Exhibit 18(a)
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                                                 
                                                                 
February 13, 1997

System Energy Resources, Inc.
Echelon One
1340 Echelon Parkway
Jackson, Mississippi 39213

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, 1996,  for  the  change  in
accounting  principle  from expensing incremental  nuclear  plant
outage  maintenance costs during the operating  period  in  which
they  were  incurred  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 documents relating  to  the
Company's  May  1995  filing with the Federal  Energy  Regulatory
Commission  requesting  a  rate increase,  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.