Climate Lobbying Overview: Southern Company (Southern) appears to engage on U.S. federal and state climate policy with mostly negative positions. Although Southern's top-line messaging on climate shifted positively in 2019, the utility still supports specific policies toward preserving the role of fossil fuels in the energy mix. Subsidiaries of Southern are board-level members of several groups that strategically oppose U.S. climate policy, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the CEO of subsidiary Southern Company Gas was the 2022 Chair for the American Gas Association, which continues to strongly oppose building electrification measures.

Top-Line Messaging on Climate Policy: Southern demonstrates mixed top-line messaging on climate policy. The company’s current position on climate change represents a shift from 2015 through 2017 when the company and its then-CEO, Tom Fanning, publicly disputed the science of climate change. Regarding the Build Back Better Act, Fanning appeared to support a federal climate bill, including in an April 2022 earnings call with investors. As of 2022, Southern's website offers general support for the Paris Agreement though with an unclear position on the US' nationally determined contribution to the agreement.

Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Southern appears to engage on U.S. climate policy with mixed positions. In February 2022, Southern signed a joint letter organized by C2ES that advocated to Congressional leadership to pass the clean energy tax credits in the Build Back Better Act. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that subsidiary Georgia Power did not offer a clear position on the decision.

On the state level, Southern continues to demonstrate negative positions on renewable energy policy. In April 2021 and February 2022 comments to the Mississippi Public Service Commission, subsidiary Mississippi Power did not support the proposed updates to state net metering rules, emphasizing that increasing incentives for distributed generation would place an unfair burden on non-participants. As reported by the Saporta Report in May 2022, then-CEO Fanning reiterated this cost-shift argument and appeared to oppose rooftop solar incentives while speaking at Southern’s annual meeting in Georgia. Previously, as reported by Bloomberg in February 2020, then-CEO Tom Fanning spoke out against renewable energy mandates. In Alabama, subsidiary Alabama Power was the principal advocate in May 2020 for fixed fees for customers with distributed solar.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Southern Company demonstrates mostly negative positions on the energy transition and appears to promote the long-term role of fossil gas. In December 2022 comments on the EPA power sector pre-proposal, the company advocated for rules to facilitate the construction of new fossil gas infrastructure; in addition, in comments with the Power Generators Air Coalition, Southern also advocated for flexibilities in compliance and an expedited process for new fossil gas plants. In June 2022, the Guardian reported that Southern is a supporter of Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, an advocacy group that appears to run campaigns to gain public support for fossil gas on the state-level. In May 2022, subsidiary Southern Company Gas signed a joint letter to the House Committee on Appropriations in which it advocated for increased research and development funding toward preserving the role of gas in the building and transportation sectors. Following the invasion of Ukraine, then-CEO Fanning advocated for the expansion of domestic fossil gas infrastructure and production in an April 2022 video interview with CNBC, stating that the Biden administration should “unleash the energy economy” to aid Europe and combat rising fuel prices. Previously, in October 2021, E&E News reported that Southern was present at a private meeting with Senator Manchin and five other utilities during negotiations on the proposed Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP). Southern’s position on transportation electrification is more positive: in January 2022, Southern submitted guidance to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration in which it supported using the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s funds toward building out electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas.

Southern takes negative positions on state-level energy policy. In early 2021, subsidiary Georgia Power stated support for Georgia’s House Bill 150, the state’s gas ban preemption bill that was later signed into law. In Illinois, subsidiary Nicor Gas appeared in March 2021 as a witness in opposition to the state climate bill.

Industry Association Governance: Southern published a trade association review in November 2022, however the report lacked transparency on each group’s climate policy engagement activities. Southern left America’s Power in 2019 as one of two final utilities to leave the group. However, it remains a member of organizations that demonstrate strong negative engagement on climate policy: subsidiary Georgia Power serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Southern Company Services CEO Stanley W. Connally is on the board of directors for the National Association of Manufacturers, both of which remain largely opposed to climate policy in the U.S. In addition, Kimberly Greene, the CEO of subsidiary Southern Company Gas, served as the 2022 Chair for the American Gas Association, which engages on U.S. climate policy with negative positions and has led a campaign since 2019 to preempt electrification mandates on the state level.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2023.