Overview
Southern Company's success is a result of keeping our customers satisfied by delivering reliable, affordable energy and great service. We have consistently been an industry leader in customer satisfaction, but we always strive to be better.
As we continue to expand our smart grid and smart meter technologies, new smart energy management choices for our customers are realized. We're working hard to introduce our customers to cleaner, more economical ways to power homes, commercial businesses and industries. And we're aggressively exploring how we can apply new and proven technologies to everything from electronics and lighting to transportation as we expand our list of convenient and efficient customer offerings.
Energy Efficiency
Our past investments of $70 million to $80 million per year on efficiency and conservation programs for our customers has reduced peak electricity demand by 3,424 megawatts, which is enough electricity to power about half a million homes. We plan to invest $1 billion by 2020 to reduce peak demand by another 1,000 megawatts. We continue to explore and develop new opportunities to enhance our customers’ experience through Smart Choices, while keeping prices as low as possible.
Pricing Options
We have long been on the leading edge of offering customers a voice in their energy usage. We're offering lower night-time rates so that our residential customers can more economically run appliances and pool pumps, and charge their electric vehicles overnight.
Energy-Efficient Technologies
We continue to explore new technologies as we search for more high-efficiency customer offerings. Among our demonstrations are heat pump water heaters, low-wattage LED street and area lighting, and state-of-the-art appliances that use significantly less energy and water.
Electric Transportation
For more than a decade, Southern Company has worked with auto manufacturers to understand the use of electricity as a transportation fuel and its impact on the grid. We're helping develop industry standards and evaluating plug-in electric vehicles — hybrid and total electric — and charging technologies for use in our operations.