POWERGRAMS

SO Prize Top 20 Alabama Power employees and their big ideas are well-represented among the SO Prize Top 20 finalists. Eight of the 20 teams include Alabama Power employees who presented ideas in Southern Company's first energy innovation competition. More than 14,400 employee votes were cast to help select 10 of the Top 20 ideas from nearly 1,000 ideas submitted. The other 10 ideas were selected by a review panel of executives from Southern Company Services, Alabama Power and Georgia Power, as well as an external consultant. The finalist idea topics from Alabama Power contributors are: EMPLOYEE VOTE SELECTIONS • SoConnected – James Young, financial analyst, Regulatory Planning; Team – Nick Sellers, vice president, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Bryan Anderson (SCS), Noel Black (SCS), Jeanne Wolak (SCS), Stoney Burke (SCS), Hannah Flint (SCS), Ray Harry (SCS), Adam Lawrence (SCS), Jim McCool (SCS), Mike Riith (SCS), Jolie Luu (SCS), Josh Roll (SCS), John Smola, team leader, Regulatory Pricing, and George Stegall, rate specialist, Regulatory Pricing • Making Smart Meters Smarter; Unleash the Power of AMI – Derl Rhoades, system development and support manager, Power Delivery; Team – Susan Gamble, team leader, Regulatory Pricing, and Jesalyn McCurry, financial analyst, Regulatory Planning • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Inspection and Patrol – Paul Schneider (GPC); Team – Patrick Norris (SCS), Matt Clarkson, survey support specialist, Transmission Line Services, Renato Salvaleon (GPC) and Drew McGuire (SCS) • The Gift of Power (APC, GPC, FPC, MPC) – Pam Garner (SCS); Team – TaShawn Mathews, accounting supervisor, Power Delivery, and Heather Land, Power Delivery payroll and accounting clerk • Software Tool for Project Development at the Business Unit Level – John Banger, planning and engineering manager, Fossil Generation, Gorgas Steam Plant; Team – Charles Ivey, IT specialist, Miller Steam Plant • Always On – Beyond 99 Percent Reliability with Standby Generation – Shiloh Lay, project manager, Resource Planning and Operations; Team – Howard Smith, marketing manager, Resource Planning and Operations, Marie Thompson, market specialist, Maria Burke, Energy and Revenue Forecast manager, Liz Philpot, marketing resources manager, Renewable Resources, Dino Sfakianos, retail energy and demand forecaster, Nick Whatley, market specialist, Energy and Revenue Forecast, Sandra McCain, administrative assistant, Renewable Resources, David Brand, market specialist, Mike Marler, retail energy and demand forecaster, and Larry Evans, marketing specialist, Resource Planning and Operations. REVIEW PANEL SELECTIONS • SoCommunities – Aaron Latham, assistant to vice president, Public Relations; Team – John Hudson, vice president, Public Relations and Charitable Giving, Nick Sellers, vice president, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Tony Smoke, vice president, Marketing, Anthony Oni, technology and business practices manager, Technology and Budget, and James Young, financial analyst, Regulatory Planning • Electric Vehicle Sales and Leasing Concierge Program – John Socha (SCS); Team – Jamie Sandford, market specialist, Marketing Service, and Blair Farley (SCS). Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning said the selection committee determined there were six ideas worthy of recognition even though they did not become finalists. Two honorable mentions had Alabama Power contributions: • Southern Grown – SoCo Technology Incubation Center – Chris Gray (SCS); Team – Scott Bishop, crew foreman, Varnons Crew Headquarters, Rick Ranhotra (GPC) and Wayne Pettyjohn (GPC) • Gateway to Distributed Generation – Solar PV Backup/Emergency Power – Julia Green (SCS); Team – Matthew Montz (SNC), Casey Groce (SNC), Johnathan Warren, engineer, Metro South-Pelham, and Will Hobbs (SCS). Fanning announced the winners at Southern Company headquarters. The event was simulcast to an audience at Alabama Power. Jamie Sandford joined Fanning on the stage in Atlanta to talk about what it's like to submit an idea for the SO Prize. Sandford said the contest has revealed the quality of ideas found among Southern Company employees. "Sometimes if you just ask people, they come up with all kinds of things," he said. Susan Gamble and Jesalyn McCurry were in the Birmingham audience when they learned their team's idea had made the Top 20. "I'm so excited," McCurry said. "We felt like we had a great idea because so many people told us we did, but it's great to be in the Top 20." "There are so many great finalists," Gamble said. "It truly is an honor to be in that group." The Top 5 will be named after employee voting later this year. By Mike Tomberlin INNOVATION 3 A L A B A M A P OW E R E M P LOY E ES W E L L - R E P R ES E N T E D I N C O N T ES T

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