Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000036
Chunk: 5

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 5
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 for your continued confidence in Southern Company.

#### Southern Company2025 Proxy Statement3
Letter from our Independent Directors

Dear Fellow Stockholders:

As independent Directors, we strive to govern Southern Company in a prudent and transparent manner with a commitment to sound governance principles.

Oversight of Strategy and Risk

One of our most important responsibilities is to oversee the strategy of our Company and related opportunities and risks. As the energy industry continues to evolve and as we project significant load growth in our service territories over the coming years, our Company remains committed to developing durable business strategies and supporting policies that facilitate clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy for customers. We continue to believe that companies with a culture that embraces change, engages in healthy debate and encourages innovation will be the most adaptable.

At each Board meeting and during our regular strategy sessions, we contribute to management’s strategic plan by engaging senior leaders in robust discussions about business priorities and long-term opportunities and risks. We work closely with management on advancing our energy portfolio and meeting the projected load growth in our service areas while transitioning our generating fleet for the future. We focus on capital allocation for capacity and grid enhancements to increase reliability and resiliency of the system and improve customer experience and on affordability for customers.

One of the Company’s many achievements in 2024 was the completion of Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle Unit 4. As independent Directors, we have remained diligent in our oversight of this important project. Vogtle Units 3 and 4 are expected to serve customers with carbon-free electricity for the next 60 to 80 years.

Board Refreshment

Board refreshment is governed by robust, evergreen processes focused on aligning the Board's composition with the Company's long-term strategy. In the last three years, we added five new Directors to our Board, most recently Jimmy Etheredge on April 1. Hal Clark will retire from our Board at the upcoming annual meeting. Our Board aims to strike a balance between the knowledge that comes from longer-term service and the new experiences and ideas that come from adding Directors to our Board. We believe in the business value of having a broad range of perspectives in the boardroom, and seek to have the right mix of qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences to address the Company’s current and future needs.

Thank you for the trust you place in us. By helping management address priorities and challenges while maintaining a long-term outlook, we are best able to support our common goal of creating enduring long-term value for customers, employees and stockholders alike. We are grateful for the