2022 Sustainability Summary - Flipbook - Page 12
Customers at the Center of Our Energy Transition
As Southern Company’s businesses evolve, driven by changing economics, customer demand for cleaner energy
resources and our net zero objective, it is imperative that we understand the operating characteristics and
complexity of a shifting energy mix. We are leveraging both internal and external analyses to help ensure we are
well-positioned to meet the needs of our customers.
For our electric utilities, this means working to ensure reliability, resilience and affordability as we transition
our generating fleet to lower-carbon sources and deploy advanced, modern technologies and materials across our
electrical grid. We are making substantial investments in projects designed to minimize customer disruption under
routine and extreme weather conditions.
→ In 2022, all transmission line construction projects at Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power were
built with concrete or steel structures to enhance resilience and to better withstand severe weather impacts.
→ Our operating companies have also invested in fiber infrastructure and automation to create self-healing
networks that are improving performance and the customer experience.
→ We estimate our electric utilities will invest nearly $16 billion over the next five years (2023-2027) on grid
improvement projects that include capital maintenance and infrastructure replacement, storm hardening,
cyber and physical security and undergrounding. Many of our transmission and distribution projects are
expected to help facilitate the addition of zero carbon resources.
Holistic Approach to Energy Transition
Industry Initiatives
EPRI Climate READi
EPRI and GTI Energy
Low-Carbon Resources
Initiative
National Electric
Highway Coalition
Internal Analysis
External Expertise
Resource and energy
adequacy assessments
Leverage existing expertise
and methodologies
Cost effective
decarbonization efforts
Provide local climate data
Fleet resilience
enhancements
Challenge internal
assumptions
For our gas utilities, we continuously monitor and conduct regular inspections of our systems to help ensure
safety, security, reliability and resilience, even under times of stress – sustainability is not separate but an
extension of these core objectives. Our proactive infrastructure modernization and leak detection and repair
efforts are a critical step toward toward Southern Company’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
→ Because of the dedicated efforts of our team to replace legacy infrastructure with state-of-the-art corrosionresistant pipes, as of the end of 2022, none of the distribution pipeline in our system consisted of cast or wrought
iron steel, and only 0.2% was unprotected steel main. Pipeline replacement is recognized today as having the single
most significant impact on methane emissions reductions in the industry’s distribution segment.
→ We are expanding our use of technologies, including drones, satellites, stationary monitors and artificial
intelligence-enabled cloud computing platforms, to better detect leaks and measure emissions. We continue
to deploy Advanced Leak Detection Technology as part of the core approach for performing safety and
compliance surveys in our business districts.
→ We have been steadily replacing aging gas transmission equipment and compressor facilities, which improves
efficiency and reliability while also decreasing methane emissions.
12 2022 Sustainability Summary
