Southern Company is a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company serving customers primarily across Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi through several state utility subsidiaries. As a regulated utility, its earnings are tied to a rate of return approved by state regulators on the capital it invests in its electric grid and generation infrastructure, providing predictable earnings in exchange for accepting limits on customer rates. The company has invested significantly in nuclear power generation, including completing a major new nuclear plant expansion that faced substantial cost overruns and delays, a project that ultimately added significant new nuclear generation capacity to its fleet. Southern Company's growth is tied to the rate base expansion it can achieve through regulator-approved infrastructure investment across its multi-state southeastern service territory, along with regional economic and population growth.