Southern Company today announced that it has reached an agreement to be the power resource manager for North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 (NCMPA1), which consists of 19 municipal electric systems in western North Carolina. Under the agreement, Southern Company will be the power resource manager for NCMPA1 during 2003 and 2004, responsible for meeting all of the agency’s energy needs during that time.

As the resource manager, Southern Company will provide the agency with more than 1,000 megawatts of power by dispatching NCMPA1’s generating resources and supplementing those resources with power generated from existing plant capacity that is owned and operated by Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing, the competitive wholesale business unit of Southern Company. In addition, Southern Company will be responsible for marketing the agency’s surplus energy on the wholesale market.

“We are pleased to serve North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 with reliable, competitively priced power, and to manage their total energy needs” said Paul Bowers, president of Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing. “This agreement demonstrates Southern Company’s growing competitive presence in the Southeast, beyond our traditional service territory.”

Southern Company’s fast-growing competitive generation business in the Southeast is a major component of the company’s total energy business in the region, with a goal of doubling the annual earnings from this part of the business by 2005. By the end of 2003, Southern Company will have more than 5,000 megawatts of competitive generation in operation. NCMPA1 is a member of ElectriCities, a non-profit government service organization representing cities, towns and universities that own electric distribution systems. ElectriCities represents 98 members in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.