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Southern Company

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Southern Company
Type Public (NYSE: SO)
Headquarters 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. NW
Atlanta, GA 30308
Area served AL, FL, GA, MS
Key people David M. Ratcliffe, CEO
Industry Electric Producer, Distributor, & Utility
Telecommunications
Synthetic Fuels
Products Electricity
Revenue $15.14 billion (2007)[1]
Net income ▲ $1.73 billion (2007)[1]
Employees 26,742 (2007)
Subsidiaries Alabama Power
Georgia Power
Gulf Power
Mississippi Power
Savannah Electric & Power
Southern Power
Southern Nuclear
SouthernLINC Wireless
Southern Telecom
Website SouthernCompany.com

Southern Company (NYSE: SO), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is currently the eighth largest utility company in the world, the second largest in the U.S. and the largest in the southeastern U.S. It owns and operates over 42,000 megawatts of generation capacity and serves 4.3 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. Southern Company’s supply of electricity is predominantly from coal.

Southern Company has been praised for electricity rates about 15% below the national average and its quick response to storm damage repairs, such as helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, many of whom live inside its service territory.[2]

Recent issues which have cast Southern in a less positive light include its stance on global climate change and allegations of violating FERC's Standard of Conduct provisions. Southern Power, the company's wholesale electricity marketing subsidiary, has been accused of showing preferential treatment to Georgia Power Company, another Southern subsidiary, when bidding out wholesale contracts. The company has agreed to pay a fine and strengthen the operational distance between its wholesale and retail companies.

Southern Company successfully opposed a plan to create a national electricity market in 2004 and has dedicated significant money and effort to fighting the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which would require utilities to purchase 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. Southern Company argues that the RPS would raise costs for its customers and that the Southeast region of the U.S. does not have sufficient renewable sources of power. [3]

Many of Southern Company’s power plants were exempted from the Clean Air Act’s 1977 requirements to install modern pollution control equipment because they were built from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 1999 and 2000 the Environmental Protection Agency sued Southern Company, along with seven other utility companies, for failure to comply with a program to improve pollution controls on enlarged or modernized plants.[4]

Contents

Political contributions

Southern Company is one of the largest energy company contributors to both Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress. These contributions total $284,608 to the 110th US Congress (as of the third quarter), the largest of which has been to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for $10,250. Senator Cornyn, for his part, has consistently voted with the coal industry on energy, war and climate bills.[1]

Contributions like this from fossil fuel companies to members of Congress are often seen as a political barrier to pursuing clean energy.

More information on coal industry contributions to Congress can be found at FollowtheCoalMoney.org, a project sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Oil Change International and Appalachian Voices.

Lobbyists

Southern Company spent $13,980,000 on in-house lobbying costs in 2008 and a further $3,650,000 to date in 2009.[5] The registered lobbyists for the first half of 2008 were H. Adam Lawrence, John L. Pemberton, L. Ray Harry, Kyle C. Leach, James M. McCool, Michael J. Riith, Jeanne H. Wolak, S. Lofton Cox, Bruce Edelston, F. Scott Orr, Carl A. Punyko, Stoney G. Burke and Nicholas C. Sellers. The registered lobbyists for the third quarter of 2008 were Lawrence, Pemberton, Harry, Leach, McCool, Riith, Wolak, Cox, Burke, Orr, Punyko and Nicholas C. Sellers. The registered lobbyists for last quarter of 2008 were Lawrence, Pemberton, Harry, Leach, McCool, Riith, Wolak, Cox, Orr and Punyko. The registered lobbyists for the first quarter of 2009 were Pemberton, Harry, Lawrence, Leach, McCool, Riith, Wolak, Burke, Orr, Punyko and Cox.

Southern Company also spent $80,000 on the LTD Group in 2008 and a further $20,000 to date in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyist was Michael Haywood. The registered lobbyists for the first quarter of 2009 were Haywood, Dean Rosen, David Thomas, Jonathan Hoganson and Alex Vogel.

