ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2011 -- The data has been analyzed and the results are in.  Georgia Power has one of the best external websites in North America according to the leading authority on utility website design, E Source.

Of the 100 U.S. and Canadian utility sites E Source reviewed, GeorgiaPower.com was No. 2 among southeastern utilities and ranked No. 7 overall.  E Source has been benchmarking utility websites since 2002 to gauge their success in serving residential customers.  The rankings have become the industry standard for assessing website improvements as they relate to customers' contact preferences.  The rankings are published every two years; GeorgiaPower.com was ranked No. 34 in 2009.  

Rich Goodwin, manager of E Source customer satisfaction services, said a company's ranking in the top quartile demonstrates its commitment to having a website that gives customers what they need online.  He also shared that the reviews were conducted from the perspective of general Internet use and were rated against the best in class across all websites, not just utility websites.

After the 2009 rankings were released, Georgia Power focused its efforts on improving the overall customer experience of GeorgiaPower.com.  Georgia Power's eBusiness team made a long list of enhancements to the company's website that improved the online customer service experience, including revamping the online energy audit and adding several interactive tools to help customers compare the benefits of Georgia Power rates and obtain information on why their bill changes month to month.

According to Georgia Power Customer Service Vice President Gerald Johnson, the company's No. 1 goal is to provide more value to our customers, and the enhancements to the website are doing just that.

"This year, our customers have been visiting our website and completing online transactions in record numbers," Johnson said. "The online energy audit tool has seen a significant amount of growth and use.  We enhanced our online audit tool to provide a more personalized recommendation and our customers are responding favorably.  Whether our customers come inside our offices, call us on the phone or use our website, we must and will continue to add value."

"I see both rankings as a shared company success," said Stan Pollard, Georgia Power eBusiness manager. "We worked with more than 20 internal business units to enhance the site.  We also held customer focus groups, interviews, and conducted further research for the sole purpose of providing a Web functionality roadmap.  As a result of what we heard from our customers and employees, we have streamlined our online processes, added new functionality, redesigned our home page, and deployed many more resources to our Save Money and Energy portfolio."

The website improvements are far from over.  Georgia Power's eBusiness team plans to further enhance customers' digital experience with initiatives such as an online services site promoting the benefits of GeorgiaPower.com, service order improvements, "how-to" videos, a new business pricing and rates site, and the launch of mobile services and apps. 

"Our customers' expectations are rising fast, especially in the digital space," Pollard remarked.  "We have to continue pushing innovation in our digital offerings to ensure we not only continue to meet, but exceed, our customers' increasing expectations." 

The full list of utility website rankings can be found on the E Source website at www.esource.com/esource/getpub/public/pdf/press_releases/ESource-PR-Web-BMK-8-11.pdf.  

For additional information about Georgia Power, please visit our website www.georgiapower.com.

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 well below the national average.  Georgia Power serves 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties.