BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- At 9:06 a.m. ET, while plant workers were performing equipment maintenance, Plant Vogtle Unit 1 automatically shut down.

All Plant Vogtle safety systems operated as designed and expected. The unit is safe and stable, and plant personnel are investigating the cause of the shut down. There was no risk to the public.

Unit 2 currently is at 97 percent power in preparation for a routine, scheduled refueling outage.

About Southern Nuclear:

Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company, operates the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala. and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga.

About Southern Company:

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 was named the World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility by Fortune magazine in 2011, and is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.