ATLANTA, March 16, 2011 -- Georgia Power expects to request approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission to decertify two coal-generating units totaling 569 megawatts, the company announced Wednesday.

The request to decertify units 1 and 2 at Plant Branch in Putnam Co. will be included in Georgia Power's updated Integrated Resource Plan filing with the commission in late summer. The company expects to ask for decertification of the units as of the effective dates of the Georgia Multipollutant Rule, which are currently anticipated to be Dec. 31, 2013 for unit 1 and Oct. 1, 2013 for unit 2.

The decision to decertify the units is based on a need to install environmental controls to meet a variety of existing and expected environmental regulations.

"After an extensive analysis of the cost to comply with environmental regulations, we have determined the continued operation of these units would be uneconomical for our customers," said Georgia Power President and CEO Paul Bowers. "This decision is in keeping with our focus to provide affordable and reliable electricity for our customers."

Georgia Power will continue to evaluate existing and expected federal and state environmental rules involving air emissions, water treatment, and coal ash and gypsum to determine the economics of installing additional environmental controls on generating units at other Georgia Power plants, including Plant Branch units 3 and 4.

Georgia Power currently operates 9,686 megawatts of coal-fueled generation at 10 plants across the state.

The commission is expected to vote on the decertification request in spring 2012.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation's largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility with rates below the national average. Georgia Power serves 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.