Southern Company also spent $120,000 on Van Scoyoc Associates in 2008 and a further $20,000 to date in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyists were Ray Cole, Bryan Blom and Brooke Earthman McChesney.

Southern Company also spent $590,000 on Bracewell & Giuliani in 2008 and a further $130,000 to date in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyists for the first quarter of 2008 were Scott H. Segal, Lisa Jaeger, Edward Krenik and Jeffrey Holmstead. The registered lobbyists for the second quarters of 2008 through to the first quarter of 2009 were Segal, Jaeger, Krenik, Holmstead, Joshua Zive and E. Dee Martin.

Southern Company also spent $60,000 on Polaris Government Relations in 2008 and a further $20,000 to date in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyists for the first three quarters of 2008 were Daniel J. Gans, Amelia Blackwood and Zack Rimmele. The registered lobbyists for the last quarter of 2008 were Gans and Blackwood. The registered lobbyists for the first quarter of 2009 were Blackwood, Gans and Bryan Cunningham.

Southern Company also spent $30,000 on Polaris-Hutton Group, Llc in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyists were Amelia Blackwood, Bryan Cunningham, Daniel J. Gans, Michael Hutton.

Southern Company also spent $90,000 on Ryan, Phillips, Utrecht & MacKinnon in 2008 and a further $30,000 to date in 2009.[5]The registered lobbyists for 2008 were Thomas Ryan, Matthew Berzok, Jeff MacKinnon, Joe Vasapoli, William Phillips, Doug Nappi and Rodney Hoppe. The registered lobbyists for the first quarter of 2009 were Thomas Ryan, MacKinnon, Vasapoli, Berzok and Nick Kolovos.

Southern Company also spent $30,000 on Balch & Bingham LLP in 2008.[5]The registered lobbyist was M. Stanford Blanton.

Southern Company also spent $60,000 on Barbour Griffith & Rogers in 2008.[5]The registered lobbyists were Loren Monroe, Ed Rogers, G.O. Griffith Jr., Brant Imperatore and Eric Burgeson.

Southern Company also spent $20,000 on C2 Group, LLC in 2008.[5] The registered lobbyists were Jefferies Murray, John Cline, Thomas Crawford, Michael Hanson and Nelson Litterst.

Southern Company also spent $50,000 on Heather Podesta + Partners in 2009.[5] The registered lobbyists were Heather Podesta, Julian Haywood and Eric Rosen.

Total Lobbying expenditures for 2008: $15,030,000
Total Lobbying expenditures to date for 2009: $3,950,000

Compensation

In May 2007, Forbes listed Southern Company CEO David M. Ratcliffe as receiving $3.67 million in total compensation for the latest fiscal year, with a three-year total compensation of $13.18 million. He ranked 25th on the list of CEOs in the Utilities industry, and 349th among all CEOs in the United States.[6]

Power portfolio

Out of its total 49,696 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (4.66% of the U.S. total), Southern produced 53.5% from coal, 25.9% from natural gas, 11.7% from nuclear, 5.2% from hydroelectricity, and 3.7% from oil. Southern owns power plants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia.[7]

EPA releases list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps

In response to demands from environmentalists as well as Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, the EPA made public a list of 44 "high hazard potential" coal waste dumps. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not include an assessment of the likelihood of such an event. Southern Company owns one of the sites, which stores coal combustion waste for the Harllee Branch Generating Plant in Georgia.[8][9] To see the full list of sites, see Coal waste.

Southern Company considering transitions to biomass

On March 19, 2009, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a request from Southern subsidiary Georgia Power to convert its coal-fired Mitchell plant to burn woody biomass. When the transition is completed, Mitchell will be the first biomass plant in Southern Company's fleet and "the largest biomass facility in the United States," according to COO Tom Fanning.[10]

Alabama Power, another Southern affiliate, is also considering a switch to biomass at its coal-fired Gadsden and Barry plants. Southern affiliate Gulf Power is also evaluating co-firing biomass at its Scholz plant near Marianna, Florida.[10]

