Website Privacy Policy
(Revised January 2010)

Alabama Gas Corporation (“Alagasco,” or “the Company,”) wants you to have a safe and secure experience at our Website, and wants to explain the steps it takes that are aimed at  preventing unauthorized disclosure of information you may provide as you visit this website. We understand the importance you place on the privacy and security of personally identifying information, which may include but is not limited to your Alagasco account number, name, address, partial Social Security Number, phone number, or e-mail address. We refer to this information as “Personal Information.” Alagasco has adopted this Privacy Policy to explain our commitment to your privacy, and this Privacy Policy, applies to the Personal Information Alagasco collects at the alagasco.com website (the “Website”). By using the Website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. Please refer back to this link to review the contents of the Alagasco Privacy Policy frequently, as we may change it from time to time to reflect changes in our services and our policies relating to customer Personal Information. Changes and amendments are effective when posted on the Website. Alagasco will not provide you with a notice of any change in this Privacy Policy other than posting the amended Privacy Policy at this link. It is your responsibility to monitor and review any changes to the Privacy Policy.

1. Information You Submit

You may register to access various services related to your residential or business account on the Website.  If you register to access your account or engage in other contacts with Alagasco through the Website, you may be asked to submit Personal Information. You may also be asked to submit additional Personal Information or financial information in order to use certain specific services offered in these customer account transaction areas. We will protect all information you provide us on the Website, as set forth below and in accordance with Alagasco’s Terms of Use.

2. How Alagasco Uses Your Personal Information

a. The Personal Information you provide to Alagasco enables us to enhance the services we may provide, and also lets you access certain customer services offered on the Website.  We may use Personal Information to contact you to respond to an inquiry that you send to us or to keep you informed about Alagasco and the services we provide. There may be instances where you may choose to communicate with us by e-mail.  Those instances may include situations where you report a service issue, request service, request a change in service, or other situations.  If you communicate with the Company by e-mail, then you agree that e-mail sent by the Company to you will be considered to be sent with your consent.  You acknowledge and agree that any such email will be accessible to anyone who has access to your e-mail.

b. In order to provide you with services we offer, or to complete transactions or requests you initiate through the Website, we may transfer you to outside services provided by third-party operators. In certain instances, the third-party content may be “framed” in such a way it appears you are still on Alagasco’s Website. In those cases where the third-party content is “framed,” you no longer will be at the Alagasco Website.  But in those cases, we will have agreements with those third parties whose web sites to which you may be transferred, under which the third parties agree to maintain the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

c. Other than as set forth in this Privacy Policy, we will not disclose your Personal Information to third parties without your written consent (which consent may be obtained electronically, such as by e-mail), unless we reasonably believe the disclosure is essential to the conduct of the Company’s business or to provide services to you.  The instances where we may disclose your Personal Information to third parties include but are not  limited to situations where such disclosure is necessary to (i) comply with the law, legal process or our regulators, (ii) collect unpaid bills, (iii) enable the Company’s employees or consultants to provide service to you and to otherwise perform their duties, (iv) comply with interchange functions, (v) obtain and provide credit reporting information, or (vi) resolve customer disputes or inquiries. We do not sell your Personal Information to third parties for telemarketing, e-mail or direct mail solicitation of third-party products or services.

d. You are responsible for all activity on the Website accessed by your user name and password.  You agree that the protection of the confidentiality of your user name and password is your responsibility.

e. Alagasco employees and consultants to Alagasco may have access to your Personal Information.  That access to your Personal Information by Alagasco employees or consultants is limited to only information necessary to provide the business service offered and to allow employees or consultants to perform their duties.

3. Surveys, Contests and Promotions

From time to time, Alagasco may offer surveys, contests, sweepstakes and other promotions (“Events”). Those Events may be sponsored solely by Alagasco, or in conjunction with third parties.  As a condition of participating in those Events, you may be asked to provide Personal Information.  That Personal Information may, under the rules governing such events, be used by the sponsoring parties for marketing purposes. Even if you previously elected not to receive information or mailings from third parties or us you may still receive information through your participation in these Events. If you are under the age of 13, you may be subject to special rules regarding your participation in certain Events. The rules governing each Event will be clearly posted, as will notification about how the information gathered may be used.

4. Children’s Privacy Online

We understand children’s privacy is important.  Our Website is not directed to children under the age of 13.  If you are under the age of 13, then you should not submit Personal Information on the Website or any web sites without the consent of your parent or guardian. 

5. Technical Information

a. When you visit the Website, we collect certain information that is not Personal Information.  For example, we collect information about usage of the Website, such as the number of visitors to the Website and the number of users that click on certain links or utilize certain services.  We use industry standard software to create summary statistics of the usage data we collect, that we store and review in the aggregate.  We may then use those summary statistics for purposes that may include, but are not limited to highlighting what our visitors find interesting, improving the Website design specifications, identifying system performance issues, and for other internal purposes.

b. How We Use IP Addresses. An Internet Protocol (“IP”) address is a number automatically assigned to your computer every time you browse the Internet. When you visit the Website, our servers log your current IP address. We may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our servers and to administer the Website. While we gather data when our servers log your IP address, we do not tie your IP address to your Personal Information, and it is not used to identify you.

c. How We Use Cookies. Cookies are small text files stored on your computer hard drive by a web browser that are placed there by the web page server. Cookies can make it more convenient for users to use a website by verifying when the user travels from page to page.   When you visit the Website, our server may create cookies.   We do not tie data on Website usage we collect using cookies to your Personal Information and we use it only in aggregate form.

6. Links

While browsing the Website, you may encounter links to other third-party operated web sites. If you click on one of these hypertext links to view one of these third-party operated websites, then these other third-party web sites may send their own cookies to you, log your IP address, and otherwise collect data or solicit Personal Information.  ALAGASCO DOES NOT CONTROL AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THIRD PARTIES DO IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR WEBSITES, OR HOW THEY HANDLE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION AND CONSULT THE PRIVACY POLICIES POSTED ON EACH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

7. Security Regarding Online Services

You may login to Alagasco’s online services section of this Website to conduct transactions with Alagasco through the Website.  When you login with your user name and password to Alagasco’s online services, any account information you enter or that is displayed in your browser window is secured using an industry standard security technology known as Secure Sockets Layer (“SSL”). By using SSL, we attempt to safeguard the confidentiality of transmission of your Personal Information and financial information. Your browser must be capable of supporting SSL. Please check with your browser manufacturer for details.

You may direct any questions about this Privacy Policy to:
Webmaster
605 Richard Arrington, Jr. Blvd. North
Birmingham, AL   35203