Ron Hinson has been named vice president, comptroller and chief accounting officer for Georgia Power, replacing Cliff Thrasher who recently accepted the position of vice president, chief financial officer and comptroller for Southern Company Generation and Energy Marketing, and Southern Power.

Hinson, a certified public accountant and certified management accountant whose career with Georgia Power spans 23 years, has held a number of positions in the accounting organization. He has served as assistant comptroller for the company since 1995, and in 2001 added assistant corporate secretary to his role.

In his new position, Hinson will be responsible for overall corporate and regulatory accounting functions and providing information to regulatory agencies, stockholders and the investment community.

"We`re very pleased to have Ron in this important position,” said Allen Leverett, executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer. “He has demonstrated a great deal of leadership in financial matters, and we’re looking forward to his continued contributions to Georgia Power.”

His professional affiliations include memberships in the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Institute of Management Accounting. He is also director and president of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association of Georgia, past director of the Young Harris College Alumni Foundation, served on the Atlanta Clean City Commission, and is a member of the Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club.

A native of Atlanta, Hinson earned a bachelor`s degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Georgia, and an MBA in finance from Mercer University.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state’s 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power’s rates are more than 15 percent below the national average and its 2 million customers are in all but six of Georgia’s 159 counties.