March 6, 2024--Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) boosted its five-year capital-expenditure (capex) program by $5 billion to $48 billion over the 2024-2028 period, company officials told investors in an earnings call February 15.

That planned capital spend does not include any further capital outlays for the all-but-finished Unit 4 new nuclear unit at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia. Unit 3 entered commercial operations July 31, 2023. Unit 4 is in the process of startup testing, with an expected commercial date of operations during the second quarter of 2024.