Southern Company and North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation announced today that they have signed a 100-megawatt wholesale power agreement for 2004 and 2005. Power to supply the contract will be generated from existing plant capacity that is owned and operated by Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing, the competitive wholesale business unit of Southern Company, which owns, operates and markets energy in the competitive wholesale supply business.

North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation is the nation’s second largest energy cooperative and provides electricity to 26 of the state’s 27 electric cooperatives. North Carolina’s electric cooperatives serve more than 2.4 million customers.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to serve North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation,” said Paul Bowers, president of Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing. “We have the physical assets, experience and expertise to provide them with reliable and competitively priced power.”

“This agreement also demonstrates the growth of Southern Company’s competitive generation business beyond our traditional service territory,” Bowers noted. “We look forward to future business opportunities in North Carolina, as well as other states in the Super Southeast.”

Southern Company’s fast-growing competitive generation business in the Southeast is a major component of the company’s total energy business in the region, with a goal of doubling the annual earnings from this part of the business by 2005. By the end of 2003, Southern Company will have more than 5,000 megawatts of competitive generation in operation.