Southern Company was incorporated under the laws of Delaware on November 9, 1945.
Southern Company is domesticated under the laws of Georgia and is qualified to
do business as a foreign corporation under the laws of Alabama.
Southern Company owns all the outstanding common stock of Alabama Power, Georgia
Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric, each of which is an
operating public utility company. The retail operating companies supply electric
service in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia,
respectively.
More particular information relating to each of the retail operating companies
is as follows:
Alabama Power is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alabama
on November 10, 1927, by the consolidation of a predecessor Alabama Power Company,
Gulf Electric Company and Houston Power Company.
The predecessor Alabama Power Company had had a continuous existence since its
incorporation in 1906.
Georgia Power was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia on June
26, 1930, and admitted to do business in Alabama on September 15, 1948.
Gulf Power is a corporation which was organized under the laws of the State
of Maine on November 2, 1925, and admitted to do business in Florida on January
15, 1926, in Mississippi on October 25, 1976, and in Georgia on November 20,
1984.
Mississippi Power was incorporated under the laws of the State of Mississippi
on July 12, 1972, was admitted to do business in Alabama on
November 28, 1972, and effective December 21, 1972, by the merger into it of
the predecessor Mississippi Power Company, succeeded to the business and properties
of the latter company. The predecessor Mississippi Power Company was incorporated
under the laws of the State of Maine on November 24, 1924, and was admitted
to do business in Mississippi on December 23, 1924, and in Alabama on December
7, 1962.
Savannah Electric is a corporation existing under the laws of the State of
Georgia; its charter was granted by the Secretary of State on August 5, 1921.
The SOUTHERN System
Retail Operating Companies
The transmission facilities of each of the retail operating companies are connected
to the respective company's own generating plants and other sources of power
and are interconnected with the transmission facilities of the other retail
operating companies and SEGCO by means of heavy-duty high voltage lines.
Operating contracts covering arrangements in effect with principal neighboring
utility systems provide for capacity exchanges, capacity purchases and sales,
transfers of economy energy and other similar transactions. Additionally, the
retail operating companies have entered into voluntary reliability agreements
with the subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation, Florida Electric Power Coordinating
Group and TVA and with Carolina Power & Light Company, Duke Energy Corporation,
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and Virginia Electric and Power Company,
each of which provides for the establishment and periodic review of principles
and procedures for planning and operation of generation and transmission facilities,
maintenance schedules, load retention programs, emergency operations and other
matters affecting the reliability of bulk power supply. The retail operating
companies have joined with other utilities in the Southeast to form the SERC
to augment further the reliability and adequacy of bulk power supply. Through
the SERC, the retail operating companies are represented on the National Electric
Reliability Council.
Southern Power
Southern Power is an electric wholesale generation subsidiary with market-based
rates. Southern Power constructs, owns and manages generating facilities and
sells the output under long-term, fixed-price capacity contracts both to unaffiliated
wholesale purchasers as well as to the retail operating companies (under PPAs
approved by the respective PSCs). Southern Power's business activities are not
subject to traditional state regulation of utilities but are subject to regulation
by the FERC.
Increased competition which may result from restructuring efforts could have
a significant adverse financial impact on Southern Company and its retail operating
companies. Increased competition could result in increased pressure to lower
the cost of electricity. Any adoption in the territories served by the retail
operating companies of retail competition and the unbundling of regulated energy
service could have a significant adverse financial impact on Southern Company
and the retail operating companies due to an impairment of assets, a
loss of retail customers, lower profit margins, an inability to recover reasonable
costs or increased costs of capital. Southern Company cannot predict if or when
it will be subject to changes in legislation or regulation, nor can Southern
Company predict the impact of these changes.
Additionally, the electric utility industry has experienced a substantial increase
in competition at the wholesale level, caused by changes in federal law and
regulatory policy.
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