Southern Company Ranks 58 on InformationWeek 500

ATLANTA, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company today announced that it has garnered the rank of number 58 on the 2007 InformationWeek 500. The selection was revealed at a gala awards ceremony held as part of the exclusive InformationWeek 500 conference last week in Tucson, Ariz.

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This marks the first time that Southern Company, which ranked second among electric utilities behind Pacific Gas & Electric, has cracked the top 100.

InformationWeek recognized Southern Company for its success on GenVARR(TM) (Generator Volt Ampere Reactive Reserve). GenVARR is a system that samples real-time data from generating plants and calculates the actual -- not estimated -- generator reactive power reserves, allowing system operators to operate the electrical grid in innovative ways to ensure reliability. It was developed through a partnership between Southern Company and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

"It is an honor for Southern Company to receive such an honor from InformationWeek," said Southern Company executive vice president and Shared Services group president Anthony James. "This is a testament of the hard work of the company's Information Technology team and I am very proud that their efforts have been recognized among some of the best in the industry."

"We'd like to extend our sincere congratulations to all InformationWeek 500 honorees. These companies represent today's leading technology innovators, many of whom have joined us this week," said InformationWeek vice president and publisher, John Siefert. "This group has prompted fascinating discussion on some of the most forward looking business technology initiatives to date."

For nearly 20 years, InformationWeek has identified and honored the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual listing. The list is unique among corporate rankings because it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders. Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at http://www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About InformationWeek (http://www.informationweek.com/)

InformationWeek is the leading multimedia Business Technology brand - online sites, magazine, events and research -- providing CIOs and IT decision makers with unique perspective and tools that work in lock step with their decision making process -- from the setting of business strategies to the evaluation and recommendation of technology solutions. Through its cross-media platform, InformationWeek provides editorial content developed by both journalists and CIO and IT peers delivered when and how they want it, 24/7. For Technology Marketers, InformationWeek offers a dynamic portfolio of products to engage and align with the largest, most influential buying audience in the market. This means marketing solutions that target broad audiences (reach), as well as media programs organized by content themes and specific audience segments (composition). The InformationWeek audience of 3 million buyers, includes CIOs, IT executives and business managers who cut across industries, job titles, company sizes and global borders.

About Southern Company

With 4.3 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company is the premier energy company serving the Southeast, one of America's fastest-growing regions. A leading U.S. producer of 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 excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average. Southern Company has been listed the top ranking U.S. electric service provider in customer satisfaction for eight consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at http://www.southerncompany.com/.