Southern Company Energy Marketing will become the total wholesale electricity supplier to Texas’ Brazos Electric Power Cooperative in a five-year agreement that provides the Atlanta-based company the ability to market excess energy from more than 1,650 megawatts of capacity.

In addition to the wholesale agreement, known as a “full requirements wholesale supply,” Southern Company Energy Marketing will manage Brazos Electric’s generation and fuel supplies. Southern Company Energy Marketing also will provide up to 600 megawatts of capacity to satisfy projected Brazos Electric load growth, including rapid growth in the area surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth.

“This energy services relationship with Brazos Electric is a major step forward in our strategy to provide wholesale energy services and operate energy assets in North America’s key power markets,” said Southern Company Energy Marketing Chief Executive Officer Marce Fuller. “We believe the most successful players in the wholesale power markets will be those companies with generation assets to support their transactions.”

Southern Company Energy Marketing will market excess energy available from the cooperative’s generating and contractual capacity. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.

Southern Company Energy Marketing, to satisfy a portion of the need for 600 megawatts, is contracting with parent company Southern Energy Inc. to build new generation.

“The agreement will bring more than just savings to our member cooperatives – it provides for Southern Company Energy Marketing to assure a higher level of predictability and security in the supply of electricity to our members for the next five years,” said Brazos Electric Executive Vice President and General Manager Clifton Karnei. “Brazos Electric also will become more competitive as it faces a changing regulatory environment and energy market. In addition to the savings Brazos Electric will realize, a significant number of activities Brazos Electric has traditionally managed will now be managed by Southern Company Energy Marketing under the contract. These activities include daily load fluctuation, operations and maintenance costs and sourcing replacement energy due to unscheduled unit outages.”

Brazos Electric is the largest and oldest Texas generation and transmission cooperative serving 19 members in the suburban and rural areas of 66 counties in Texas, including those areas surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth, three municipalities and Texas A&M University. It controls 686.5 megawatts of generating capacity, 616.8 megawatts of capacity in long-term contracts, and 350 megawatts of capacity in short-term contracts. The contracts are held with other Texas utilities, cooperatives, municipal power systems and power marketers.

Southern Company Energy Marketing, based in Atlanta, is jointly owned by Southern Energy and Vastar Resources Inc. Southern Company Energy Marketing provides energy trading, marketing and financial services and other energy-related commodities, products and services to customers in North America. Southern Energy, a unit of Southern Company, develops, builds, owns and operates power production and delivery facilities and provides a broad range of services to utilities and industrial companies around the world. Southern Energy supplies electricity in 10 countries on four continents.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO), the largest producer of electricity in the United States, is also the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric.