Southern Company Receives DOE Support for Nation's First Nuclear Units in 30 Years

ATLANTA, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southern Company today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered its subsidiary Georgia Power a conditional commitment for loan guarantees for the construction of the nation's first nuclear power units in more than 30 years, a move designed to help spur a renaissance in America's nuclear industry.

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

"We are honored by the administration's confidence in our ability to build the nation's first new nuclear power plant in more than three decades," said Southern Company CEO David Ratcliffe, following an event at which President Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the award. "It's an important endorsement in the role nuclear power must play in diversifying our nation's energy mix and helping to curb greenhouse gas emissions."

President Obama and Secretary Chu announced the commitment for the loan guarantees at a news conference held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 in Lanham, Md. Ratcliffe was joined at the event by Georgia Power CEO Mike Garrett, Southern Company COO Tom Fanning, Southern Nuclear CEO Jim Miller and Southern Company Executive Vice President Chris Womack.