Southern Company - History

History

Southern Company can be traced back to the mid-1920s, when Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power became an interconnected system under a holding company known as Southeastern Power & Light. In 1930, Southeastern Power & Light merged into the Commonwealth & Southern Corporation to form a system that included five Northern companies and six Southern companies. However, in the late 1940s Commonwealth & Southern was dissolved to meet the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Four of the Southern companies—Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power—were deemed to be an integrated system and thus were allowed to remain under common ownership, this time under a new holding company—Southern Company. The new holding company was incorporated in Delaware on November 9, 1945 and moved to Georgia in 1950. The year 1949 saw Southern Company's first full year of operation. In 1954-55, the company was involved in the Dixon-Yates contract with the Atomic Energy Commission, and the associated political controversy.

In 1981, Southern Company became the first electric utility holding company in 46 years to diversify its operations by forming an unregulated subsidiary. In January 1982, Southern Energy, Inc., began official operations as a global energy company, growing to serve 10 countries on four continents. On April 2, 2001, Southern Company completed the spinoff of Southern Energy as Mirant Corporation.

Another Southern Company subsidiary—Southern Nuclear—began providing services in 1991 to the system's nuclear power plants.

In 1996, Southern Communications Services began providing digital wireless communications services to Southern Company's subsidiaries and also began marketing these services to the public within the Southeast as Southern LINC. Southern Telecom, a telecommunications subsidiary of Southern Company was founded in 1997. Southern Telecom provides colocation and dark fiber optic lines to network businesses.

On January 9, 2001, Southern Company received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to form Southern Power, a subsidiary to own, manage and finance wholesale generating assets in the Southeast. The new subsidiary targets wholesale customers.

On July 19, 2002, Southern Company Gas received certification from the Georgia Public Service Commission to enter the retail gas market. After nearly four years of operations, the company was sold and customers transferred to Cobb EMC's newly formed affiliate, Gas South.