Alabama Power powers up Southern Rockers and many others in the heart of Dixie. The Southern Company subsidiary provides electricity to 1.4 million residential and business customers in a 44,500 sq. ml. service area in Alabama. The utility operates more than 83,000 miles of power lines, and it has nuclear, hydroelectric, and fossil-fueled power plant interests that give it a generating capacity of more than 12,000 MW. Alabama Power sells wholesale power to more than 15 municipal and rural distribution utilities; it also provides steam transmission (used for heating and cooling buildings) in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and sells electric appliances (such as thermostats, ovens, and washing machines).