8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D. C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT


                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)      February 19, 2001
                                                  -----------------------------


                              THE SOUTHERN COMPANY
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


     Delaware                           1-3526                  58-0690070
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(State or other jurisdiction          (Commission              (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                File Number)           Identification No.)


     270 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, Georgia                  30303
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     (Address of principal executive offices)                 (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code      (404) 506-5000
                                                     --------------------------


                                      N/A
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)





Item 9.       Regulation FD Disclosure.

              On February 19, 2001, The Southern Company issued a press release
related to the spin-off of Mirant Corporation. The purpose of this Form 8-K is
to furnish the press release for informational purposes only pursuant to
Regulation FD. A copy of the press release is furnished with this Form 8-K as
Exhibit 99.

Exhibit  99 - Press release dated February 19, 2001 related to the spin-off of
              Mirant Corporation.



                                    SIGNATURE

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                            THE SOUTHERN COMPANY


                                            By  /s/Tommy Chisholm
                                                 Tommy Chisholm
                                                   Secretary

Date:    February 20, 2001

EX-99

                                                                      Exhibit 99

News

Media Contact:    Todd Terrell
                  (404) 506-7676
                  media@southernco.com
                  www.southerncompany.com

                                                                  Feb. 19, 2001


            Southern Company board outlines plans for Mirant spinoff

ATLANTA - The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) board of directors today approved the
spinoff of Mirant Corporation (NYSE:MIR), formerly Southern Energy.

The spinoff - in the form of a special dividend - will distribute 272 million
shares, or 80.3 percent, of Mirant to Southern Company shareholders of record.
Contingent upon timely receipt of a supplemental ruling from the Internal
Revenue Service, the distribution will be made on April 2, 2001, to Southern
Company shareholders of record as of 5 p.m. eastern time on March 21, 2001.

"This is the final step in unlocking the value we created in building a
fast-growing North American and worldwide energy business," said Southern
Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Dahlberg. "With the planned
spinoff, we're delivering that value to our shareholders. We're also creating
two great companies from one. I believe each has an outstanding future."

Based on the number of shares of Southern Company common stock currently
outstanding, shareholders as of the record date will receive nearly .4 shares of
Mirant for every share of Southern Company common stock they own. The actual
distribution ratio will be determined on the record date by dividing the number
of Mirant shares to be distributed by the number of shares of Southern Company
common stock outstanding.

Southern Company shareholders as of the record date will receive whole shares of
Mirant and cash payments for fractional shares. The cash payments will be
taxable. Shareholders will also receive a statement containing information about
the spinoff and distribution of shares, as well as about trading in Southern
Company and Mirant common stock.





Mirant sold 66.7 million shares - or 19.7 percent - in an initial public
offering in September 2000. The offering, along with a concurrent securities
offering, netted Mirant $1.8 billion. Southern Company has held the remaining
80.3 percent of Mirant with the announced intent of spinning it off to
shareholders.

Following the spinoff, Southern Company's strategy will focus on growth in three
major areas: its traditional retail business in the Southeast, competitive
wholesale generation in the eight-state "Super Southeast" and energy-related
products and services.

"Our strategy going forward allows us to take our strengths as a company and
match them with the considerable growth opportunities we see in the Southeast -
the region we know best," said Dahlberg.

Mirant is a global independent power producer and a leading energy marketing and
risk-management company with extensive operations in North America, Europe and
Asia. Mirant owns more than 20,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity
around the world, including about 14,000 megawatts in the United States, with
another 9,000 megawatts under advanced development.

After the spinoff of Mirant, Southern Company will operate more than 30,000
megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Southeast. It continues as one
of the largest producers of electricity in the United States. Southern Company
subsidiaries serve more than 3.8 million retail customers and millions more
through the wholesale market. Based in Atlanta, Southern Company is the parent
firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah
Electric.

Forward-looking Statements Note: Certain information contained in this release
is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that
involve risk and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among
other things, statements concerning the distribution of Mirant Corporation
shares and the timing and results of that distribution, the strategic goals for
Southern Company and the potential for growth in the Southeast region. Southern
Company cautions that there are factors that can cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The
reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking
information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a
number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control
of Southern Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such indicated
results will be realized.

The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Southern Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended, December 31, 1999, and subsequent
securities filings, could cause results to differ materially from management
expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of
recent and future federal and state regulatory change, including legislative and
regulatory initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the electric
utility industry and also changes in environmental and other laws and
regulations to which Southern Company and its subsidiaries are subject, as well
as changes in application of existing such law and regulations, current and
future litigation, including the EPA civil action against Alabama Power, Georgia



Power and potentially other subsidiaries of Southern Company and the diversity
litigation against certain subsidiaries of Southern Company; the effects of
increased competition in the markets in which Southern Company's subsidiaries
operate; the impact of fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates and
customer demand; internal restructuring or other restructuring options that may
be pursued; potential business strategies, including acquisitions or
dispositions of assets or businesses, which cannot be assured to be completed or
beneficial to Southern Company or it subsidiaries; the effects of, and changes
in, economic conditions in the areas in which Southern Company's subsidiaries
operate; financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; the
timing and acceptance of Southern Company's new product and service offerings;
the ability of Southern Company to obtain additional generating capacity at
competitive prices; weather and other natural phenomena; developments in the
California power markets affecting Mirant and certain of its subsidiaries,
including, but not limited to, governmental intervention, deterioration in the
financial condition of counterparties, default of receivables due, adverse
results in current or future litigation and adverse changes in the tariffs of
the California Power Exchange Corporation or the California Independent System
Operator Corporation; and the ability of Southern Company to obtain the
supplemental ruling from the Internal Revenue Service.

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