Southern Company abandons carbon capture and storage project

In December 2009, Southern Company received a $295 million grant from the Department of Energy to retrofit 160MW at the Barry Steam Plant for carbon capture. The company plants to compress and transport the CO2 through a pipeline and store up to one million metric tons per year in deep saline formations. The company will also explore using the captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.[11]

However, on March 1, 2010 it was announced that Southern Company had abandoned its $700 million carbon capture project at the Barry Steam Plant. Company spokesperson Steve Higginbottom said, "It's really about the efficient deployment of resources. Really, we felt it was in the best interest of our customers and shareholders to not move forward with the expanded CCS project at Plant Barry." He added, "The current economic conditions also factored into the decision."[12]

Existing coal-fired power plants

Southern owned 68 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 26,610 MW of capacity - making it the biggest coal energy producer in the U.S. Here is a list of Southern's coal power plants:[7][13][14]

Plant Name State County Year(s) Built Capacity 2007 CO2 Emissions 2006 SO2 Emissions
Scherer GA Monroe 1982, 1984, 1987, 1989 3564 MW 25,300,000 tons 74,205 tons
Bowen GA Bartow 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 3499 MW 20,500,000 tons 206,442 tons
Miller AL Jefferson 1978, 1985, 1989, 1991 2822 MW 20,600,000 tons 53,379 tons
Gaston AL Shelby 1960, 1961, 1962, 1974 2013 MW 12,200,000 tons 130,494 tons
Wansley GA Heard 1976, 1978 1904 MW 11,900,000 tons 96,200 tons
Barry AL Mobile 1954, 1959, 1969, 1971 1771 MW 12,800,000 tons 52,621 tons
Harllee Branch GA Putnam 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 1746 MW 7,551,000 tons 95,990 tons
Yates GA Coweta 1950, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1974 1487 MW 6,095,000 tons 75,476 tons
Gorgas AL Walker 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1972 1417 MW 8,258,000 tons 81,268 tons
Crist FL Escambia 1959, 1961, 1970, 1973 1135 MW 5,737,000 tons 35,614 tons
Victor J. Daniel MS Jackson 1977, 1981 1000 MW 9,094,000 tons 31,767 tons
Hammond GA Floyd 1954, 1955, 1970 953 MW 4,098,000 tons 40,579 tons
Jack Watson MS Harrison 1968, 1973 750 MW 5,075,000 tons 29,113 tons
Jack McDonough GA Cobb 1963, 1964 598 MW 3,213,000 tons 28,835 tons
Greene County AL Greene 1965, 1966 568 MW 3,760,000 tons 37,863 tons
Lansing Smith FL Bay 1965, 1967 340 MW 3,792,000 tons 48,776 tons
Birchwood VA King George 1996 258 MW 0 tons N/A
Kraft GA Chatham 1958, 1961, 1965 208 MW 1,357,000 tons 4,658 tons
McIntosh GA Effingham 1979 178 MW 1,176,000 tons 5,713 tons
Mitchell GA Dougherty 1964 163 MW 443,000 tons 4,938 tons
Gadsden AL Etowah 1949 138 MW 733,000 tons 10,062 tons
Scholz FL Jackson 1953 98 MW 531,000 tons 5,920 tons

In 2006, Southern's 22 coal-fired power plants emitted 165.9 million tons of CO2 (2.75% of all U.S. CO2 emissions) and 1,150,000 tons of SO2 (7.67% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

Alabama Power Company Clean Air Settlement

On April 25, 2006 the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA announced a partial settlement alleging that the Alabama Power Company, a subsidiary of the Southern Company had allegedly violated New Source Review (NSR) provisions of the Clean Air Act at its Miller Steam Plant, a coal-fired power plant.

The EPA announced that its decree will reduce emissions of harmful sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the plant, with costs that will reach $200 million.

"We are pleased that Alabama Power has committed to measures that will reduce the pollution from their plants and contribute to overall improved air quality, and this settlement secures for the citizens of Alabama and downwind states a dramatic and permanent reduction of more than 27,000 tons per year of harmful air pollutants from the James H. Miller, Jr. Plant," said Granta Y, Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "EPA will continue to enforce our nation's environmental laws and bring us closer to ensuring clean air compliance across our nation."

