Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-21
Form Type: PX14A6G
Source: 0001214659-25-006174
Chunk: 3

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-21
Form: PX14A6G
Chunk 3
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 coal retirements. Specifically, investors seek information on whether the Company has carefully
evaluated risks and opportunities. The following provide examples of core disclosures important to investors:

| · | Demand projections. While there has been much public discussion of                                                                        
 significant new energy demand associated with AI, technology companies are in an intense race to dominate the AI market. Projections of   
 demand may be significantly overestimated by likely AI providers; or Southern’s own projections of its role in providing for such         
 needs may be overly optimistic. For example, Microsoft has already cancelled over two gigawatts of data center capacity it was in the     
 process of leasing.7 Additionally, rapid advancements in AI efficiency, cooling technology, and cloud optimization could significantly    
 reduce future energy consumption. Demand forecasts are important to assess whether the Company is overbuilding high carbon infrastructure 
 or whether it is retaining the trust of regulators. To the extent Southern has overestimated demand, it may risk undermining regulatory   
 confidence and make it more difficult to secure approval for future investments.                                                          |

The technology industry has over projected energy demand
in the past. During the internet boom at the turn of the century, some were estimating that information technology would constitute 50%
of U.S. energy demand, yet data center demand actually accrued to 2% of total energy demand in 2020. While Southern is experiencing
very real demand growth, if energy demand specifically from AI and data centers falls short, Southern could be left with underutilized,
high-cost fossil fuel assets, burdening ratepayers with unnecessary expenses.

This risk of demand overestimation is highlighted by Southern’s
practice of including prospective projects in its demand projections. As mentioned in the Company’s opposition statement, only
10 of 50 gigawatts of projected demand are confirmed, leaving investors concerned that the Company is building additional fossil capacity
prematurely. Microsoft critiqued this planning strategy: “Microsoft is concerned that Georgia Power Company’s load forecasting
method, which includes large-load projects that are considering but have not ultimately selected Georgia as a location and/or Georgia
Power Company as a service provider, potentially results in the acquisition of an excessive amount of carbon-intensive generation.”

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7 https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-pulls-back-more-data-center-leases-us-europe-analysts-say-2025-03-26/

8 https://www.distilled.earth/p/the-hidden-risks-of-overestimating

9 https://psc.ga.gov/search/facts-document/?documentId