ATLANTA and SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company subsidiary PowerSecure announced today a strategic alliance with Advanced Microgrid Solutions ("AMS") to jointly develop and deploy behind-the-meter distributed energy resources across the United States.

With over 1.5 GW of distributed energy resources under management, PowerSecure has built one of the country's largest fleets of microgrid solutions and will bring project design, engineering and innovative technology solutions to the alliance. AMS, an early pioneer in the aggregation and optimization of distributed energy resources, will provide asset management services through its Armada^TM platform, identifying opportunities for grid services and revenue stacking.

"As Southern Company grows our distributed infrastructure business throughout the country it is important that we continually maximize the value from these assets," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "This strategic relationship between PowerSecure and Advanced Microgrid Solutions will uncover new ways for Southern Company to deliver value for energy consumers."

"Southern Company's leadership in the distributed energy space is game-changing," said AMS CEO Susan Kennedy. "We are immensely proud to be working with PowerSecure and Southern Company to offer customers some of the most advanced distributed energy technologies in the world."

Through this alliance, PowerSecure will continue to build on its proven track record of success providing customers greater control over their energy and outstanding service across multiple technologies. AMS will utilize its advanced analytics and co-optimization platform, Armada^TM, and best-in-class energy storage technology to lower energy expenses for customers while providing cost effective grid services to utilities. 

Together, PowerSecure and AMS will work to accelerate the cost-effective deployment of distributed energy resources by enhancing consumers' ability to access market revenues, which will improve overall economics for future joint projects.

About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is America's premier energy company, with 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity and 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption and throughput volume serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy through electric operating companies in four states, natural gas distribution companies in seven states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America and a nationally recognized provider of customized energy solutions, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, 21^st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit of customers. Southern Company has been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, recognized among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company has earned a National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear development and is continually ranked among the top energy companies in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

About PowerSecure
Southern Company subsidiary PowerSecure is a leading provider of utility and energy technologies to electric utilities, and their industrial, institutional and commercial customers. PowerSecure provides products and services in the areas of distributed generation, storage and renewables, energy efficiency and utility infrastructure. The company is a pioneer in developing distributed generation power systems with sophisticated smart grid capabilities and microgrid controls, including the ability to forecast electricity demand and electronically deploy the systems to deliver more efficient, and environmentally friendly, power at peak power times; provide utilities with dedicated electric power generation capacity to utilize for demand response purposes; and provide customers with the most dependable standby power in the industry. PowerSecure has over 1,500 distributed generation systems installed across the U.S. For more information, visit www.powersecure.com.

About AMS
Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) is pioneering the use of advanced energy storage for energy management and utility services. AMS designs, optimizes, aggregates and manages distributed energy resources and energy storage assets. AMS's energy storage asset management software Armada™ provides continuously optimized resource management, cost reduction and revenue generation for large-scale energy users and utilities. To learn more, visit www.advmicrogrid.com and follow us on twitter: @advmicrogrid.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements, among other things, concerning the expected benefits of the transactions. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "may," "should," "will," "could," "continue", "opportunity" and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Although Southern Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations include, among other things, the following: the possibility that the anticipated benefits from the transactions cannot be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the impact of legislative, regulatory and competitive changes; and other risk factors relating to the energy industry, as detailed from time to time in Southern Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information about these factors and about the material factors or assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements with respect to Southern Company may be found under Item 1.A. in Southern Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The foregoing list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the transactions or other matters attributable to Southern Company or any other person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referenced above. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. Southern Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Southern Company