ATLANTA – Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest energy producers, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced that eight additional grants under its Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy partnership programs have been awarded. So far, in 2004, 19 grants have been awarded; 10 grants were awarded in 2003.

Grants are given to conservation organizations and natural resource agencies committed to conserving birds and their habitats, as well as restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem. Conservation initiatives under the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs will focus on areas within the service territories of Southern Company’s five operating companies: Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric. “It is important to us that we continue to maintain relationships with key organizations that support our company’s mission to strengthen on-the-ground environmental improvements in and around the communities that we serve,” said Charles Goodman, senior vice president of research and environmental policy for Southern Company. “Great progress has been made so far, but we’re expecting even more tangible results as projects wrap up.”

"These grants will help conserve and restore thousands of acres of longleaf pine and other habitats that are important for bobwhite, red-cockaded woodpeckers and a host of other species,” said John Berry, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s executive director. “Stated simply, these projects would not be possible without Southern Company`s leadership and support.”

The Power of Flight program, launched in August 2002, focuses on bird habitat conservation and education efforts beneficial to some of the South’s most threatened and endangered or declining bird species. Southern Company provides $250,000 annually to the program with matching funds from both NFWF and grantees, providing an annual impact in excess of $1 million. The company also donates $50,000 annually to support NFWF’s bird conservation programs.

The following six organizations were recently awarded Power of Flight grants: • Quail Unlimited – To improve northern bobwhite and grassland/shrubland habitat associated with the species on approximately 20,000 acres in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi through integrated habitat management and public education programs.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – To accelerate translocation of sub-adult red-cockaded woodpeckers from the Apalachicola National Forest to small, at-risk populations on private state and federal lands in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama – a top priority of the Recovery Plan for this species. Funds will support a biologist on the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida to monitor potential donor clusters for increasing the number of woodpecker offspring available for translocation each year.

• Georgia Wildlife Federation -- To continue the current Power of Flight grant that evaluated outdoor classrooms in urban areas of Georgia across 55 counties in order to develop best management practices for outdoor classrooms on school grounds. The program instructs students, parents, teachers and community leaders about the value of schoolyards as green space and wildlife habitat.

• Friends of St. Andrews St. Park -- To fund educational exhibits on shorebirds, migratory birds, and sea turtles that will engage the Park’s 700,000 annual visitors in activities to help conserve the dunes, woodlands, marshes and sea grass beds in St. Andrews St. Park and other areas located in Bay County, Florida.

• Ecosystem Restoration Support Organization -- To support construction of an observation platform and educational signage at Project GreenShores, an ecosystem restoration project, located along the northern shoreline of Pensacola Bay, Florida. The observation deck funded by this grant will provide visitors with a clear view of the restoration projects and the abundant wildlife they attract.

• Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation -- To support the travel of educators to 37 underserved counties in Mississippi to teach wildlife programs, focusing on environmental knowledge and sustainability of resources. Students will be reached directly through hands-on experiences which actively engage them in the learning process.

The Longleaf Legacy program, which began in August 2003, is a five-year program focused on restoring the South’s signature longleaf pine ecosystem to conserve biological diversity and sequester carbon. Southern Company contributes $500,000 annually to the program, also with matching funds from NFWF and grantees, resulting in an annual impact of at least $1.5 million. The company also donates $100,000 annually to support NFWF’s longleaf restoration efforts.

The following organizations have been awarded Longleaf Legacy grants:

• USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service / Eufaula NWR - To support the conversion of approximately 400 acres of predominantly mature loblolly pine forest to native longleaf pine at the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge, planting 240,000 longleaf seedlings. This conversion will restore the landscape to the historic, fire-dominant, longleaf pine habitat type allowing more frequent prescribed burning benefiting numerous plant and animal species.

• Applied Research Center of Alabama - To restore native longleaf pine to approximately 1000 acres of current loblolly and Virginia pine plantations in the Talladega National Forest over the next three years. This project, which will plant nearly 600,000 longleaf seedlings, will create new habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers, Northern bobwhite quail, Bachman’s sparrows and a host of other species that depend on longleaf forests.

For a complete listing of awards granted through The Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs since 2003, please go to www.southerncompany.com/planetpower

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1984 and dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants, and the habitat on which they depend. The Foundation creates partnerships between the public and private sectors to strategically invest in conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Foundation distributed 709 grants in 2004 and has leveraged more than $305 million in federal funds since its establishment, for a total of more than $918 million in on-the-ground conservation. For more information, visit www.nfwf.org.

With more than 4 million customers and nearly 39,000 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 three consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has been ranked the nation’s top energy utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index five years in a row. 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. # # #