POWERGRAMS

Thanks to a diverse fuel mix – one-third coal, one- third gas and one-third clean energy – the company provides great value to customers through reliability and flexibility. Each piece of the generating fleet is incredibly important and plays a specific role in ensuring customer demand is met, he noted. "Now, more than ever, it's important to have a diverse fuel mix," Dillard said. "That serves us very well in winter and summer." The fleet must continue to expand to meet growing electric demand from industrial customers and the residential sector. In 2022, the company acquired Calhoun Generating Facility, with its four dual-fuel combustion turbine units. Alabama Power added Central Alabama Generating Station's combined- cycle units in Billingsley about four years ago and is in the review and certification process of acquiring its sister unit, Lindsay Hill Generating Station, at the same site. In 2023, the company finished construction and brought into service Barry's combined-cycle Unit 8. The company is developing the Gorgas Battery Facility at its former Walker County plant site. Since becoming a winter-peaking utility in the past 10 years, the company also has seen more extreme winter weather events. "Our whole focus around winter and summer performance is continuous improvement," Dillard said. "We constantly capture lessons learned and implement them for the next go-round." Potential growth on horizon Generation works with SCS Resource Planning to determine the potential load forecast, considering what is needed to meet current and future demand. Company tackles growing electric demand with strong assets, training, AI 2 Generation outlook with VP Brandon Dillard Gorgas Battery Facility is set to open by 2027. (Jessica Miller) "It's a fluid picture," Dillard said. "With some large- load customers we're talking to now, it's not like it was 20 years ago. When these companies need load, it's significant. So, we're constantly looking five and 10 years out to figure it out, because if you need a plant four or five years from now, you really need to start now." Meta's new data center being built in Montgomery and other large-load customers will pose a significant, industrywide impact. "It's nontraditional. They talk more in terms of gigawatts than megawatts," Dillard said. "We're looking at these large-load customers as potential for new generation to be built, which is always exciting." Formulating the future Dillard has ensured that well-trained employees are available to run the fleet for years to come. This year, Generation created four new IBEW training analyst jobs to prepare the next cohort of covered employees, and more training roles may be added during the next year. Generation continues to invest in employee expertise that is critical to plant operations, including instrument controls, chemistry, electrical and instrumentation, mechanical and operations. Eleven apprentice classes are ongoing. Generation is using technology, including AI, to ensure top results. Momentum has grown in the past 12 months as Barry and other plants perform test pilots with AI, some of which accelerate learning for entry-level operators. Dillard looks forward to meeting industry challenges. "I'm energized every day. It's a fun, yet complicated time to be in the business," Dillard said. "We've got great options and we're working through it. We have a great team, and we are navigating the challenges together." By Donna Cope We are well-positioned to meet future demand, watching what is coming and figuring out how to adapt. Our Generation fleet allows that flexibility. " " I'm really impressed with the folks we're hiring. We've hired 130 Generation employees during the last two years. " " Senior VP Brandon Dillard is energized every day by the challenges of the electric industry. Photo by Phil Free Every good football team confronts its opponent with strength built through training, planning and resources. Applying strong leadership, Senior Vice President and Senior Production Officer Brandon Dillard is preparing Alabama Power's generating fleet and its employees to meet challenges today and beyond, readying the plants for future demand, and boosting employee skills through training, technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Alabama Power's fleet is a shining gem in the Southern Electric System, commingling vintage assets with newer ones. Older coal- and gas-fired units are combined with newer combustion turbine and natural gas combined-cycle units, vintage hydro dams and a nuclear facility. The state's first utility- scale battery storage facility is set to come online in 2027. While Dillard noted the company is prepared to meet high demand this summer, he said Generation's greatest asset is its more than 1,100 employees, 700 of whom are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). "We have a great partnership with the IBEW," said Dillard, who has worked with Alabama Power and Southern Company for more than 25 years. "They make up the great majority of our workforce. We worked all of 2024 without serious injury, which was a huge accomplishment with the amount of work that goes on, with over 1,100 employees working 24/7, 365 days a year." He said the company's industry-leading reliability is owed to the excellent performance by employees at the generating plants. Employee knowledge, information-sharing fleetwide, proactive actions and technology utilization that may predict where breakdowns could occur are integral to the fleet's success. "Our success comes from our attention to detail, our operators paying attention to alarms, our maintenance team and engineers focusing on maintenance strategy and making sure we're doing the right equipment maintenance," Dillard said.

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