Gulfport, Miss. – Mississippi Power customers soon will take advantage of made-in-Mississippi energy with the Kemper County energy facility as the company’s certificate to construct the facility was reaffirmed late yesterday in Harrison County Chancery Court.

“Mississippi Power customers are the ones who will benefit from this important decision,” said Ed Day, president and CEO of Mississippi Power. “The Kemper facility is advancing 21st century coal technology, and will ensure that our customers receive safe, reliable, low-cost and environmentally responsible energy for decades.”

Mississippi Power, together with the Mississippi Public Service Commission, unanimously recognized the need for additional energy sources beginning in 2014. The Kemper facility was certified as the best solution for customers.

As we enter 2013, the project is nearly 75 percent complete and scheduled to begin commercial operation in May 2014. In six months, the facility will begin initial start-up activities for the combined cycle portion of the plant, which will generate the electricity.

Nearly 12,000 direct and indirect jobs are being created during construction and more than 1,000 direct and indirect permanent positions once the facility opens. Nearly 300 Mississippi companies have a significant role in the construction of the project, which is delivering a tremendous economic boost to the state of Mississippi.

Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves approximately 186,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties.

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Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning completion of the Kemper integrated coal gasification combined cycle facility (“Kemper IGCC”) and job creation. Mississippi Power
cautions that there are certain factors that can cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Mississippi Power; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Mississippi Power’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory changes, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; current and future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries; available sources and costs of fuels; ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns during the development and construction of facilities, which includes projects involving facility designs that have not been finalized or previously constructed; advances in technology; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations, including rate actions relating to fuel and other cost recovery mechanisms; regulatory approvals and actions related to the Kemper IGCC, including Mississippi Public Service Commission (“PSC”) approvals, potential U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees, the South Mississippi Electric Power Association purchase decision, satisfaction of requirements to utilize investment tax credits and grants, and the outcome of any further proceedings regarding the PSC’s issuance of the certificate of public convenience and necessity; and the ability of counterparties of Mississippi Power to make payments as and when due and to perform as required. Mississippi Power expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information.