Orlando, Fla. — Strohl Systems has awarded Southern Company its inaugural Best Demonstrated Recovery Award for the utility’s effective business continuity planning and innovative use of Strohl products during the company’s response last summer following the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. The award was presented today at Strohl’s International User Group Conference in Orlando, Fla.
After Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, 1 million of Southern Company’s 4.2 million customers lost power. Remarkably, as a result of its comprehensive business continuity plans, the utility restored power to all customers who could receive it in only 12 days.
A panel of judges consisting of business continuity professionals, who are also members of Strohl’s User Group Advisory Board, chose Southern Company as the award recipient. The panel noted that the company’s ability to quickly recover was greatly aided by the level of care and comfort provided to employees who were dealing with the disaster on a personal level. Southern Company employees removed trees from fellow employees’ houses, put tarps on roofs, salvaged personal belongings and did whatever was necessary to enable local employees to focus on recovery assignments.
“It is an honor and a privilege to receive this award from continuity industry leader, Strohl Systems,” said Mississippi Power Company President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony J. Topazi. “The rebuilding of the Mississippi coast continues and it will be years before things return to some sense of normalcy. However, people make it happen. We could not have done it without our employees and assistance from Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, our mutual aid partners and the Edison Electric Institute.”
Kristie Barton, Power Delivery manager for Mississippi Power, accepted the award on behalf of Southern Company in front of the more than 500 business continuity planners in attendance. A Fortune 500 company with 26,000 employees, Southern Company is the parent of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power.
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About Strohl Systems
Strohl Systems delivers the expertise and resources to help organizations build plans, practice for disruptions and prevail over disasters. The formula is simple — Plan. Practice. Prevail. Since 1988, Strohl’s business continuity software and services have been developed around this straightforward approach and have been used successfully in many real-world situations. Our products include LDRPS(R) business continuity planning software, BIA Professional(R) business impact analysis software, Incident Manager(R) command center automation software, and NotiFind(R), an emergency notification system. In addition, Strohl offers PLANet(R), an Internet-based BCP tool developed specifically for community banks and credit unions. Strohl Consulting Services’ offerings are designed to manage the business continuity process from start to finish or provide more strategic assistance. In business since 1968, Strohl Systems is a privately held company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa., and can be found on the Web at www.strohlsystems.com.
About Southern Company and Mississippi Power Company
With 4.2 million customers and more than 40,000 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 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 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been ranked as the nation's top electric utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index six years in a row. 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.
Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. The company earned a 2006 Edison Award, the electric utility industry’s most prestigious honor, for restoration efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Visit the Mississippi Power Company web site at www.mississippipower.com.