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Good afternoon. I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking about something that is necessary for us to live, to work, to play, to move us from place to place, to maintain a standard of health and living unparalleled in human history. My company is one of the top five companies in the U.S. that produces it. Electricity.

America and the Southeast have a proud history of ensuring that we have a reliable supply of electricity, which has allowed our nation and our region to become the envy of the world. Southern Company is proud to have been a part of that history. But I'm here today not to talk about the past but rather the future. The challenges of providing and meeting the energy needs that you and I have come to expect are daunting.

We face a long-term energy crisis in America, and we can no longer hope that short-term fixes will make the problem go away. Demand for energy in the U.S. is already outpacing supply. We’re much too dependent on foreign oil. We’re concerned about the potential impact of climate change. And as our 21st-century, high-tech economy expands and our population grows, the demand for energy will be even greater.

The facts are that over the next 15 years, it’s projected that in the Southeast, one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., electricity demand will rise more than 30 percent. By the year 2030, says the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 40 percent of the nation’s population will live in the South. Georgia alone will add another 4 million people. And all will want—and expect—reliable, affordable electricity.