GULFPORT, MS – Nearly 174,000 of Mississippi Power’s 195,000 customers have been restored to service since Hurricane Katrina devastated the company’s system. Workers completed initial restoration efforts Saturday evening, restoring service to all customers who could receive it 12 days after the storm’s landfall.

Outage Numbers

“We still have crews out working and it will be months before everything is back to normal,” said Kurt Brautigam, company spokesman. “We’re still rebuilding lines in many areas and there are many more customers to restore whenever they’re ready. As customers make their repairs and are ready to receive power, we ask that they call us.”

Customers can call Mississippi Power’s outage reporting number at 1-800-ITS-DARK (800-487-3275) or the customer service number at 800-532-1502.

Important information during the next several weeks: • Trash contractors or garbage removal crews should not pile debris higher than 12 feet (from the ground) in their trucks. Transporting tall piles of trash runs a significant risk of snagging or coming in contact with power lines, causing significant damage, possible injury and delaying restoration efforts.

• Do not pick up or dispose of transformers, capacitors or other similar electrical equipment. These normally contain oil or environmentally-regulated substances.

• Do not stack debris piles near utility poles, underground transformers and other facilities. The piles cause access problems for crews working on lines and may cause damage to poles and transformers during clean up, delaying restoration of the electric distribution system.

• Do not pick up or dispose of downed power lines, cables, or telephone lines unless they are clearly removed from nearby poles. Lines may still be attached to poles and removal can cause further damage to Mississippi Power’s distribution system.

Some offices have reopened The following Mississippi Power customer service offices are now open: Columbia, Ellisville, Hattiesburg, Leakesville, Lucedale, Lumberton, Picayune, Poplarville, Purvis, Sumrall, Waynesboro, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Richton, Wiggins, Bay Springs, Forest, Heidelberg, Laurel. Meridian, Newton, Quitman, Stonewall, Taylorsville, Union.

The following offices are still closed and will not open until further notice: Biloxi, Gulfport, Moss Point, Pass Christian.

Customers can mail bills to the P.O. Box address on their bill (P.O. Box 245, Birmingham, AL 35201).

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, serves 195,000 customers in 23 Southeast Mississippi counties. For more information and daily updates on the company’s progress toward restoring service, go to www.mississippipower.com.

With more than 4 million customers and nearly 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states, a growing competitive generation company and a competitive retail natural gas business, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

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