Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) is engaged, within the State of Alabama, in the generation and purchase of electricity and the transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, at retail in approximately 400 cities and towns, including Anniston, Birmingham, Gadsden, Mobile, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa, as well as in rural areas, and at wholesale to 15 municipally-owned electric distribution systems, 11 of which are served indirectly through sales to Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA), and two rural distributing cooperative associations. Alabama Power is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Southern Company. The Company provides electricity to retail and wholesale customers within its service area, in addition to wholesale customers in the Southeast. The Company serves 1.5 million customers in the United States.