By Drew Kann
Tribune Media Services Howard Koplowitz | hkoplowitz@al.com
Profits at Southern Company — the parent of Alabama Power — rose to $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of more than 43% compared to last year, as the company benefitted from a series of electricity rate increases, high temperatures and an influx of data centers to its service territories.
The company recently reported that its earnings across the first half of the year are also up more than 35% compared to 2023, climbing from $1.7 billion to $2.3 billion. Operating revenues in the first six months of 2024 were $13.1 billion, an increase of more than 7% compared to the year prior.
In a statement, Southern Company’s president and CEO Chris Womack said he was pleased with the businesses’ “fundamentals,” adding that it continues to see “customer growth and robust economic development” in its service territories.
Second-quarter 2024 operating revenues were $6.5 billion, compared with $5.7 billion for the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 12.4%, the company reported. For the six months that ended June 30, 2024, operating revenues were $13.1 billion, compared with $12.2 billion for the corresponding period in 2023, an increase of 7.2%.
As extreme heat adds to Southern Company’s profits, it is heaping pain on ratepayers.
Higher temperatures force energy-intensive appliances like air conditioners to work overtime to cool homes, increasing electricity consumption.