ATLANTA, Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Utilities from across the U.S. are working together in Hurricane Sandy's aftermath in the power restoration process. Southern Company is assisting in the utilities' collaborative storm response efforts through its involvement in the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE) – a non-profit trade association that coordinates mutual assistance across utilities in response to severe storms. The nearly 2,000 dedicated resources Southern Company has committed through its subsidiaries to assist customers affected by Hurricane Sandy have been deployed to support Pepco Holdings (PHI), BG&E, PPL, PECO, Dominion, First Energy, AEP East, and ConEd in their restoration efforts.

"America's electric utilities consistently demonstrate strong collaboration when responding to severe storms," said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning.  "Mutual assistance is critical to fulfilling our shared commitment to serving customers, and we are proud to be a part of restoring communities impacted by this unprecedented storm."

Southern Company's resource deployment includes a combination of distribution and transmission linemen, tree crews, damage assessors, network crews and support staff from subsidiaries Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power. Many of the involved employees began traveling to the affected areas a day or more before Hurricane Sandy made landfall.

The SEE is a non-profit, non-political trade association comprised of 53 utility operating companies serving 22 states from New Mexico to New England, including several utilities directly affected by Hurricane Sandy. When a major storm approaches, the SEE's Mutual Assistance Committee facilitates the equitable allocation of restoration resources to impacted companies. Associations similar to the SEE coordinate utility resources in other parts of the country. Through the intense and strategic collaboration provided by the SEE and the other regional mutual assistance organizations, utilities are able to streamline storm response efforts – with improved efficiency benefiting affected customers.

When evaluating off-system storm restoration efforts, Southern Company's subsidiaries ensure the availability of adequate resources to serve their customers' energy needs with clean, safe, reliable and affordable power. 

When major storms, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ivan in 2004, have impacted Southern Company's service territory, mutual assistance has been instrumental in safely and efficiently restoring power to customers. Through its involvement in the SEE, Southern Company is poised to reciprocate by providing assistance to utilities affected by Hurricane Sandy to continue to serve their customers' energy needs.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable 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 energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company is leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and is demonstrating its commitment to energy innovation through development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and GI Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Platts' 2011 Power Company of the Year and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company