Fortune has ranked Gulf Power and the other Southern Company subsidiaries as the No. 1 in the electric and gas utility sector of its 2011 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies,” which was released Thursday.

Although it shares the No. 1 spot with NextEra Energy, Southern Company — which includes Mississippi Power, Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Gulf Power — was ranked first in the utility industry in six of the nine categories on which the survey was based.

Southern Company has ranked No. 1 four times since 2002 in the Fortune survey and has been in the top five on four other occasions.

“We are totally committed to keeping our customers at the center of our business,” said Gulf Power President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Crosswhite. “This honor is a testament to what our employees do every day.” 

The survey included more than 600 companies, which were judged on nine criteria – innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, global competitiveness and quality of products and services.

Southern Company was ranked first in its industry in people management, use of corporate assets, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment and quality of products and services.

“Being a good value to our customers is part of our mission and therefore part of everything we do,” said Crosswhite. “Our success rests in their complete satisfaction and that’s what we work toward every day.”

Gulf Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company. Gulf Power serves more than 430,000 customers in 10 counties throughout Northwest Florida. The company’s mission is to safely deliver affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible energy to very satisfied customers in strong communities. Visit our website at www.gulfpower.com.

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 website at www.southerncompany.com.