ATLANTA, July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David M. Ratcliffe today announced the election of Dr. Dale E. Klein, 62, to the Southern Company board of directors. A former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Dr. Klein is currently the associate vice president of research and associate director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

"Dr. Klein has more than 30 years of experience in the nuclear energy industry," said Ratcliffe. "He is an outstanding leader and he will be a valuable addition to the Southern Company board as construction moves forward on the nation's first two nuclear units in more than three decades."

Dr. Klein served as chairman of the NRC from July 2006 to May 2009 and as a commissioner until March 2010. Prior to his service on the NRC, he served as the assistant to the secretary of defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs from November 2001 to July 2006. Dr. Klein began his career at The University of Texas at Austin in 1977 as a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  With a focus on the university's nuclear program, he spent nearly 25 years holding various teaching and leadership positions there, including director of the nuclear engineering teaching laboratory, associate dean for research and administration in the College of Engineering and vice-chancellor for special engineering programs.

Dr. Klein also serves on the boards of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and its primary subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Company. A Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society, he is also the recipient of numerous professional awards in the engineering field including the Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award and the Engineer of the Year Award for the state of Texas. He has published more than 100 technical papers and reports. Dr. Klein received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1977.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) 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 below the national average. Southern Company is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company