Southern Company Announces Plans To Build Electric Generating Plant In Cleveland County, North Carolina

Atlanta, GA - Southern Company recently announced that Southern Power, the subsidiary of Southern Company that acquires, builds, manages and owns generation assets that have been constructed for the wholesale market, will build an electric generating plant near Grover, in southern Cleveland County, North Carolina. The plant will, in part, provide electric power to the company's wholesale customers through long-term contracts with two North Carolina power companies: North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (NCEMC) and North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 (NCMPA1).

The generating plant, to be owned and operated by Southern Power, will consist of four Siemens F Class gas turbine units and will be able to generate approximately 720 megawatts at the summer peak. The units will be built on a portion of the 275-acre site, leaving the potential for future expansion. Initial construction is expected to begin in 2010, with commercial operation of all four units expected in early 2012.

"By using clean and efficient natural gas technology, this project will serve the growing electricity needs in this region for many years," said Ronnie Bates, president of Southern Power. "Through our focus on efficient operations, Southern Power has a proven track record of providing reliable, competitively priced energy to our customers throughout the Southeast. We look forward to working with NCEMC and NCMPA1 in helping meet their energy needs in a cost efficient and environmentally responsible manner."

NCEMC is a generation and transmission cooperative that supplies all or part of the energy needs to the majority of the state's electric cooperatives. North Carolina's electric cooperatives provide energy to 2.5 million people in 93 of 100 counties, primarily in rural parts of the state.

NCMPA1 is a joint action agency comprised of 19 municipalities with a total load of approximately 1,200 megawatts. NCMPA1 has a 75 percent ownership interest in the Catawba Nuclear Station #2 and is active in the wholesale power market. NCMPA1 is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C.

Southern Power is the largest wholesale energy provider in the Southeast, meeting the electricity needs of municipalities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities. Southern Power currently owns and operates more than 7,700 megawatts of generation assets in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

SOURCE: Southern Company