GULFPORT, Miss. – June 8, 2007 - Mississippi Power is teaming with their customers and several governmental agencies during their annual two-day cleanup event, Renew Our Rivers. The event will be held June 12 in Biloxi and June 13 in Pascagoula.

The Renew Our Rivers event will provide much-needed cleanup of Deer Island and Biloxi Front Beach as well as the Pascagoula River and its surrounding estuary.

“Last year we tackled South Mississippi’s smaller waterways neglected since Katrina,” said Mississippi Power Renew Our Rivers Event Coordinator Jay O’Neal. “This year we want to focus our efforts on the Pascagoula River because of the amount of storm damage to the extraordinary river system and also to bring Deer Island back to its pre-storm grandeur.”

In 2006, Mississippi Power organized hundreds of volunteers and collected over 30 tons of debris and litter making a large dent in the trash-filled wake left by Hurricane Katrina.

The cleanup effort is part of the Renew Our Rivers initiative made up of employees from Mississippi Power, Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Southern Company. Partners in the effort are Harrison County Beautification Commission, Keep Mississippi Beautiful, City of Biloxi, Department of Marine Resources/Grand Bay NERR, Waste Management, Bay Motors, Glad Force Flex, Coastal Waste, Domino’s, S.H. Anthony Inc, Harrah’s Entertainment, Dock Bar & Grill of Gulfport, McAllister’s Deli, M& E Environmental Services, McCoy’s River & Marsh Tours and the Jackson County Solid Waste Department.

Mississippi Power is recruiting volunteers from the general public for both cleanup days. Volunteers with boats can volunteer to clean up Deer Island or the Pascagoula River. Those without boats can sign up to work on Biloxi Front Beach.

Volunteers are encouraged to wear cool comfortable clothes, appropriate shoes and lots of sunscreen. Gloves, water and trash bags will be provided to volunteers.

The Renew Our Rivers initiative sprung from Alabama Power’s Renew the Coosa River cleanup project. Today, the group stretches throughout Southern Company, parent company of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia Power, and has collected more than 7 million pounds of litter and debris from Southeast waterways. The Renew Our Rivers initiative will strive for a goal of 11 million pounds of litter and debris collected by the end of 2007.

For more information or to volunteer, call O’Neal for Biloxi, (228) 897-6424 or Desiree Young for Pascagoula at (228) 474-3036.

Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. The company earned a 2006 Edison Award, the electric utility industry’s most prestigious honor, for restoration efforts after Hurricane Katrina.