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Southern Company Announces Plans to Build Electric Generating Plant in Cleveland County, North Carolina

Posted on: Friday, 5 December 2008, 08:01 CST

ATLANTA, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company today announced 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 Grover, in southern Cleveland County, North Carolina. The plant will, in part, provide electric power to the company's wholesale customers through long-term contracts with two North Carolina power companies: North Carolina Electric 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 Ronnie Bates, president of Southern Power. "Through our focus on efficient 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. North Carolina's electric cooperatives provide energy to 2.5 million people in 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 Raleigh, N.C.

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 Alabama, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy 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 December 31, 2007, and their subsequent securities filings, could cause actual 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

Source: PR Newswire

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