Exhibit 99.2

     SWEPCO                     Southwestern Electric Power Company
                                  A Central and South West Company
                                            News Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Peter Main, 318-673-3530 or Scott McCloud, 318-673-3532

                             SWEPCO To Reduce Rates
                          in Louisiana Starting Dec. 7

      SHREVEPORT,  LA  (Dec.  7,  1999) -  Southwestern  Electric  Power Company
(SWEPCO) will reduce rates to the company's  Louisiana  customers by $11 million
annually beginning with bills mailed Dec. 7, 1999.

      The  reduction  follows a review of the company's  rates  initiated by the
Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) last year. The LPSC formally approved
the reduction Nov. 17.

      Louisiana Public Service  Commissioner  Don Owen announced the action Nov.
17,  saying,  "It's not often we get the chance to announce  prices  going down.
This is especially exciting because SWEPCO already had the lowest power rates in
the state, and now they're going even lower."

      SWEPCO has not increased  rates in Louisiana  since 1985.  Some rates were
lowered  in 1987  due to tax  changes.  The  company  also has  passed  along to
customers savings achieved through reductions in fuel costs that began in 1994.

      Residential rates  will  decrease  by about  4.5  percent.  A  residential
customer whose bill averages $100 per month (or $1,200 per year) will save about
$4.50 a month (or $54 a year).  Commercial and industrial  customers' rates will
decrease  by about 4 percent.  Savings for each  customer  will depend on actual
energy usage.

      "We appreciate the opportunity we had to work with  Commissioner  Owen and
the  rest of the  Commission  during  this  rate  review.  We  believe  the rate
settlement  approved by the Commission is a fair  compromise of issues raised by
the  parties in this  proceeding,"  said SWEPCO  President  Mike  Madison.  "Our
customers, who already pay the lowest rates of any investor-owned utility in the
state, will receive a rate reduction,

                                     -more-





SWEPCO/Louisiana, Page 2

and  SWEPCO  will  have the  opportunity  to earn a  reasonable  return  for its
shareholders."

      Fees for certain services,  such as reconnection charges, will increase to
more  accurately  reflect the cost of providing  the  service.  Many fees can be
avoided by keeping accounts current, calling if the customer anticipates payment
problems, and coordinating transfer of service from one customer to another at a
particular  address.  The number to call for bill  inquiries is  1-888-216-3490.
SWEPCO's Customer Service Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

      SWEPCO, which is headquartered in Shreveport, serves approximately 164,000
customers in northwestern Louisiana.

      SWEPCO is a subsidiary of Central and South West Corporation (NYSE:CSR), a
Dallas-based  public  utility  holding  company,  which owns four U.S.  electric
utility  subsidiaries  serving 1.7 million  customers,  along with several other
subsidiaries.

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