By May 1, 2008, the Miller plant will commence year round operation at both it units in order to reduce emissions. The EPA also noted that in order to "further reduce SO2 emissions into the atmosphere, Alabama Power will purchase and retire $4.9 million worth of SO2 allowances (each allowance is equal to one ton of SO2) under the acid rain trading program of the Clean Air Act, which will reduce SO2 emissions nationwide by an estimated 6,600 tons."

This partial settlement resolves the claim brought to Alabama Power that they allegedly violated NSR requirements by not completing construction of two units at the Miller plant within the time frame required to qualify as "existing" rather and "new" air pollution sources.[15]

Companies Owned by Southern Company

Coal Projects Sponsored by Southern Company

Active

Cancelled

History

In 1947 The Southern Company was created, comprised of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power, and Gulf Power. Southern made its first sale of common stock (1.5 million shares) in December 1949. The 1950s were a period of rapid capital construction, including the construction of four 250,000 kilowatt units and two coal mines on the Coose River, near Wilsonville Alabama. Between 1960 and 1969 sales rose from $317 million to $666 million, net income rose to $94 million from $46 million and dividends increased from 70 cents to $1.15 per share. By 1969, Southern company had 21 steam-electric plants, 30 hydroelectric dams, and had begun a nuclear construction program. The energy crisis of the 1970s did not harm Southern Company, as 84 percent of its electricity came from coal and only 7.5 percent from oil or natural gas. With the deregulation of the utilities industry in the 1990s, Southern Company aggressively pursued mergers and acquisitions, both domestically and abroad, and expanded to become the largest supplier of electricity in the U.S. by the end of the decade. During this time, Southern acquired stakes in utilities in the Bahamas, Trinidad, Tobago, Great Britain, and Germany. In 1997, the company gained control of Consolidated Electric Power Asia (CEPA) and by the end of the 90s, completed a 1,218 megawatt coal-burning facility in the Philippines.[16]

In 1995, Southern bought the British South Western Electricity Board. This was the first purchase of a foreign power corporation by a US power corporation. However, in 2003, SWEB was sold to a French company, EDF Energy.

Top Carbon Dioxide Emitter

As of September 2009 Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) reports that Southern is among the five highest carbon dioxide emitting power companies in the World.[17]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Southern Co., BusinessWeek Company Insight Center, accessed Aug. 2008.
  2. ↑ “Southern Company CEO Shared Details of Successful Hurricane Katrina Response With Senate Committee” Transmission and Distribution World, November 16, 2005
  3. ↑ “Southern Co. takes aim at a renewable-energy bill The Hill, May 8, 2007
  4. ↑ “The Record vs. the Rhetoric” Carrie Teegardin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 8, 2003
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 "Southern Company", Center for Public Integrity, accessed July 2009.
  6. ↑ CEO Compensation: #349 David M Ratcliffe, Forbes.com, May 3, 2007.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.
  8. ↑ Shaila Dewan, "E.P.A. Lists ‘High Hazard’ Coal Ash Dumps," New York Times, June 30, 2009.
  9. ↑ Fact Sheet: Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) - Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings, Environmental Protection Agency, June 2009.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Joseph Romm, Biomassive plans: Southern Company embraces the only affordable way to 'capture' emissions at a coal plant today, Grist, March 19, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Laura Miller gets her clean coal grant," Dallas News, December 4, 2009.
  12. ↑ " Daniel Kessler Treehugger.com March, 1 2010.
  13. ↑ Environmental Integrity Project, Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants, July 2007.
  14. ↑ Dig Deeper, Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed Aug. 2008.
  15. ↑ "Alabama Power Company to Spend More Than $200 Million Under Clean Air Act Settlement," U.S. EPA, April 25, 2006
  16. ↑ Southern Company HistoryFunding Universe
  17. ↑ "5 Highest CO2 Emitting Power Companies in the World" CARMA Website, September 2009

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External Articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Southern Company. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

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