Southern Energy Inc., a unit of Southern Company, announced plans today to join Kinder-Morgan Power Company in the development of a 550-megawatt power plant in Wrightsville, Ark., just south of Little Rock.

The gas fired power station, currently scheduled to begin commercial operation in June 2002, will help supply the growing demand for electricity in the south-central United States, said Richard J. Pershing, chief executive of Southern Energy’s Americas Group.

The plant will typically operate during intermediate- and peak-demand periods, from about 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., to provide wholesale electricity to other utility companies. Construction is scheduled to begin in June.

Southern Company Energy Marketing, the energy marketing and risk-management unit of Southern Energy, will market the output of the plant in the wholesale power markets. The facility will use advanced natural-gas technology and state-of-the-art emission control equipment to maximize efficiency and environmental performance.

The generating station will use Kinder Morgan’s proprietary Orion configuration, which “combines the operational flexibility and responsiveness of a simple-cycle peaking plant with the fuel efficiency of combined-cycle technology," explained Richard D. Kinder, chairman and CEO of Kinder Morgan. “The beauty of this technology is that these plants can be started and stopped quickly, which will allow us to respond rapidly to changes in the marketplace.”

Southern Energy Inc. – with operations in 12 countries on five continents – develops, builds, owns and operates power production and delivery facilities and provides a broad range of services to utilities and industrial companies around the world. Its Southern Company Energy Marketing unit provides energy marketing, risk management and financial services and other energy-related commodities, products and services to customers in North America.

Southern Energy’s subsidiaries and affiliates include Freeport Power Co. in the Bahamas; Western Power Distribution in England; Bewag, the electric utility serving Berlin, Germany; EDELNOR, the power producer serving northern Chile; CEMIG, an electric utility in Brazil; the Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago; the Alicura power station in Argentina; the Southern Energy Europe marketing and risk management operation, based in the Netherlands; Southern Energy Asia-Pacific, with operations in the Philippines, China and Australia; and U.S. power stations in Massachusetts, New York, Texas, California, Virginia and Indiana.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO), the largest producer of electricity in the United States, is also the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric.

Kinder Morgan Inc. is one of the largest midstream energy companies in America, operating more than 30,000 miles of natural gas and products pipelines in 26 states. It also has significant retail distribution, electric generation and terminal assets. Kinder Morgan, Inc., through its general partner interest, operates Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., America’s largest pipeline master limited partnership. Combined, the two companies have an enterprise value of approximately $10 billion.

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