Southern Company Celebrates 100 Years, Rings NYSE Opening Bell

ATLANTA, Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Southern Company's 100^th anniversary, Chief Financial Officer Art P. Beattie rang The Opening Bell today at the New York Stock Exchange.

Southern Company was founded on this date in 1912.  Originally called Alabama Traction, Light and Power, the company was founded by James Mitchell, who saw a holding company as key to a planned development of a network of electric generating stations that would one day reach across the southeastern U.S.

Twelve years after its founding, in 1924, Alabama Traction, Light & Power changed its name to Southeastern Power & Light, which was subsequently taken over in 1929 by a new conglomerate, Commonwealth & Southern (C&S). The final step in the company's evolution took place in 1947, when C&S divested itself of its northern utilities and took the name Southern Company, now the largest generator of electricity in the U.S. and among the largest in the world.  The company's complete history was outlined in detail in the recently published book "Big Bets."

"Our founders embodied a unique spirit of vision and innovation, which they used to launch Southern Company's first 100 years," said Thomas A. Fanning, Southern Company chairman, president and CEO. "Now, as we're beginning our second 100 years, that same spirit will continue to fuel our success."

The Opening Bell signals the beginning of trading each business day on the NYSE.  Bells were introduced in the 1870s when continuous trading was instituted. Originally, a gong was used, but bells have been used since the NYSE moved to its current location in 1903.  There is one large bell in each of the NYSE's four trading areas that are operated synchronously from a single control.  In 1995, the NYSE began having special guests ring the bells on a regular basis.

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 is the parent firm of electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications companies. 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.

SOURCE Southern Company