ATLANTA – Southern Company’s 2001 Annual Report recently won the “Best of Online Annual Reports” award in the 2002 International ARC (Annual Report Competition) Awards.

The International ARC Awards, celebrating its sixteenth year, is recognized as the largest international competition honoring excellence in annual reports. The contest, which garnered nearly 1,600 entries from approximately 850 companies from around the world, honors creativity, clarity, effectiveness and excellence.

“The winners, according to their peers, are considered as the best in the world. To be selected as the top in annual reports by some of the world’s best designers, writers and photographers is a real honor,” said Reni L. Witt, president and founder of the ARC Awards. “Southern Company’s unique work and dedication shines through in their online annual report.”

Southern Company’s 2001 Annual Report, “We’re On,” details its very successful past year, and also provides insight into the company’s strategic direction for the future. Print copies were mailed to Southern Company shareholders in April and the online version can be viewed at http://investor.southerncompany.com/annual.cfm .

“Communicating our business results and future goals to shareholders through our annual report is key to maintaining solid relationships with our investors,” said Allen Franklin, Southern Company chairman, president and CEO. “We’re not only committed to telling our story, but we are equally committed to creating shareholder value by focusing on the business we know best.”

The design for Southern Company’s 2001 Annual Report was created by Lucid Partners, Inc. Southern Company’s Corporate Communication department managed the overall project. The annual report also won six additional awards in the energy category, including top honors for writing, from the ARC Awards competition

The International ARC Awards is the “Academy Awards of Annual Reports,” according to the financial media. It is the largest international competition honoring excellence in annual reports. The competition is open to corporations, small companies, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and associations, as well as agencies and individuals involved in producing annual reports.

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 fast-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 No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s 2002 “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.