GREENSBORO, GA – At Southern Company’s annual meeting of shareholders today, Southern Company Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Allen Franklin said the company is committed to maintaining the high levels of performance that produced solid results in 2001 despite mild weather and a weak economy.

“I believe our long-term track record demonstrates our management’s dedication to producing shareholder value,” said Franklin. “We are committed to providing what matters to our shareholders. We have a strong dividend and balance sheet, a history of stable earnings, a deep management team and a clear strategy for the future.”

Southern Company’s strategy will continue to focus on three business lines – its regulated utilities, competitive generation and energy-related new products and services.

The regulated business is built on bringing value and service to retail customers. The company’s electricity prices are 15 percent below the national average, and the company continues to be recognized as a customer service leader.

Southern Company is also on track to double annual earnings from its competitive generation business by 2005. In 2000, the company earned just over $100 million from competitive generation. The goal is to earn $200 million a year by 2005, and the company is currently ahead of schedule.

In addition, Southern Company’s new products and services business is expected to provide significant earnings for years to come. The company is developing additional energy-related products and services with low risk and modest capital requirements that it will roll out to segments of its 4 million retail customers.

“I am very pleased with the progress we have made developing these business lines over the past 24 months. We earned $20 million in net income in products and services in 2001, and our goal is to earn $50 million a year by 2004,” said Franklin. “That’s an aggressive goal, but it ensures that we give a high level attention to this promising new business line.”

Franklin told shareholders that Southern Company will continue its strong focus on its regulated retail business but also expects dependable growth from competitive generation and new products and services. He also said the company remains committed to a strong dividend and – for the long term – expects earnings per share growth of at least 5 percent per year.

According to Franklin, delivering growth to shareholders is part of the company’s stewardship, just as delivering low cost, highly reliable electricity is part of the same stewardship. Southern Company is also an environmental steward to the communities it serves, he said, and it is seeing results of its environmental initiatives.

The company has made significant reductions in the total emissions from its plants. Since 1990, it has reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by a combined 30 percent, while increasing energy output by 20 percent. Southern Company is currently spending $1 billion to further reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at its plants.

With 4 million customers and nearly 35,000 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 and an energy services 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. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

Forward Looking Statements Note: Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning Southern Company`s objective of growing its competitive generation business with the expectation of doubling net income from that business over the next five years. Southern Company cautions that there are certain factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such indicated results will be realized.

The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company`s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, and subsequent securities filings, could cause results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory change, including legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry and also changes in environmental and other laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries are subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; current and future litigation, including the EPA civil action against certain subsidiaries of Southern Company and the diversity litigation against certain subsidiaries of Southern Company; the effects, extent and timing of additional competition in the markets in which Southern Company`s subsidiaries operate; the impact of fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates and customer demand; state and federal rate regulation in the United States; the performance of projects undertaken by the non-traditional business and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; internal restructuring or other restructuring options that may be pursued; potential business strategies, including acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses, which cannot be assured to be completed or beneficial to Southern Company or its subsidiaries; the effects of, and changes in, economic conditions in the areas in which Southern Company`s subsidiaries operate; financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; the timing and acceptance of Southern Company`s new product and service offerings; the ability of Southern Company to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices; and weather and other natural phenomena. # # #