BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Nuclear Chairman, President and CEO Stephen Kuczynski announced today that Dennis Madison, current site vice president of the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., has been named fleet operations vice president at the company's Birmingham, Ala., headquarters.

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Madison, who joined Southern Company in 1982, has been a leader in various nuclear engineering roles. He has served as Plant Hatch's site vice president since 2007.

David Vineyard, current plant manager at Plant Hatch, will assume the role of site vice president. He joined Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga., in 1985 and served in various supervisory roles and operations leadership positions until 2010, when he was named fleet operations manager at Southern Nuclear's corporate office. He moved to Plant Hatch as plant manager in 2012.

Tony Spring has been selected as plant manager of Plant Hatch. He started working at Plant Hatch in 1991 and served in several engineering and operations roles. He was named initial test program director for the construction of Vogtle units 3 and 4 earlier this year.

"The leadership and experience of these individuals in the operation of nuclear facilities will ensure Southern Nuclear's overall fleet success," said Kuczynski. "With a proven track record of setting and reinforcing high operational standards, each of them clearly has the ability to lead our fleet and the Hatch team to achieve industry-leading performance."

About Southern Nuclear:
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is one of the nation's leading nuclear energy facility operators. Producing safe, reliable and environmentally friendly nuclear energy, Southern Nuclear operates a total of six units for Alabama Power and Georgia Power at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala.; the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Southern Nuclear is the licensee of two new nuclear units currently under construction at Plant Vogtle, which will be the first nuclear units constructed in the United States in more than 30 years. Southern Nuclear employs more than 3,500 skilled and dedicated professionals who are committed each day to nuclear and personal safety and the health and safety of the public. The company's headquarters is based in Birmingham, Ala. Twitter: @SouthernNuclear.

About Southern Company:
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 through its subsidiaries. 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 and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. 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 Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 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