Southern Company Announces Plans to Build Electric Generating Plant in Cleveland County, North Carolina
that Southern Power, the subsidiary of Southern Company that acquires, builds,
manages and owns generation assets that have been constructed for the
wholesale market, will build an electric generating plant near
southern
electric power to the company’s wholesale customers through long-term
contracts with two
Membership Corporation (NCEMC) and North Carolina Municipal Power Agency
Number 1 (NCMPA1).
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080801/SOCOLOGO )
The generating plant, to be owned and operated by Southern Power, will
consist of four Siemens F Class gas turbine units and will be able to generate
approximately 720 megawatts at the summer peak. The units will be built on a
portion of the 275-acre site, leaving the potential for future expansion.
Initial construction is expected to begin in 2010, with commercial operation
of all four units expected in early 2012.
“By using clean and efficient natural gas technology, this project will
serve the growing electricity needs in this region for many years,” said
operations, Southern Power has a proven track record of providing reliable,
competitively priced energy to our customers throughout the Southeast. We look
forward to working with NCEMC and NCMPA1 in helping meet their energy needs in
a cost efficient and environmentally responsible manner.”
NCEMC is a generation and transmission cooperative that supplies all or
part of the energy needs to the majority of the state’s electric cooperatives.
93 of 100 counties, primarily in rural parts of the state.
NCMPA1 is a joint action agency comprised of 19 municipalities with a
total load of approximately 1,200 megawatts. NCMPA1 has a 75 percent ownership
interest in the Catawba Nuclear Station #2 and is active in the wholesale
power market. NCMPA1 is headquartered in
Southern Power is the largest wholesale energy provider in the Southeast,
meeting the electricity needs of municipalities, electric cooperatives and
investor-owned utilities. Southern Power currently owns and operates more than
7,700 megawatts of generation assets in
Carolina
With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating
capacity,
company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity,
Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing
competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless
communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer
service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly
below the national average. Southern Company has been listed the top ranking
U.S. electric service provider in customer satisfaction for nine consecutive
years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site
at www.southerncompany.com .
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain information contained in this press release is forward-looking
information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, plans
for construction of the plant and its potential expansion. The Company and
Southern Power caution that there are certain factors that can cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has
been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this
forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance
and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which
are outside the control of Southern Company and Southern Power; accordingly,
there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The
following factors, in addition to those discussed in the Annual Report on Form
10-K of each of Southern Company and Southern Power for the fiscal year ended
results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such
forward-looking information: the impact of federal and state regulatory
change, including environmental laws; variations in demand for electricity;
advances in technology; state and federal rate regulations; the ability to
control costs and avoid cost overruns during the development and construction
of the plant; regulatory approvals for the NCEMC power purchase agreements;
the ability of counterparties of Southern Power to perform as required; and
interest rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the results of
financing efforts, including Southern Company’s and Southern Power’s credit
ratings. Southern Company and Southern Power expressly disclaim any obligation
to update any forward-looking information.
SOURCE Southern Company