Southern Company's Vision
Michael Buteau is Brand Communicator at Southern Company.
For leading energy providers like Southern Company, affordability has long been an essential part of doing business. After all, when energy is not affordable, customers suffer, businesses are at risk, and economic growth opportunities go elsewhere.
Meeting customer needs is and has been the Atlanta-based company’s North Star. While it starts with affordability, energy must also be clean, safe, and reliable. All these pillars need to be in harmony to allow for the delivery of resilient and consistent energy that can stimulate and drive economic growth, all while providing an essential service to customers large and small.
Moreover, at the highest level, Southern Company has always positioned itself as a long-term value proposition. That position has served the company and its customers well for more than a century.
Being able to do all those things – and do them well – is what effectuates the long-term value. This means you must manage the company while effectively working with regulators, not just to meet investors’ demands for the quarter, but to also meet the long-term needs of customers.
“Affordable electricity and natural gas improve quality of life,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. “When energy is affordable, it becomes more accessible to a broader range of customers, which in turn stimulates economic growth and associated opportunities to build businesses, grow workforces, and drive innovation.”
Strategic Growth Partner
Georgia Power leaders joined elected officials from the Georgia Public Service Commission to mark commercial operation of the Mossy Branch Battery Facility, the company’s first grid-connected battery energy storage system (BESS). From left, Georgia PSC Vice-Chair Tim Echols, Georgia Power SVP Rick Anderson, Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene, Georgia Commissioner Fitz Johnson.
The economy cannot grow without energy. Southern Company takes seriously its role as a catalyst of economic growth for its region, and, by extension, the nation. For that reason, the company continues to invest in new technology and new resources to meet the changing energy needs of its customers and communities.
The regulated utility model that Southern Company has successfully operated under for more than one hundred years rightly asks the energy provider to serve as an instrument for constructive public policy and a platform for economic activity. Maintaining affordability while making these investments requires several components:
A positive and proactive working relationship with regulators and stakeholders to keep affordability at the forefront as the energy system changes and evolves to meet the needs of existing and future customers;
The ability to access low-cost capital from capital markets; and
Long-term planning of the system to meet current needs and plan for the future.
Recent business developments in the Southern Company territory serve as a case in point. Prominent auto manufacturers have established major electric vehicle and battery operations across the Southeast.
The region also has become increasingly attractive to data centers because energy providers like Southern Company have the ability to supply their energy needs through collaborative work with policymakers and regulators. For example, Alabama Power played a crucial role in bringing Meta’s eight hundred-million-dollar data center and one hundred jobs to Montgomery. In January, it was announced that Mississippi Power will supply approximately five-hundred megawatts of power to a hyperscale campus featuring eight data centers in Meridian, MS.
“The projected historic growth across our service territory presents incredible opportunities for both our company and the communities we serve,” Womack continued. “We will continue to challenge ourselves to approach these opportunities with a vision of innovation and collaboration, always keeping our customers at the center of all we do.”
Building the Future of Energy
Having a diversified generation portfolio is crucial to maintaining affordability, reliability, and resiliency for customers.
“We recognize the essential need for energy and are committed to working with regulators to make sure our customers have the energy they require to grow and prosper,” Womack added. “We must continue to utilize all the existing resources in this country, making sure that the needs of customers are top of mind from an affordability, reliability, resiliency, and sustainability standpoint. Making sure we’re balancing all those needs as we think about energy policy and minimizing impacts to the community.”
With an all-of-the-above energy strategy, the company continues to invest, grow, and build across an expanding range of energy projects. In addition to the recent completion of Units 3 and 4 at the Plant Vogtle nuclear plant, Southern Company, along with partner Kinder Morgan, is investing in the expansion of Southern Natural Gas (SNG) Company’s South System 4 pipeline. The expansion would increase SNG’s South Line capacity by approximately 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, helping to meet the region’s growing energy demands.
This past November, Georgia Power, in partnership with the Georgia PSC, brought into commercial operation its first battery storage operation. The Mossy Branch Battery Facility is a sixty-five-megawatt grid-connected storage solution that can be deployed back to the grid. At the same time, in concert with its regulators, Southern Company has committed to growing its renewable footprint.
Looking ahead, through collaborative research with the U.S. government, national laboratories, universities, research organizations, other utilities and industry, Southern Company’s R&D team drives energy innovation that will enable customers and communities to thrive as the world’s energy needs change.
To accomplish this, the company leads the U.S. utility industry in the development, funding, and demonstration of innovative technologies necessary to provide clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy. R&D efforts include next-generation hydrogen technologies that could potentially be used in areas such as transportation, manufacturing and chemical and industrial applications, and increased use of renewable natural gas.
Continual Improvement
Affordability is not just central to economic growth; it is imperative to manage the energy burdens of individuals and families, particularly for low-income households.
Southern Company actively encourages and provides incentives for customers to use energy more wisely and remains dedicated to helping its residential customers find ways to save money and energy. The company also partners with community-based organizations, nonprofits, houses of worship, and government-funded programs and services to assist those in need. This ensures that more customers can benefit from reliable energy services without financial strain.
One thing Southern Company will never do is rest on its accomplishments. “There is always more we can be doing,” Womack says.
Focusing on affordability, while also remaining resilient and reliable, is the dynamic that has kept Southern Company thriving for over a century. It is a vision that constantly evolves to meet the needs of the customers of today and the customers of tomorrow; supporting customers’ financial well-being, serving as a key driver to economic growth, and maintaining a positive relationship with the communities it serves.
Lead image: Southern Company CEO Chris Womack celebrated the startup of Vogtle Unit 4 in Waynesboro, Georgia, on May 3, 2024.
