Southern Company earns national recognition as a top military employer

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May 22, 2015, 09:00 ET

ATLANTA, May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company has been recognized by three publications as a top employer for both active duty and veteran military personnel. Southern Company was also among those recently recognized by Joining Forces, an initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to support the hiring and education of veterans and military families.

Southern Company received the following awards:

"Best for Vets Employer" by Military Times EDGE for the sixth consecutive year
"Most Valuable Employer (MVE) for Military^®" by CivilianJobs.com
Top 10 Companies for Veterans by DiversityInc – the only energy company recognized

"There is no greater honor than serving our nation in uniform," said President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company Services Mark S. Lantrip. "The values our military hold in esteem match the attributes we seek in our employees throughout the Southern Company system. Veterans are an important part of our diverse workforce, and these awards are a reflection of our company's long-standing commitment to the military."

Ten percent of Southern Company's 26,000 employees – and 15 percent of new hires in the first quarter of 2015 – are veterans, guardsmen or reservists.

Military Times EDGE surveyed companies across the country with a detailed questionnaire about their recruiting and hiring policies, training opportunities for veterans and pay and benefits for veterans, reservists and their families.

Open to all U.S.-based companies, CivilianJobs.com selected the 2015 MVEs for Military^® winners based on surveys in which employers outlined their recruiting, training and retention plans that best serve military service members and veterans.

In its third year, the DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Veterans ranking showcases companies that initiate a variety of veteran-focused workplace practices, including recruiting and promoting veterans, offering employee resource groups and providing accommodations for spouses of veterans.

As part of its commitment to veterans, Southern Company is also a founding partner of the Troops to Energy Jobs program, a recruiting source that links veterans to job openings in the energy industry, and actively recruits members of the Navy as a Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program partner. In addition, Southern Company annually participates in more than 30 military recruitment events and partners with military transition centers across the country.

With more than 4.5 million customers and approximately 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable 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 energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks and designated a 2014 Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company received the Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

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SOURCE Southern Company