Southern history

BECO's owner, the Electric Bond & Share Company of New York, put it up for sale in 1950 after the SEC ordered Electric Bond & Share to divest its holdings.

In 1956 the company organized Southern Electric Generating Company (SEGCO), as a cooperative venture between Georgia Power and Alabama Power.

When Yates died in October 1957, McManus became chairman of the board.

Built on the Coosa River near Wilsonville, Alabama, and completed in 1962, the plant consisted of four 250,000-kilowatt units as well as two fully mechanized coal mines.

First owned jointly by the four operating subsidiaries, Southern Company Services became a directly owned subsidiary in 1963.

In 1969 it had 21 steam-electric plants and 30 hydroelectric power projects.

As president and, later, chairman he served until June 1971.

In January 1982, Southern Energy, Inc., began official operations as a global energy company, growing to serve 10 countries on four continents.

In 1985 Southern had pledged not to pass through to ratepayers any more than $3.56 billion, which was then its share of the $8.35 billion estimated total cost of the Vogtle plant, which also had several smaller utilities as investors.

In 1989 it also began investigating whether executives at Gulf Power had made illegal political contributions.

The year 1990 brought another disappointment as Georgia regulators refused to allow Southern to charge customers for a portion of its investment in the Vogtle nuclear plant.

Another Southern Company subsidiary—Southern Nuclear—began providing services in 1991 to the system's nuclear power plants.

Southern Telecom, a telecommunications subsidiary of Southern Company, was founded in 1997.

In 1999 Southern established a marketing operation in Amsterdam, with the goal of exploring potential growth areas in central Europe.

In 2000 Southern Company participated in the Alabama Direct Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, an effort to develop cleaner power generation through electrochemical technology.

On January 9, 2001, Southern Company received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to form Southern Power, a subsidiary to own, manage and finance wholesale generating assets in the Southeast.