ATLANTA - Dec. 22. 2008 - Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David M. Ratcliffe today named Christopher C. "Chris" Womack to the position of executive vice president, Southern Company, and president of external affairs, effective January 1, 2009. In this role, Womack will oversee the company's federal and state affairs and corporate communication initiatives.

"At Southern Company, not only are we embarking on the most extensive capital expenditure program in our history, but we are doing so in a rapidly evolving legislative and regulatory environment," said Ratcliffe. "With his extensive experience across all aspects of our business, Chris is well- positioned to lead Southern Company's efforts in the external affairs arena during this crucial time."

Womack currently serves as executive vice president, external affairs for Georgia Power, where he leads and directs the policies and activities of governmental and regulatory affairs, environmental affairs, land, diversity, corporate communication and economic development. Prior to that position, Womack served as senior vice president and senior production officer for Southern Company Generation, where he was responsible for coal, gas and hydro generation for Georgia Power and the former Savannah Electric, which merged with Georgia Power in 2006.

Womack has held a number of leadership positions within Southern Company and its subsidiaries. He joined the Southern Company system in 1988 as a governmental affairs representative at Alabama Power. Progressing through various supervisory and management roles in public and governmental affairs, human resources and power generation, Womack has served as director of community relations and senior vice president of public relations and corporate services at Alabama Power. In 1998 he was named senior vice president of human resources of Southern Company.

Womack takes responsibility for a function that previously reported to Ed Holland, executive vice president and general counsel. Ratcliffe noted that "...given the increasing level of regulatory and legislative activity, I felt it was critical that Ed be completely devoted to leading the complex issues of the General Counsel's office."

Prior to joining Alabama Power, Womack worked for the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative aide to Leon Panetta and as staff director for the Subcommittee on Personnel and Police, for the Committee on House Administration.

Womack serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy; Communities in Schools, where he is chairman of the board; and Leadership Atlanta. He also is a board member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, and is a national trustee for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He has received numerous honors, including the Johnny Morrow Endowment Foundation "Man of the Year" (1996); SCLC Leadership Award (1998); Distinguished Alumni, Western Michigan University (2003); and Black Enterprise Magazine's 75 Most Powerful Blacks in Corporate America (2005). He received the Boy Scouts of America Whitney M. Young Award for Public Service in 2007.

A native of Greenville, Ala., he holds a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University and a master's degree in public administration from The American University. He attended the Stanford Executive Program in 2001.

About Southern Company:

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, 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 significantly below the national average. Southern Company has been listed the top ranking U.S. electric service provider in customer satisfaction for nine consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

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SOURCE: Southern Company

Web site: http://www.southerncompany.com/