ATLANTA, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Electricity
use in America has grown five times faster than other energy
sources over the past four decades. That means delivering clean,
safe, reliable and affordable power is no longer an aspiration – it
is a necessity. That is why Southern Company has announced the
creation of a new hub that will help the company deliver the
solutions its customers need for today – and for tomorrow.
"Our customers are looking for solutions, and they want a
partner who can make their lives, their quality of life better,"
said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "It is through cutting-edge
innovation – solutions that improve our lives every day – that we
can create better, more efficient ways to deliver power and help
solve some of the challenges our customers face."
In the coming months, Southern Company's hub – to be known as
the Energy Innovation Center and located in Atlanta's Technology Square – will look for
better, more reliable and more efficient ways to increase value for
customers through products and services. Among the first ideas to
be tested: those submitted by Southern Company system employees for
a companywide competition aimed at harnessing the power of
employees' innovation and collaboration to address future energy
challenges.
"Our employees understand what our customers want; they serve
them every day. Their ideas will help deliver an energy future that
is clean, safe, reliable and affordable," continued Fanning. "What
better place to make those ideas come to life than our new hub in
the heart of Georgia's technology
sector? We are excited about the
possibilities."
Southern Company will seek partnerships with leading Southeast
universities and other strategic partners to be named in the coming
months.
"With a strong and stable economy fueled by Fortune
500 companies, leading technology innovators and respected
universities, Atlanta is an ideal
home for creating real solutions to America's energy challenges,"
Fanning added.
The Energy Innovation Center will become a place where ideas,
innovation, and investment will intersect to develop a better
customer experience. And it is a perfect complement to the nearly
$2 billion investment the Southern
Company system has managed in robust, proprietary research and
development since 1970, helping to improve the ways it produces and
delivers electricity to customers.
With more than 4.5 million customers and approximately 46,000
megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is
the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its
subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and
affordable 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 energy innovation, excellent customer service,
high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the
national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading
the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the
first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans
and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through
the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant.
Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of
Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a
top military employer, listed by DiversityInc as a top company for
Blacks and designated a 2013 Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic
Network. The company received the Edison Award from the Edison
Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development,
was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year
for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in
Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas
Utility rankings. Visit our website at
www.southerncompany.com.
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SOURCE Southern Company