Southern Company Raises Dividend Rate Eighth Straight Year; Annual Rate Goes to $1.75...

Southern Company Raises Dividend Rate Eighth Straight Year; Annual Rate Goes
to $1.75 Per Share

ATLANTA, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company said today it is
increasing its annual dividend rate by 4.2 percent, to $1.75 per share.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080801/SOCOLOGO )

The increase, totaling 7 cents per share on an annual basis, marks the eighth
straight year that Southern Company has raised the dividend on its common
stock.

Southern Company also announced today a regular quarterly dividend - including
an increase of 1 3/4 cents per share on a quarterly basis - of 43 3/4 cents
per share, payable June 6, 2009, to shareholders of record May 4, 2009. This
marks 246 consecutive quarters - dating back to 1948 - that Southern Company
will have paid a dividend to its shareholders.

"Southern Company has provided its investors with an exceptional total return
over the long term, and the dividend is a key component of maintaining that
commitment," said David M. Ratcliffe, chairman, president, and chief executive
officer. "Continuing our tradition of more than 61 years of paying quarterly
dividends is a reflection of our confidence in the long-term viability of our
region's economy and the strength of our business."

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating
capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy
company serving the Southeast. 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 nine consecutive
years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site
at www.southerncompany.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information
based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements
concerning dividend policy and economic growth. Southern Company cautions that
there are certain factors that can cause actual results to differ materially
from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is
cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which
is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of
uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of
Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested
results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those
discussed in Southern Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2008, and subsequent securities filings, could cause results to
differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such
forward-looking information: the impact of recent and future federal and state
regulatory change, including legislative and regulatory initiatives regarding
deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry,
implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, environmental laws including
regulation of water quality and emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury,
carbon, soot, or particulate matter and other substances, and also changes in
tax and other laws and regulations to which Southern Company and its
subsidiaries are subject, as well as changes in application of existing laws
and regulations; current and future litigation, regulatory investigations,
proceedings, or inquiries, including the pending Environmental Protection
Agency civil actions against certain Southern Company subsidiaries, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission matters, Internal Revenue Service audits, and
Mirant matters; the effects, extent, and timing of the entry of additional
competition in the markets in which Southern Company's subsidiaries operate;
variations in demand for electricity, including those relating to weather, the
general economy, population and business growth (and declines), and the
effects of energy conservation measures; available sources and costs of fuels;
effects of inflation; ability to control costs; investment performance of
Southern Company's employee benefit plans; advances in technology; state and
federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and
negotiations, including rate actions relating to fuel and storm restoration
cost recovery; regulatory approvals related to the potential Plant Vogtle
expansion, including Georgia Public Service Commission and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission approvals; the performance of projects undertaken by the
non-utility businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new
opportunities; internal restructuring or other restructuring options that may
be pursued; the ability of counterparties of Southern Company and its
subsidiaries to make payments as and when due and to perform as required; the
ability to obtain new short- and long-term contracts with neighboring
utilities and other wholesale customers; the direct or indirect effect on
Southern Company's business resulting from terrorist incidents and the threat
of terrorist incidents; interest rate fluctuations and financial market
conditions and the results of financing efforts, including Southern Company's
and its subsidiaries' credit ratings; the ability of Southern Company and its
subsidiaries to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices;
catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods,
hurricanes, droughts, pandemic health events such as an avian influenza, or
other similar occurrences; the direct or indirect effects on Southern
Company's business resulting from incidents similar to the August 2003 power
outage in the Northeast; and the effect of accounting pronouncements issued
periodically by standard setting bodies. Southern Company and its subsidiaries
expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking information.

SOURCE Southern Company

Media, Terri Cohilas, +1-404-506-5333, +1-866-506-5333,
media@southerncompany.com, or Investor Relations, Glen Kundert,
+1-404-506-5135, gakunder2@southernco.com