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Earnings for the first quarter included a charge of 26 cents a share related to a settlement agreement with MC Asset Recovery (MCAR) LLC to resolve a lawsuit arising out of the 2003 bankruptcy of Mirant Corp., a Southern Company subsidiary until its 2001 spin-off.

Excluding the impact of the MCAR settlement, Southern Company earned 42 cents a share for the first quarter of 2009, compared with 47 cents a share for the same period in 2008.

As a result of the recession, electricity sales were negatively impacted, especially industrial sales. Other negative drivers included lower revenues from market-response rates offered to commercial and industrial customers and higher asset depreciation primarily associated with increased investment in environmental, transmission and distribution equipment. These investments help the company produce cleaner energy and maintain reliability.

The negative drivers were partially offset by lower operations and maintenance expenses, increased retail rates and revenues associated with the recovery of investments in environmental equipment.

"We continue to provide reliable service at competitive prices, and in this struggling economy we are working to drive even greater efficiency while controlling our costs," said CEO David M. Ratcliffe. "We are confident that the long-term viability of the Southeast remains strong. We continue to execute our strategy and maintain our focus on the fundamentals that have made us successful."

Revenues for the first quarter of 2009 were $3.67 billion, compared with $3.68 billion in the same period a year ago, a decrease of 0.5 percent.

Kilowatt-hour sales to retail customers in Southern Company's four-state service area decreased 6.6 percent in the first quarter, compared with the first quarter of 2008. Residential electricity sales decreased 1.3 percent. Electricity sales to commercial customers decreased 1.3 percent, and industrial sales decreased 16.9 percent.

Total energy sales to Southern Company's customers in the Southeast, including wholesale sales, decreased 8.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period of 2008.

In conjunction with this earnings announcement, Southern Company has posted on its Web site detailed financial information on its first quarter 2009 performance. These materials are available at http://investor.southerncompany.com/events.cfm.

Southern Company's financial analyst call will be at 1 p.m. Eastern time April 29, at which time Ratcliffe and Chief Financial Officer Paul Bowers will discuss earnings and earnings guidance as well as a general business update. Investors, media and the public may listen to a live Webcast of the call at http://investor.southerncompany.com/events.cfm. A replay of the Webcast will be available at the site for 12 months.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company 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 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 http://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 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.