of gas.

Additionally, some jurisdictions have performance-based ratemaking adjustments to provide incentives to minimize purchased gas costs through improved storage management and use of financial instruments to reduce volatility in gas costs. Under the performance-based ratemaking adjustments, purchased gas costs savings are shared between the Company and its customers.

Our supply of natural gas is provided by a variety of suppliers, including independent producers, and marketers. The gas is delivered into our systems by various pipeline companies, withdrawals of gas from proprietary and contracted storage assets, and base load and peaking arrangements, as needed.

Supply arrangements consist of both base load and peaking quantities and are contracted from our suppliers on a firm basis with various terms at market prices. Base load quantities are those that flow at a constant level throughout the month and peaking quantities provide the flexibility to change daily quantities to match increases or decreases in requirements related to weather conditions.

Except for local production purchases, we select our natural gas suppliers through a competitive bidding process by periodically requesting proposals from suppliers. We select these suppliers based on their ability to reliably deliver gas supply to our designated firm pipeline receipt points at the lowest reasonable cost. Major suppliers during fiscal 2025 were ARM Energy Management LLC, Cima Energy, LP, ConocoPhillips Company, ECO Energy Natural Gas LLC, EnLink Gas Marketing LP, Sequent Energy Management LLC, Symmetry Energy Solutions, LLC, Targa Gas Marketing LLC, Tenaska Marking Ventures, and Texla Energy Management, Inc.

The combination of base load and peaking agreements, coupled with the withdrawal of gas held in storage, allows us the flexibility to adjust to changes in weather, which minimizes our need to enter into long-term firm commitments. We estimate our