CCC   PPPPP   U    U    CCC       N    N  EEEEE  W  W  W   SSS
 C   C  P    p  U    U   C   C      NN   N  E      W  W  W  S   S
C       P    P  U    U  C           N N  N  E      W  W  W  S
C       PPPPP   U    U  C           N N  N  EEE    W W W W   SSS
C       P       U    U  C           N  N N  E      WW   WW      S
 C   C  P       U    U   C   C      N   NN  E      W     W  S   S
  CCC   P        UUUU     CCC       N    N  EEEEE  W     W   SSS
CONTACT: Kyle DeVine                   April 10, 1996   CPUC - 513
         213-897-4225                             (A.93-12-025)
                      CPUC SETS EDISON RATES

    The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today set
rates Southern California Edison Company (Edison) will begin to
charge customers effective May 1.  New residential rates and
baseline seasons will be phased in.
    Rates are set to recover Edison's $7.3 billion revenue
requirement, a $338 million or 4.4 percent decrease, set earlier
this year.  They do not include $237 million, which will be
refunded in June, for revenues overcollected for fuel-related
costs.
Residential Rates
    About 86 percent of Edison's customers are residential and
account for 31 percent of its sales and 38 percent of its
revenues.  Overall, the revenue decrease for this customer group
is 1 percent.
    Beginning in May, residential customers in climatic region 15
- Palm Springs, Blythe, and Death Valley - who use the area's
average of 1,500 kWh in the summer and 600 kWh in the winter, will
see an 8 cent per month increase in the winter and a $7.35
decrease per month in the summer relative to current bills.
    A new basic charge will be incorporated to cover costs such as
meter reading and billing which are now collected through the
energy usage rate.  Although Edison had requested a $5.00 monthly
charge, the Commission approved $2.00 a month for single family
homes and $1.50 a month for multifamily dwellings such as
apartments and mobile home parks.  Rates are lower for multifamily
dwellings because it costs Edison less to serve them. For example,
meter reading costs are less at apartments because meters are at
one location.
    The basic charge will be phased in. Beginning June 1996, it
will be $1.00 a month for single family homes and $0.75 a month
for multifamily dwellings.  It will increase on January 1, 1997,
to $2.00 a month for single family homes and $1.50 a month for
multifamily dwellings.                 -more-

Residential rates continued

    Baseline seasons and rates will change. Baseline gives
residential customers a baseline allowance at lower rates for
basic energy use which supplies 50 to 60 percent of the average
residential customer's needs.  Usage beyond the baseline allowance
is billed at the higher nonbaseline rate.  Baseline allowances
vary with climatic regions and summer or winter seasons.
    Baseline seasons will change, beginning October 1996, to an
eight month winter season from October through May and a four
month summer season from June through September.  Currently,
summer and winter seasons are both six months long and run from
May to October for the summer and October to May for winter,
except for region 15 which now has the four month summer and eight
month winter seasons.
    Baseline allowances will no longer be provided for customers'
"second homes" in region 15 and the mountainous resort areas -
region 16 - beginning October 1, 1997.
    As a result of these changes, baseline and nonbaseline rates
will decrease in May and will change in June and January as the
basic charge is phased in.

Rates will be as follows:
                       Current       June 1996    January 1997

Basic charge
  single family          0.00        $1.00        $2.00
  multifamily            0.00          .75         1.50

Energy charge
  (cents per kWh)
Baseline               12.356        12.009       11.711
Nonbaseline            14.214        14.157       14.154

     Customers on the low income CARE program will receive the 15
percent discount on the basic charge and energy rates.
     Employee discounts will no longer be collected from
ratepayers.  Today's Commission decision phases them out over
three years for current employees' costs, and ten years for
retired or about-to-retire employees. Edison may continue
providing the 25 percent discount for its employees, but must use
other funds to recover the costs.

                              -more-

Business Rates
     Lighting, small and medium power business customers make up
35 percent of Edison's sales and 36 percent of Edison's revenue is
collected from them. Rates are changed to align them with what it
costs Edison to serve these customers.
     The GS-1 customer charge will decrease from the current 55
cents a day to 48 cents a day.  Energy use rate will decrease from
the current 12 cents per kWh to 11.76 cents per kWh.
     Businesses on the GS-2 rate - small or medium power customers
whose demands exceed 20 kW - will see an increase in the customer
charge, from the current $54.15 to $60.30.  Energy charges will
decrease from the current 9 cents for the first 300 kWh to 7.692
cents, and from 5 cents for each kWh after the first 300 to 4.391
cents.  The demand charge will increase 35 cents, from the current
$7.40 per kW for time related charges to $7.75; it will increase
65 cents per kW for facilities related charges, from the current
$4.75 per kW to $5.40.
     Large power customers, those with demands more than 500 kW,
account for 30 percent of Edison's sales and 22 percent of revenue
is collected from them.  Rates for these customers are also set at
the cost to serve them, and overall, are reduced by 5.9 percent.
                              -###-