Southern Company board of directors elected Dwight Evans and Ed Holland to executive vice president positions, effective May 1.

Evans, formerly president and CEO of Mississippi Power, was named executive vice president of Southern Company and president, Southern Company External Affairs Group. Evans will have responsibility for governmental affairs, corporate communication, environmental, procurement and system aircraft. Areas of special emphasis include branding, corporate image and the environment.

Ed Holland, formerly president and CEO of Savannah Electric, was named executive vice president and general counsel of Southern Company. Holland will have responsibility for legal matters, human resources, information resources, transmission and stockholder services. Areas of special emphasis include management development, diversity, industry structure and regional transmission organizations.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a super-regional energy company with more than 32,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Southeast. It is one of the largest producers of electricity in the United States. Southern Company is the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, Savannah Electric, Southern Nuclear, Southern Company Energy Solutions, Southern LINC and Southern Telecom. Southern Company also owns a growing competitive generation business in the Southeast. Southern Company brands are synonymous with excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. With more than 500,000 shareholders, Southern Company common stock is one of the most widely held stocks in the United States.