Southern Company announced today that the Stanton A generating unit began commercial operation. The 630-megawatt generating unit near Orlando, Fla., is a joint development project of Southern Company, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC-The Reliable One), Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), and Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA).

Under a long-term power purchase agreement, OUC, KUA and FMPA will purchase all of the unit`s capacity associated with Southern Company`s ownership share.

"This project is yet another example of our growing presence in the wholesale market in the Super Southeast," said Paul Bowers, president of Southern Power, a Southern Company subsidiary that builds, owns and manages the company`s competitive generation assets. "The completion of Stanton A illustrates what we do very well, design construct and manage generation facilities, to meet the growing energy needs of customers in this region."

Bob Haven, OUC`s general manager and CEO, added, "Under our agreement with Southern Company, OUC will own nearly a third of Stanton A`s output, and we will have the option of purchasing even more. This additional capacity will help OUC maintain the reliability our customers expect. OUC is proud to be a partner in this important project."

With the commercial operation of Stanton A, Southern Power now has approximately 5,000 megawatts of wholesale generating capacity serving customers throughout the Southeast. With the completion of additional generating units already under construction at other locations in the Southeast, Southern Power will own approximately 6,000 megawatts of wholesale generating capacity by mid-2005. The Stanton A generating unit is primarily a natural gas-fired combined-cycle unit -- the most efficient and environmentally sensitive fossil-fueled technology available today. The combined-cycle generation gas technology consists of a combination of gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators and steam turbines.

OUC-The Reliable One lives up to its name by providing the best record of electric reliability in the state of Florida and delivering high-quality, great-tasting drinking water to its customers. Established in 1923 and owned by the citizens of Orlando, OUC is the second-largest municipal electric utility in Florida and the 16th largest in the nation. OUC serves more than 190,000 customers in Orlando, St. Cloud and parts of unincorporated Orange and Osceola counties.

FMPA is a wholesale power company owned by 29 municipal electric utilities. FMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities.

"This innovative partnership will provide customers in 16 Florida cities with reliable, low-cost power," said Roger Fontes, General Manager and CEO of FMPA. "It`s another great example of how our region`s utilities unite for the benefit of consumers."

Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida`s sixth largest community-owned utility serving 61,000 electric, water and Internet customers in five Central Florida counties.

With 4 million customers and more than 38,000 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 two consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine`s "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. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.