Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000032
Chunk: 101

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 101
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 bids to narrow the pricing gap. Consequently, our operating subsidiaries could potentially pay higher prices to these suppliers than they otherwise would have paid, ultimately harming both our operating subsidiaries and our customers. The public disclosure of trade secret information sought by this proposal is contrary to the best interests of our customers and our stockholders.

Notably, the trade secret data sought by the proposal is already available to both our regulators and third-party “intervenors” in the IRP process – such as consumer protection organizations, large customers and customer advocacy groups, energy efficiency advocates, community representatives and environmental advocacy groups – enabling them to advocate for their policy positions. Critically, intervenors must enter into non-disclosure arrangements to protect Southern's trade secrets from competitors and third-party suppliers.

Southern believes that several assertions made by the proponent do not properly characterize the current market and policy landscapes.

In addition to requesting trade secret information that could hinder our ability to provide affordable energy to our customers, the proposal’s supporting statement makes several assertions regarding Southern’s decarbonization pathways, customer demand and peer disclosures that we believe fail to appreciate the dynamic nature of the current market and policy landscapes. For example, we believe the third-party modeling of our GHG emissions trajectory that is cited by the proponent fails to reflect our pending state regulatory proceedings, an evolving policy landscape and outstanding requests for proposal for incremental generating resources to meet increased projected load growth. We see no evidence of customer demand waning in our electric service territories. As noted in Southern’s earnings call on February 20, 2025, the Company has an economic development pipeline from large electric load customers, including data centers and large manufactures, of over 50 gigawatts of potential incremental load by the mid-2030s with 10 gigawatts already committed. Finally, the supporting statement mentions peer companies with varying levels of disclosure for system planning and GHG emissions reductions. Utilities operating in other jurisdictions, including the ones mentioned by the proponent, are subject to different regulatory aims, standards and disclosure requirements than those applicable to our operating subsidiaries.

Accordingly, the additional disclosures sought by this proposal are unnecessary, inadvisable and not in the best interests of the Company or its stockholders.

| The Board recommends a voteAGAINSTthe proposal. |

#### Item 7: Conduct a Net Zero Audit
Steven Milloy, 12309 Briarbush Lane, Potomac, Maryland, 20854, as authorized agent of New Breeze, 12309 Briarbrush Lane, Potomac