ATLANTA – In the most recent effort to expand its Internet presence, Southern Company announced today it is launching an on-line energy and cost management information system, www.EnergyDirect.com. This new site is the company’s first Internet offering created expressly for all business customers.

EnergyDirect.com provides business customers with secure, around-the-clock access to current and historical energy billing and usage information. The site enables customers to access real-time prices and hourly usage information. It also offers a range of other capabilities, including the ability to:

• overlay weather data on energy usage
• create alerts for notification when information reaches a certain threshold
• allow customers to measure energy consumption against their own business goals
• compare energy usage and billing information among multiple sites and/or over a period of time.

“We are committed to using the Internet to develop cutting edge ways to serve our customers better,” said Bertram Sears, Southern Company vice president of marketing and new business development. “EnergyDirect.com will significantly improve our customers’ ability to understand and analyze their energy consumption allowing them to make better business decisions.”

Southern Company has chosen Enercom, Inc., a software company specializing in Internet-based energy applications, to help develop EnergyDirect.com for its business customers. According to Paul Conlan, Enercom’s president and CEO, “This web-based program will help Southern Company add value to its customers and provide a distinct competitive advantage.”

EnergyDirect.com is being launched in phases and initially will be available to the Building Owners and Managers of Atlanta (BOMA). Plans are being developed to roll out the service to other customer groups later in the year.

Headquartered in Atlanta with regional offices in Phoenix and Vermont, Enercom is the leading developer and provider of Internet-based energy software applications. More than 100 energy companies use Enercom’s software to attract, enroll, retain, care for and sell to customers in ways that build revenue, customer loyalty and brand equity. For more information about Enercom, please visit the company’s Web site at www.enercomusa.com.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an international energy company that operates more than 48,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity worldwide. It is the largest producer of electricity in the United States and one of the world’s largest independent power producers. Southern Company subsidiaries and their affiliates serve 12 million retail customers worldwide and millions more through the wholesale market. Based in Atlanta, Southern Company is the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric.

Through its Southern Energy Inc. subsidiary, Southern Company has operations in 12 countries on five continents and has a growing presence in North America with assets in the Northeast, the Midwest, California and Texas. Southern Company also provides energy-related marketing, trading and technical services in the United States and Europe and offers Southern LINC wireless telecommunications.