Southern Nuclear names new leadership at Plant Farley

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Nuclear Chairman, President and CEO Stephen Kuczynski announced today that Cheryl Gayheart has been named Plant Farley site vice president and JJ Hutto will assume the role of Plant Farley plant manager.

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Gayheart joined Southern Nuclear in 2012 as Farley's plant manager. She began her career in 1985 as a staff engineer and supervisor at Exelon Nuclear Braidwood Generating Station. After receiving her senior reactor operator license in 1991, she progressed through several leadership roles before transferring to Exelon's Byron Generating Station in 2007 to serve as the site work management director. Gayheart was named site operations director in 2008 and then assumed the role of fleet operations corporate functional area manager at Exelon Corporate in 2011.

Gayheart has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She resides in Dothan with her husband Rick, who serves as Southern Nuclear's fleet operations director. Her pastimes include running, cooking and travelling. 

JJ Hutto is replacing Gayheart as Farley's plant manager. He began his career at Plant Farley in 1998 as an engineer in the maintenance department. Hutto obtained his senior reactor operator license and was promoted to shift support supervisor in operations in 2002. He served in several roles in operations including operations director. In 2011, Hutto was named Plant Farley engineering director.

Hutto has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University. He enjoys hunting, fishing, working on the family farm and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Natalie, live in Dothan with their four children.

"These individuals are accomplished, proven leaders at Plant Farley who perform at the highest level of standards and expertise," said Kuczynski. "I have the utmost confidence in their abilities to lead our fleet and the Farley team to achieve industry-leading performance."  

About Southern Nuclear:
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is one of the nation's leading nuclear energy facility operators. Producing safe, reliable and environmentally friendly nuclear energy, Southern Nuclear operates a total of six units for Alabama Power and Georgia Power at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala.; the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Southern Nuclear is the licensee of two new nuclear units currently under construction at Plant Vogtle, which will be the first nuclear units constructed in the United States in more than 30 years. Southern Nuclear employs more than 3,500 skilled and dedicated professionals who are committed each day to nuclear and personal safety and the health and safety of the public. The company's headquarters is based in Birmingham, Ala. Twitter: @SouthernNuclear.

About Southern Company:
With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company