Southern Company has been named among Georgia`s "Top 10 Innovators" by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). The honor was recently announced in Atlanta at the Georgia Technology Summit, which is sponsored by TAG.
"We are pleased to be recognized for our innovation in technology by such a respected organization," said Southern Company Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer David Ratcliffe. "Innovative use of evolving technology by our employees is key to our ability to remain one of the most efficient electricity providers in the nation."
More than 700 technology leaders attended the summit. In addition to being named to the Top 10 Innovators in Georgia, attendees voted Southern Company "Most Likely to Create Jobs in Georgia."
Georgia-based technology or technology-enabled companies named as Top 10 Innovators were chosen by a selection committee made up of leaders who have played an integral role in the emergence of Georgia as the Southeast`s technology hub. Southern Company is the only company among the Top 10 Innovators that is a "Fortune 500" company. Other Top 10 Innovators are Cambia Security Inc.; Given Imaging; Invistics; iVivity Inc.; JBoss; nuBridges, LLC; Qcept Technologies; Quellan, Inc.; and VistaScape Security.
The Top 10 Innovators were chosen based on four key criteria: the companies` degree of innovation; their potential for success; their potential impact on the state`s economy; and their overall contribution to the promotion of Georgia as a state of innovation, both nationally and internationally. The selection committee noted that Southern Company applies technology in innovative ways, such as:
- Software that optimizes power plant output levels
- An automated voice response unit that answers 25% of call center volume
- Online customer care
- 285-megawatt coal gasification facility in central Florida as part of Department of Energy`s Clean Coal Power Initiative
- BioMass generation projects at Plant Mitchell and Plant Gaston
- Vehicle-based Automated Resource Management System
- Real-time pricing for large industrial customers
- Web-based Energy Direct application
- An outage call management system
- e-Bill
- Automated meter reading technology
- The company`s commitment to innovation as shown by the more than 50 intellectual property innovations submitted by employees during 2004
TAG was formed in 1999 with the merger of three of the state`s largest technology organizations: the Southeastern Software Association, the Business and Technology Alliance and Women in Technology. At its launch, TAG became one of the largest technology organizations in the country.
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.