Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-21
Form Type: PX14A6G
Source: 0001214659-25-006174
Chunk: 2

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-21
Form: PX14A6G
Chunk 2
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ess risk and have a reasonable basis to confirm that the Company’s decisions to commit billions of dollars to long-term, high
carbon infrastructure investments is reasonable. For instance, access to core assumptions will enable investors to evaluate whether Southern
has appropriately accounted for declining renewable energy costs, evolving market trends, regulatory shifts, and implications of different
energy resources on the Company’s GHG trajectory. Without such information, it is difficult for investors to understand whether
Southern’s energy transition strategy is aligned with industry best practices and whether its capital allocation decisions are financially
sound.

| 2. | Southern’s proposed high carbon investments appear out of touch with customer needs, technology developments, and climate-related 
 concerns.                                                                                                                         |

The Proposal’s request for increased transparency is shared
by Microsoft, a large-load customer of Southern. In its intervention response to Georgia Power’s 2023 IRP, “Microsoft recommends
that [Georgia Power Company] incorporate transparency into how scenarios are structured and how results are used for decision-making.”
Microsoft, which intervened in the Georgia Power IRP proceeding under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), has also challenged the core
assumptions behind the utility’s scenario analyses stating that “several of Georgia Power Company’s modeling assumptions
undervalue renewable energy’s contribution to meeting energy and capacity needs and resource adequacy on Georgia Power Company’s
system. This undervaluation then results in overbuilding carbon-intensive resources that may otherwise not be necessary.”

_____________________________

4 “2025 IRP Resource Mix Study”. Figure 5.https://psc.ga.gov/search/facts-document/?documentId=221233

5 https://psc.ga.gov/search/facts-document/?documentId=218199, p.9

6 https://psc.ga.gov/search/facts-document/?documentId=218199

| 2025                                                    
 Proxy Memo                                              
 Southern Co | Disclosing Assumptions Behind High Carbon 
 Investments                                             |

This feedback from a major customer is concerning and erodes investor
confidence in the Company’s decision-making processes. Access to core assumptions should not be limited to only those who formally
participate in an IRP proceeding and sign an NDA; all investors should have access to such basic assumptions to allow them to make informed
assessments. Limiting access to basic planning assumptions through NDAs creates an uneven playing field, undermines transparency, and
prevents the broader investor community from making fully informed decisions about the long-term risks and opportunities associated with
its plans to expand gas capacity and delay