To provide more options to its residential customers, Georgia Power today introduced Power Credit, a new electricity demand-saving service designed to efficiently control the amount of electricity a residential customer’s air conditioner uses during peak demand periods in the summer months.

Georgia Power is offering Power Credit to more than 500,000 residential customers in metro Atlanta who live in owner occupied, single-family homes. The customer’s home must have a central cooling system. The service will be expanded beyond metro Atlanta after the summer of 2002.

At no charge to the customer, Georgia Power will install a switch outside of the customer’s home that will be connected to the air conditioning unit. The switch, when activated by Georgia Power, will reduce the amount of electricity used by the air conditioner during peak periods in the summer months of May –September, when the demand for electricity is high, between noon and 7 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Power Credit provides residential customers who participate, financial compensation for allowing Georgia Power to reduce their electric usage during weekdays in the summer months when Georgia Power experiences high electricity demand.

Customers may begin enrolling for Power Credit in August 2001. Enrollment will become effective as soon as equipment is installed, at which time the customer will receive a one time $20 credit on their monthly bill and a $2 credit for each activation that occurs during the summer beginning May 2002. Georgia Power expects approximately 10 activations in a typical summer. Based on weather, there could be zero, less than or more than 10 activations in any given summer. The customer must remain on the program for 12 months.

“This is a win-win for both the customer and Georgia Power,” said Bertram Sears, marketing senior vice president for Georgia Power. “This new service is a Georgia Public Service Commission approved demand-side resource that will help meet Georgia’s future energy needs – which means delaying construction of new power plants in Georgia. This service also helps Georgia Power meet demand during peak periods and lower its cost to serve all residential customers.”

For more information or to enroll for Power Credit, residential customers in metro Atlanta may call 1-800-843-4916.

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 15 percent below the national average and its 1.8 million customers are in all but six of Georgia’s 159 counties.