The Southern Company : Southern Company reports 2011 fourth quarter and full-year earnings

ATLANTA -- Southern Company today reported fourth quarter 2011 earnings of $261 million, or 30 cents a share, compared  with earnings of $153 million, or 18 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Southern Company also reported full-year 2011  earnings of $2.20 billion, or $2.57 a share, compared with earnings for 2010 of $1.97 billion, or $2.37 a share.

Earnings for the quarter and the full year were positively influenced by regulatory actions -- primarily at subsidiary Georgia  Power -- that became effective in 2011, as well as operating results at Southern Power, Southern Company's competitive  generation subsidiary. Earnings were negatively affected by weather that was closer to normal in 2011 than it had been in 2010.

"In a year filled with challenges, our employees continued to deliver results on behalf of the customers and communities we  serve," said Thomas A. Fanning, Southern Company chairman, president and chief executive officer. "They are helping to fulfill  Southern Company's $20 billion commitment to build the energy future of the Southeast, a process that is expected to grow  more than 250,000 jobs, according to analysis by the University of West Georgia."

Fanning noted that economic conditions in the region are improving, albeit slowly. "We see a still-challenged economy that is  exhibiting sustained industrial growth alongside flat commercial and residential growth," he said. "In recent weeks, positive signs  have emerged in the form of job growth and lower unemployment rates. Meanwhile, the future looks bright, as companies  continue to show avid interest in locating and expanding their businesses here in the Southeast."

Revenues for the full year were $17.66 billion, compared with $17.46 billion in 2010, a 1.2 percent increase. Fourth quarter  revenues were $3.70 billion, compared with $3.77 billion for the same period in 2010, a decrease of 2.0 percent.

Kilowatt-hour sales to retail customers in Southern Company's four-state service area decreased 2.7 percent in 2011,  compared with 2010. Residential energy sales decreased 7.7 percent, commercial energy sales decreased 2.9 percent and  industrial energy sales increased 3.2 percent.

Total energy sales to Southern Company's customers in the Southeast, including wholesale sales, decreased 3.4 percent in  2011 compared with 2010.

Southern Company's financial analyst call will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern time today, during which Fanning and Chief Financial  Officer Art P. Beattie will discuss earnings and provide a general business update. Investors, media and the public may listen to  a live webcast of the call and view associated slides at http://investor.southerncompany.com/events.cfm . A replay of the webcast  only will be available at the site for 12 months.  Southern Company has also posted on its website detailed financial information on its fourth quarter and full-year performance.  These materials are available at www.southerncompany.com.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:  SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns  electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, 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 below the national average. Southern Company was named the World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility by  Fortune magazine in 2011, and is consistently listed among the top U.S. electric service providers in customer satisfaction by  the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

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 the economy, job  creation and capital expenditures. Southern Company 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 Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that  such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company's Annual  Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, 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, including legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding deregulation and  restructuring of the electric utility industry, implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, environmental laws including  regulation of water quality, coal combustion byproducts, and emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, soot, particulate matter,  hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, and other substances, financial reform legislation, and also changes in tax and  other laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries are subject, as well as changes in application of  existing laws and regulations; current and future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries, including the  pending Environmental Protection Agency civil actions against certain Southern Company subsidiaries and Internal Revenue  Service audits; the effects, extent, and timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets in which Southern Company's  subsidiaries operate; variations in demand for electricity, including those relating to weather, the general economy and recovery  from the recent recession, population and business growth (and declines), and the effects of energy conservation measures;  available sources and costs of fuels; effects of inflation; ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns during the development  and construction of facilities; investment performance of Southern Company's employee benefit plans and nuclear  decommissioning trust funds; 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 Plant Vogtle expansion, including Georgia Public Service Commission and Nuclear Regulatory  Commission approvals and potential U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees; regulatory approvals and actions related to  the Kemper County integrated coal gasification combined cycle facility, including Mississippi Public Service Commission  approvals and potential U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees; the performance of projects undertaken by the non-utility  businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; internal restructuring or other restructuring  options that may be pursued; potential business strategies, including acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses, which  cannot be assured to be completed or beneficial to Southern Company or its subsidiaries; the ability of counterparties of  Southern Company and its subsidiaries to make payments as and when due and to perform as required; the ability to obtain  new short- and long-term contracts with wholesale customers; the direct or indirect effect on Southern Company's business  resulting from terrorist incidents and the threat of terrorist incidents, including cyber intrusion; interest rate fluctuations and  financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts, including Southern Company's and its subsidiaries' credit  ratings; the impacts of any potential U.S. credit rating downgrade or other sovereign financial issues, including the impacts on  interest rates, access to capital markets, impacts on currency exchange rates, counterparty performance, and the economy in  general, as well as potential impacts on the availability or benefits of proposed U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees; the  ability of Southern Company and its subsidiaries to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices; catastrophic  events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, hurricanes, droughts, pandemic health events such as influenzas, or  other similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on Southern Company's business resulting from incidents affecting the  U.S. electric grid or operation of generating resources; and the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by  standard setting bodies. Southern Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information.

Media Contact:

Southern Company Media Relations

404-506-5333 or 1-866-506-5333

www.southerncompany.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Dan Tucker

404-506-5310

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