ATLANTA – William O. (Billy) Ball has been named Senior Vice President of Transmission Planning and Operations for Southern Company Transmission.

Ball has been vice president of transmission planning, policy and support services since March, 2002. In that role he was responsible for transmission planning, policy and industry interfaces, and business unit finance and accounting support.

In his new role, Ball will be responsible for the planning and operation of the Southern electric system’s network transmission grid, transmission policy, industry interfaces, and business unit finance and accounting support.

“We are very pleased to have someone with Billy’s experience and expertise in this position,” said Andy Dearman, Chief Transmission Officer for Southern Company. “His dedication and hard work have been crucial to our efforts to have the best transmission organization in the country.”

Ball previously worked at Southern Energy, later to become Mirant, as well as Mississippi Power and Southern Company Services. He has worked in both the regulated and non-regulated business, and has extensive experience in transmission planning, transmission tariffs and policy issues, generation development, state regulatory matters and Clean Air Act compliance.

Ball was born in Columbia, Miss., and is a summa cum laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in electrical engineering. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Ball is a Registered Professional Engineer. He and his wife Cindy have four sons.

With 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 two 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 four years in a row, and in the latest survey tied for the highest score among all service industry companies. 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.

# # #