ATLANTA - March 19, 2008 - Southern Company Chairman, CEO and President David Ratcliffe today announced that J. Barnie Beasley, chairman, CEO and president of Southern Nuclear Operating Company, will retire effective Sept. 1, after 39 years of service with the company.

"Barnie has provided excellent leadership for Southern Company's nuclear program since the early days of the construction of Plant Vogtle," said Ratcliffe. "We will miss him and his contributions to our success. I will move in the coming months to select his replacement to ensure an orderly leadership transition."

"I have been very fortunate to work with a great team of professionals at Southern Nuclear and across the entire industry," said Beasley. "I believe nuclear energy has a promising role to help Southern Company and the nation to meet growing electricity needs. I am confident that the sustained, successful performance of our existing nuclear fleet will provide a strong foundation for nuclear expansion."

Beasley joined the Southern Company system in 1969 as a student co-op at Georgia Power. He progressed through a number of positions of increasing responsibility in power delivery and customer service before beginning his nuclear career as part of the construction team tasked with building and beginning operation of the Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear generating station near Augusta, Ga. Upon completion of the plant, Beasley obtained a senior reactor operator license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and eventually became the plant's general manager, a position he held for more than five years.

Elected vice president of Southern Nuclear in 1998, Beasley assumed additional responsibilities at plants Vogtle and Farley before ultimately being named president and CEO of Southern Nuclear in 2004. In 2005, he was elected chairman of Southern Nuclear's board of directors.

Beasley currently serves as a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute's board of directors executive committee and is a member of the Accrediting Board of the National Academy for Nuclear Training. A native of Augusta, Ga., Beasley earned a BS in engineering from the University of Georgia. He has been a licensed professional engineer in Georgia since 1983.

About Southern Company

With nearly 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast, one of America's fastest-growing regions. A leading U.S. producer of 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 excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average. Southern Company has been listed the top ranking U.S. electric service provider in customer satisfaction for eight consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at http://www.southerncompany.com/ .

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Media Contact: Jason Cuevas, Southern Company Corporate Communications, +1.404.506.5333 or
1.866.506.5333, media@southerncompany.com