Southern Co. faces friendly critics at annual meeting - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Even shareholders who submitted proposalsa opposed by the company had kind words forSouthern Co. SO) executives and their willingnesz to discuss sensitive issues ofcarbobn emissions, coal plants and climatw change. “We have been discussing thes issues with the company for along time, and we want to acknowledgwe tremendous progress over the years,” Sister Barbara Aires told CEO David Ratcliffe.
Sister Aires spoke on behalf of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey and othefr religious groups that had introduced a shareholder proposal for the companhy to prepare an environmental report that wouldf outline the actions needed to reduce totak CO2 emissionsby September. While commending the company for having a 2050 targety date to reduce current carbon emissiones by80 percent, Sister Aires said she was concernedr that the Southern Co.’s “short and intermediate” plans to reduce emissions are inadequate. “I’mn helping the company here,” she said. “Don’tt think shareholders that we areenemiesz here.
” Mark Woodall, a Southern Co. shareholder from Ga., who is chairman of the ’s Georgiza chapter, asked about the increased risk shareholders might have as the federao government adopts tightercarbon “Why are we not doing more to mitigatee our carbon risk and why are you buildingh a coal plant in Woodall asked Ratcliffe. After the proposals were defeated, Ratcliffe addres s shareholders by giving favorablew financial andoperational reports. The company also will increasee its dividends to shareholders thisnext quarter.
“It will be the 246tyh consecutive quarter, 61 that we have paid dividends,” Ratcliffe But Ratcliffe devoted much of his talk to shareholders to talk abouftenergy efficiency, conservation, alternative energy generatiomn such as biomass, wind, solar and hydro-electric power. Ratcliffe was particularly pleased to say that the company is moving forward with two new nuclear plants at the existint Plant Vogtlenear Ga. And he said the companuy is working cutting-edge technology to produce clea coal. Southern Co.
’s facility in Alabama is with the to researchn ways to capture carbon He also said the new coal plant in Mississippui was using coalgasification technology, which the compang thinks is “ready for commercial The goal is for the plant to capture 50 to 60 percengt of the CO2 emissions, the equivalen t of the emissions of a natural gas “No single one of these technologies will solve all of our Ratcliffe said. “We need a portfolio.
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