ATLANTA – Southern Energy Inc. and Louisiana’s Cleco Corporation have agreed to jointly develop a power plant near Monroe, La.

In the initial phase of the project, Southern Energy and Cleco would install a single 150-megawatt natural gas-fueled turbine at a site in Perryville, La., about 12 miles north of Monroe. It would function as a “peaking” plant, meaning it would be used when demand for electricity is high. This turbine is expected to be available for operation by summer 2001.

The project would be developed and owned on a 50-50 basis by a joint venture of subsidiaries of Southern Energy and Cleco.

In summer 2002, the subsidiaries plan to have an additional 550-megawatt “combined-cycle” unit in operation. This unit would consist of two natural gas-fueled turbines generating electricity and feeding waste heat to a steam turbine that also would generate electricity. Plans include the possibility of expanding the plant by converting the original peaking unit to a combined-cycle unit as early as 2004. Combined-cycle units usually run on a regular basis to meet day-to-day electricity demands.

Southern Energy Inc. – with operations in 13 countries on five continents – develops, builds, owns and operates power production and delivery facilities and provides a broad range of services to utilities and industrial companies around the world. Its Southern Company Energy Marketing unit provides energy marketing, risk management and financial services and other energy-related commodities, products and services to customers in the United States and Canada.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO), the largest producer of electricity in the United States, is also the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric.

Cleco Corporation is a regional energy services company headquartered in Pineville, La. It operates a nonregulated midstream energy business that develops and operates power plants, and a regulated electric utility company that serves about 246,000 customers in Louisiana.

Caution regarding forward-looking statements:

The information presented above includes forward-looking statements, in addition to historical information. Southern Energy cautions that there can be no assurance that such indicative results will be realized and that there are various important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, such as, but not limited to (i) changes in government regulations (including environmental regulations) and anticipated deregulation of the electric energy industry; (ii) additional competition in Southern Energy’s markets; (iii) potential business strategies, including acquisitions or dispositions of assets that Southern Energy may pursue; (iv) political, legal and economic conditions and developments in Southern Energy’s markets; (v) financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; (vi) changes in commodity prices and interest rates; (vii) weather and other natural phenomena; (viii) the performance of Southern Energy projects and investments and the success of efforts to develop new opportunities; and (ix) other factors, whether discussed above or in reports filed by Southern Energy and Southern Company (and its subsidiaries) with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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