Electric utility firm Southern Company (SO) announced that unit 1 of the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant (Plant Vogtle) has resumed operations after the scheduled maintenance and refueling update activities. The unit has been out of operations since March 16, 2014.

After the interruption of service, the unit started generating electricity from April 14. Southern Company added that it has spent considerably during the outage to ensure more safety in the next 18 months.

For a considerable period of time, unit 1 has been supplying electricity at low costs. Also, the unit was not releasing carbon while producing electricity, complying with environment standards.

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Southern Company is one of the largest electric utility holding companies in the U.S., and the premier energy firm serving the attractive Southeast market. The company continues to earn returns that are among the highest in the industry, while at the same time maintaining its position as a low-cost provider of electricity with superior customer satisfaction levels. Additionally, Southern Company remains a leader in power plant productivity, cost control and new technology research.

However, Southern Company’s heavy reliance on coal-generated energy supply and a lack of meaningful contribution from renewable energy is a matter of concern. In the current age of growing emphasis on ‘environment friendly or green’ energy, the company may be forced to divert cash flows to ensure regulatory compliance, which can adversely impact profitability.

Southern Company currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that it is expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

Meanwhile, one can look at better-ranked players in the energy sector like Range Resources Corporation (RRC), Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) and Pioneer Energy Services Corp. (PES). All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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Read the Full Research Report on PES


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