2022 Sustainability Summary - Flipbook - Page 13
Spotlight:
Winter Storm Elliott
During the Christmas weekend of 2022, Winter
Storm Elliott brought historic, extended frigid
temperatures across the Southeast that were
20 to 30 degrees below normal in cities across
our footprint, including Atlanta, Birmingham and
Gulfport. Southern Company’s ability to reliably deliver
energy to customers when they needed it most was
underpinned by the vertically integrated model for our
electric utilities that incorporates year-round extreme
weather preparedness, winterization design standards
and a diverse fuel mix. Our solid operational planning
and execution, supported by constructive regulatory
policy and measures, facilitated resilient operations for
our electric and gas utilities.
Teams across the Southern Company system worked
tirelessly 24/7 to reliably serve customers, safely
restoring service for approximately 390,000 customers
in the wake of strong winds that entered our service
territory ahead of the weekend. Despite extreme
conditions, our system retained sufficient reserves
throughout the event and served a historic hourly
December peak load Christmas Eve morning.
The skill and dedication of our employees – combined
with prudent reliability-focused investments,
procedures, communications and training – were
reflected in our effective response to Winter Storm Elliott.
→ Georgia Power crews dealt with wind gusts of
more than 50 mph and, during the peak days of
the storm, restored service to almost 300,000
13 2022 Sustainability Summary
customers. The Customer Care team also engaged
with approximately 60,000 individual customers
while restoration efforts were underway.
→ More than 50 Mississippi Power employees and
contractors answered a mutual assistance call to
help with restoration in Georgia, volunteering to
leave on Christmas Eve to go to work and help
others.
→ Our Southern Power subsidiary also played an
important role in system resilience, with its fleet of
natural gas generating units achieving a new peak
net generation of 7,005 MW on Dec. 24. Southern
Power’s wind fleet supported customers outside
of the Southeast by maintaining greater than 80%
availability across the four-day event.
→ Southern Company Gas performed exceedingly well
in difficult conditions not only in the Southeast but
also in Illinois, where wind chill conditions in the
Chicagoland area dropped to minus 35 degrees on
Christmas Eve. Record daily volumes were delivered
in Georgia at Atlanta Gas Light, while Nicor Gas in
Illinois achieved its fourth highest delivery volume day.
There were many lessons learned from our Winter
Storm Elliott experience that will drive continuous
improvement and improved preparedness. In addition,
we seek to learn from extreme weather events outside
of our service territory that impact our industry.
