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                                                            Exhibit 20.4
Southern California Edison
An Edison International Company

For Immediate Release
                                                   Contact:  Tom Higgins
                                                          (818) 302-2255
                                                                        


           Edison Applauds CPUC Incentive-Based Rate Decision


      ROSEMEAD, Calif., Sept. 23, 1996 -- Southern California Edison today
applauded the California Public Utilities Commission's approval of a new
and better way to set electric rates.  The new system, called Performance-
Based Ratemaking (PBR), will provide Edison an incentive to increase
efficiency and lower costs, because the resulting savings will be shared
by Edison shareholders and customers.

      Effective January 1997, PBR will apply to the portion of Edison's
revenue requirement that covers transmission and distribution operations -
- - separating these costs from those associated with power generation.

      "Our customers and shareholders will benefit significantly from
PBR," said John E. Bryson, Edison's chairman and chief executive officer. 
"Our efforts to improve service and reduce costs will reward both groups,
thus achieving our long-standing goal of aligning customer and shareholder
interests.

      "PBR provides the utility with greater long-term incentives for
lower rates, increases management flexibility and accountability, rewards
utilities for providing increased customer value, and reduces the cost and
complexity of regulatory proceedings," Bryson noted.

      Under PBR, the process of determining rates for the non-generation
portion of Edison's revenue requirement will be based on adjustments to
the revenue requirement approved in Edison's 1995 General Rate Case. 
These adjustments will be based on:

      o     rewards and penalties for performance in productivity, safety
            and service quality areas, such as reliability and customer
            satisfaction;

      o     inflation, as reflected by the Consumer Price Index, with an
            adjustment to assure customers of continued productivity
            improvements;

      o     adjustments for the effects of energy efficiency programs and
            unforeseen, external factors, such as changes in tax laws or
            accounting rules.

      Edison's transmission and distribution revenue requirement -- as
approved in the 1995 General Rate Case -- is about $2.1 billion of the
utility's $7.3-billion total requirement.

      A net revenue sharing mechanism in the new PBR system determines how
customers and shareholders will share gains and losses from transmission
and distribution operations.

      Edison's authorized rate of return on equity will be adjusted based
on changes in interest rates for AA utility bonds.
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      Beginning in 1998, the transmission portion will be separated from
the non-generation revenue requirement and subject to ratemaking under the
rules of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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Southern California Edison is one of five Edison International companies. 
It is the nation's second largest electric utility, serving more than 11
million people in a 50,000-square-mile area within central, coastal and
Southern California.  The other related companies are Edison Mission
Energy, Edison Capital, Edison Source, and Edison EV (Electric Vehicles).