Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the largest utilities in the United States, has undertaken a massive construction project that no other utility in the country has been able to get over the finish line. However, the two nuclear power plants it is building are long delayed and wildly over budget. And yet they are also very close to being brought online. When that happens, this dividend stock could see important changes in its dividend policy.

Southern is a regulated utility, which means it has been granted a monopoly in the regions it serves but it must ask regulators for permission with regard to price hikes and capital spending plans. It has to walk a fine line between doing what is right for its customers and providing its shareholders a desirable return.

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Source Fool.com