Minority aid gets Georgia Power two national awards

ATLANTA - Georgia Power has received two national awards for its efforts to aid minority-owned firms. <br> <br> The Edison Electric Institute, an association of shareholder-owned electric companies and affiliates, gave Georgia Power the 2002 Minority Business Development Award. <br> <br> And the U.S. Small Business Administration picked the company for its Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence. <br> <br> Since 1997, Georgia Power has increased the number of minority and female-owned businesses it works with from 210 to 538. <br> <br> Last year, the company purchased $112 million in goods and services from those businesses -- 72 percent more than in 1999. <br> <br> The awards come less than two years after seven employees sued the company, claiming it tolerated racially hostile workplace conditions. The suit was denied class-action status in March. <br> <br> Another lawsuit was filed last month by four employees who allege racial harassment in the workplace. Georgia Power has denied the allegations.