ATLANTA – For the fifth consecutive year, Southern Company ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction for electric service to business customers in the southern United States, according to the 2004 J.D. Power and Associates Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM.

The study was based on responses from individuals representing more than 10,700 U.S. businesses that spend between $500 and $50,000 monthly on electricity. Southern Company received the highest customer satisfaction index score in the South region and was the second-highest-ranked utility in the study (in a tie). Overall customer satisfaction is based on six key factors: power quality and reliability; customer service; company image; billing and payment; price and communications.

“Our focus is on serving the needs of our customers,” said Leonard Haynes, chief marketing officer for Southern Company. “We are honored to again receive this recognition from J.D. Power and Associates, because it reflects the hard work we put into ensuring that our customers are our top priority.”

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 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 four years in a row, and in the latest survey tied for the highest score among all service industry companies. 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.