Exhibit 18(a)




February 27, 1996

Arkansas Power & Light Company
425 West Capital Avenue, 40th Floor
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201

Gentlemen:

We are providing this letter to you for inclusion as an exhibit
to your Form 10-K filing pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

We have read management's justification contained in the
Company's Financial Statements which are included in its Form 10-
K for the year ended December 31, 1995, for the change in
accounting principle from accruing for anticipated incremental
nuclear plant outage maintenance costs during the operating
period between outages to capitalizing incremental nuclear plant
outage maintenance costs as incurred and amortizing them to
expense during the operating period between outages.  Based on
our reading of the data, including an audit report on the Company
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and discussions with
Company officials of the business judgment and business planning
factors relating to the change, we believe management's
justification to be reasonable.  Accordingly, we concur that the
newly adopted accounting principle described above is preferable
in the Company's circumstances to the method previously applied.


Very truly yours,

COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.