ATLANTA – Southern Company today announced that Anthony R. James, currently chairman of Savannah Electric, will become executive vice president of Southern Company Services and president of the shared services group, which includes those centralized corporate functions that are providing services to Southern Company’s operating companies. James will be based in Atlanta and will report to David M. Ratcliffe, Southern Company chairman, president and chief executive officer.

“Anthony brings credibility and management strength to his new role,” said Ratcliffe. “His broad experience in the fields of engineering, power generation, safety and health, employee benefits and wholesale power marketing — as well as the more than four years as Savannah Electric’s CEO – has prepared him well to assume the management complexities and challenges at this level.”

James was appointed to the position of president and CEO of Savannah Electric on May 1, 2001, after having served as vice president of power generation and senior production officer. He has also served as manager of several power plants including Plants Arkwright and Scherer.

In 2004, James was named Black Engineer of the Year by Career Communications, a media services company that recognizes significant minority achievement in engineering, science and technology. In 2005, he was recognized by the same organization as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Technology.”

As president of the shared services group, James will direct centralized business functions that include information technology, human resources, diversity, supply chain management, corporate aircraft and marketing services.

“Anthony’s role will bring greater governance and management controls to the traditional shared service company functions,” said Ratcliffe. “I will be asking him to find ways to continue to increase our efficiency while providing increased value to the operating companies and the other businesses that SCS supports.”

James, who joined Southern Company in 1978, holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of South Florida. He is active in the industry and community as a member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, the Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Advisory Board and the Savannah State University Presidential Advisory Board. He also serves on the boards of Southern Company Gas and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators among others. In 2005, he was appointed by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to the Coastal Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and will serve as the 2006 chairman of both the Southeastern Electric Exchange and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies.

James and his wife, Sheila, have one adult son, Anthony.

With more than 4 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, a growing competitive generation company and a competitive retail natural gas business, 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 the nation`s top energy 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.