Thomas Fanning

Former Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Southern

Search every verified Thomas Fanning interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a bonus episode of the Energy Empire podcast recorded at the UNC Clean Tech Summit, former Southern Company Chairman, President, and CEO Tom Fanning discussed his 43-year career at the company, including his oversight of the Plant Vogtle nuclear construction project. Fanning described the project as a public-private partnership and argued that the United States has lost its ability to build large infrastructure projects. He stated that the government should act as an enabler while the private sector leads recovery efforts in critical infrastructure. Fanning criticized organized energy markets in regions such as PJM, New England, MISO, Texas, and California, calling them "kind of a disaster," and contrasted them with integrated regulated markets in the Southeast and West. He also defended union labor, saying "we need everybody in the boat." Fanning recounted an ethical dilemma from his time as CFO of Southern Company's international division, alleging that a president hired from AES had attempted to pay a bribe. He described Southern Company's guiding principles as "clean, safe, reliable, affordable" with a stable stock price, but cautioned that "the greatest harbinger of future failure is past success."