Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000036
Chunk: 64

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 64
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 makes the final decisions with respect to compensation decisions for the executive officers.

4 The CEO does not play any role with respect to decisions impacting his own compensation.

#### Role of the Independent Compensation Consultant
4 The Compensation Committee has retained Pay Governance LLC as its independent executive compensation consultant. Pay Governance reports directly to the Compensation Committee. A representative of Pay Governance attends meetings of the Compensation Committee, as requested, and communicates with the Compensation Committee Chair between meetings.

4 Pay Governance provides various executive compensation services to the Compensation Committee pursuant to a written consulting agreement with the Compensation Committee. Generally, these services include advising the Compensation Committee on the principal aspects of our executive compensation program and evolving industry practices and providing market information and analysis regarding the competitiveness of our program design and our award values in relation to the executives’ performance.

4 In 2024, Pay Governance provided an annual competitive evaluation of target total compensation for the NEOs. Additionally, the Compensation Committee relies on Pay Governance to provide information and advice on executive compensation and related corporate governance trends throughout the year. Pay Governance provided no services to Company management during 2024.

4 The Compensation Committee retains authority to hire Pay Governance directly, approve its compensation, determine the nature and scope of its services, evaluate its performance and terminate its engagement. The Compensation Committee has assessed the independence of Pay Governance pursuant to the listing standards of the NYSE and SEC rules and concluded that Pay Governance is independent and that no conflict of interest exists that would prevent Pay Governance from serving as an independent consultant to the Compensation Committee.

#### 62Southern Company2025 Proxy Statement

### Compensation Discussion and Analysis
Prohibition on Hedging and Pledging of Common Stock

Our insider trading policyincludes an “anti-hedging” provision that prohibits Directors and employees (including officers) and certain of their related persons (such as certain of their family members and entities they control) from purchasing or selling, or making any offer to purchase or sell, derivative securities relating to securities of the Company or its subsidiaries. The policy specifies examples of covered derivative securities, including exchange-traded options to purchase or sell securities of the Company or its subsidiaries (so-called “puts” and “calls”) or financial instruments, that are designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market value of securities of the Company or its subsidiaries (including but not limited to prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds).

Our insider trading policy also includes a “no pledging” provision that prohibits pledging of our stock for all Southern Company executive officers and Directors.

#### Equity