Southern Company announced today that W.G. (George) Hairston III, president and Chief Executive Officer of its Southern Nuclear subsidiary, is being named chairman of Southern Nuclear effective Sept. 1. Succeeding Hairston as president and CEO of Southern Nuclear will be James B. (Barnie) Beasley Jr., who will assume day-to-day responsibility for operations at Southern Nuclear. This announcement begins the management transition for Hairston’s retirement from the company in mid-2005.

Beasley has been executive vice president and chief nuclear officer of Southern Nuclear since January of this year and is a 34-year veteran of Southern Company. As part of the management transition plan, Southern Company announced that Jeffery T. Gasser has been named executive vice president and chief nuclear officer. Gasser is currently Southern Nuclear’s vice president, Vogtle Project. These changes were approved today by the Southern Nuclear Operating Company board of directors.

Southern Company chairman and CEO David Ratcliffe noted that the management transition would be a smooth one, and said that Beasley’s background makes him exceptionally well suited for his new role. “Barnie brings not only broad management experience to this role, but he also understands the nuclear business at every level,” said Ratcliffe. Beasley earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Georgia and holds a professional engineering license in the state of Georgia as an electrical engineer.

Gasser, the new executive vice president of Southern Nuclear, has been part of Southern Company’s nuclear business for nearly 21 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in business administration from Augusta State University.

Hairston, a former plant manager at the Farley Nuclear Plant who holds engineering degrees from Auburn University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been with Southern Company since 1967. After serving in senior nuclear management positions at Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear, Hairston was named president and CEO of Southern Nuclear in 1993.

At the industry level, Hairston serves as chairman of the board at the Nuclear Energy Institute, chairman of the governing board of the Atlanta Center for the World Association of Nuclear Operators, and is on the board of directors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. In addition, he is involved in various civic organizations such as chairman of INROADS Birmingham, Inc.

“This is a great opportunity for George to bring his leadership and experience to a number of critical issues facing the nuclear industry, where he is widely respected by people both inside and outside the business,” said Ratcliffe. “George has brought our nuclear units to an extraordinary level of operational excellence. In his new role, he will help to ensure a smooth succession for Southern Nuclear, and also focus on a number of industry activities.”

“Today’s nuclear power plants are operating better than ever before, and our industry’s future holds many bright promises,” said Hairston. “I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to that future and I’m particularly excited about the quality of the next generation of leadership we’re putting in place at Southern Nuclear.”

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, an energy services business and a competitive retail natural gas business, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been named three consecutive years No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has been ranked the nation’s top energy utility in the American Customer Satisfaction Index five years in a row. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

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