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CUSTOMER SERVICE 1 For the second time in three years, Alabama Power ranks No. 1 overall in the 2016 Southern Company Customer Value Benchmark study. The company also finished first in the Large Business and Residential categories, and fourth in General Business. "Our employees are the foundation of Alabama Power's success," said Alabama Power Chairman, President and CEO Mark Crosswhite. "We are able to rank first among our peers because of our team's relentless commitment to provide the best customer service." Alabama Power received an overall score of 9.02 on a 10-point scale, improving from 8.84 in 2015, when the company finished second by 0.05 points. The company ranked second from 2010 to 2013 and received the top ranking in 2014. "At Alabama Power, all of our employees take personal responsibility for customer satisfaction," said Executive Vice President of Customer Services Greg Barker. "The survey results demonstrate that our team provides unsurpassed service to every customer, whether it's a large or small business or our residential customers." The annual study ranks Southern Company, its four operating companies and 16 peer companies based on customer interviews and survey data. The overall score and ranking is based on a straight average of the scores for each company on the Residential, General Business and Large Business customer segments. The 2016 overall CVB results have Gulf Power finishing second, Southern Company as a whole ranking third, Georgia Power fourth and Mississippi Power fifth. Alabama Power scored 8.88 in the General Business category results released Sept. 9, improving from seventh place in 2015. It was the highest score for the company in five years, with all nine driver scores showing improvement. The survey said Alabama Power has the strongest competitive advantage in Image and Reliability. The drivers and their weights for the 2016 General Business category are: Cost/Energy Efficiency (22 percent), Reliability (18 percent), Image (13 percent), Bill Statement (13 percent), Outage Communication (11 percent), Bill Options (9 percent), Web (6 percent), Customer Service (5 percent) and Telephone Contact (3 percent). Alabama Power No. 1 in overall customer service