Southern Company Recognized As Nation’s Most Transparent Utility

<p style="text-align: center;"><i>Southern Company also ranked sixth for overall corporate disclosure and second for Best Investor Relations Website</i></p>
<p>Southern Company was named the top utility in transparency in the 2020 U.S. Transparency Awards, sponsored by Labrador, a global communications firm specializing in regulated disclosure documents. Southern Company ranked sixth for overall corporate disclosure.</p>
<p>The rankings compared the efficacy of corporate disclosure documents among the top S&amp;P 250 companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, as determined by market capitalization.</p>
<p>Southern Company also ranked second for Best Investor Relations Website. The investor relations website for each company clearly identifies a Sustainability or Corporate Responsibility section that is accessible from the IR homepage and also gives readers access to the company’s latest earnings presentations and current bylaws.</p>
<p>“It is a tremendous honor for Southern Company to be recognized for excellence in our corporate disclosure communications,” said Jim Kerr, executive vice president, chief legal officer and chief compliance officer for Southern Company. “We take great pride in producing clear and comprehensive disclosures that address the information investors are seeking and are also easy for shareholders to access and understand.”</p>
<p>The U.S. Transparency Awards focus on the criteria of accessibility, accuracy, comparability and availability. Rankings were determined through review of annual proxy statements, annual reports on Form 10-K, investor relations websites, and, for the first time, codes of conduct.</p>
<p>&quot;Each year the Transparency Awards criteria evolve and become more specific as the needs of the investor community grow. More than 32,000 data points were collected and reviewed to determine this year’s winners and overall ranking,&quot; says Molly Doran, director of advisory &amp; design services at Labrador. &quot;By analyzing disclosure based on the four pillars of transparency, we are able to demonstrate the extent of a company’s commitment to improving the quality and completeness of information that is available to investors. These rankings should encourage companies to adapt and innovate how they communicate to their shareholders.&quot;</p>