ATLANTA – Southern Company ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction for electric service to midsize business customers in the southern United States, according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates study.

In a formal presentation today at Southern Company’s headquarters in Atlanta, James D. Power IV, Partner of J.D. Power and Associates, presented the customer service award to Leonard Haynes, chief marketing officer of Southern Company.

“Customer service is a key component of Southern Company’s overall business strategy,” said Haynes. “We will continue to put our customers first by providing outstanding service and high reliability while keeping prices significantly below the national average.”

This is the fourth consecutive year that Southern Company has received this award. In 2003, the study was based on interviewed representatives from more than 6,900 midsize businesses throughout the United States. Southern Company received the highest customer satisfaction index score in the South region and was the second-highest-rated utility in the study. The study focuses on areas such as price and value, power quality and reliability.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting and customer satisfaction. The firm’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual customer responses.

With 4 million customers and nearly 37,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states, a growing competitive generation company, an energy services business and a competitive retail natural gas business, 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 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been named two consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.