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CONTACT: Kyle DeVine                July 17, 1996   CPUC - 528
         213-897-4225                             (I.86-04-002)

         CPUC APPROVES REFUND FOR MOHAVE REPAIR COSTS

    The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today
approved a $39 million refund for Southern California Edison
Company (Edison) customers that Edison spent to repair damage
caused by an accident at the Mohave Generating Station 11 years
ago. The refund covers repair costs that exceeded costs for
routine maintenance.
    Refund amount was reached by a settlement between Edison
and the CPUC Division of Ratepayer Advocates.
    Refunds will be credited on the July or August bills.  The
residential customer who uses the systemwide average of 500
kilowatt hours of electricity a month will see a refund of
about $3.00.
    On June 9, 1985, a weld in a high-pressure steam pipe
ruptured at the Edison Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin,
Nevada.  Steam hotter than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit blasted
through an employee lunch room and the plant's control room.
    Six people were killed and 10 others were seriously
injured.  The steam caused extensive damage to the control room
and other areas of the plant.
    The CPUC determined Edison failed to implement an
inspection program to ensure that the portion of the piping
system that failed was maintained in safe condition.  The
refund includes the repair costs that exceeded what it would
have cost to follow a pipe inspection program, correct metal
fatigue and weld problems, and purchase power elsewhere while
the plant was shut down for repairs.

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