ATLANTA, GA. – In a dedication ceremony today, Southern Company’s Gulf Power subsidiary announced that the nation’s first-of-the-kind comprehensive Mercury Research Center will begin operations this month at its Plant Crist electric generation plant, which is located north of Pensacola, Florida.

“We have historically been an industry leader in research and development, including our current and past efforts in testing controls for reducing mercury emissions,” said David Ratcliffe, Southern Company’s chairman, president and CEO. “This innovative center will allow us to take our mercury research to the next level as we continue to seek the most cost-effective and efficient solutions for lowering mercury emissions from our power plants.”

Gulf Power’s Mercury Research Center expands upon Southern Company’s ongoing mercury control research by testing various state-of-the-art technologies to assess their long-term performance and reliability in reducing mercury emissions. The research conducted at the center will not only benefit Southern Company and its affiliates but also other electric utility companies, environmental research organizations and governmental scientists.

“Every year, Southern Company generates more and more electricity to meet the growing energy needs of our customers,” said Paul Bowers, president of Southern Company Generation. “And every year, we increase our level of commitment to finding the right environmental solutions for controlling power plant emissions, including mercury emissions, which will allow us to further reduce the impact of our operations on the environment.”

The first phase of testing at Gulf Power’s Mercury Research Center will evaluate the performance of five different advanced control technologies using a portion of the plant’s emissions for the research. Technologies installed at the Center are estimated to cost $5 million and will include a selective catalytic reduction unit, a rotary air pre-heater, a baghouse, an electro-static precipitator, and a wet limestone scrubber. As the research continues, other emission reduction methods may be discovered and further developed. The center will be operated by Southern Research Institute and access to perform testing at the facility will be open to other companies and researchers.

"Our commitment to our customers is to provide low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity," said Penny Manuel, vice president over generating plants for Gulf Power. "This research center is the latest in a long history of Gulf Power going beyond requirements to find solutions for the future. It`s what our customers have come to trust from us."

Since 2000, when Southern Company’s operating subsidiary Alabama Power was chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy for the nation’s first full-scale mercury control testing, company plants in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi have been actively testing mercury control technologies, including the award-winning activated carbon injection technology, developed by ADA-Environmental Solutions.

Mercury emissions from power plants amount to the equivalent of about 5 grains of sugar for every ton of coal burned used. According to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Electric Power Research Institute, mercury emissions from power plants represent about 1% of the total global, airborne emissions.

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.