Exhibit 1 of Form 8-K 
 

                                        For  further information  contact:
                                        Claire Buchan, VP Comm,  (630)271-2150
                                        Bruce Duncan, VP IR, (630)271-2187
                                        Steve Preston, CFO, (630)271-2637


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 1999

                SERVICEMASTER MAKES CHANGES IN TWO OF ITS SMALLER
             BUSINESS UNITS, ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND HOME HEALTH CARE

     DOWNERS GROVE, Illinois -- ServiceMaster (NYSE:SVM) announced today that it
has formed a strategic venture with Texas Utilities  Company  (NYSE:TXU) for the
ownership and operation of its energy management  business.  The new venture has
acquired all the assets of ServiceMaster  Energy Management and will be owned 85
percent by Texas  Utilities and 15 percent by  ServiceMaster.  This new business
combination   will  provide   ServiceMaster   an  expanded  ability  to  provide
comprehensive energy solutions to customers.

     "With the  deregulation  of public  energy  utilities,  our  customers  are
seeking total energy management  solutions on local,  regional and global bases.
Both companies will benefit from this transaction.  Texas Utilities'  ability to
serve as an  energy  source,  combined  with  their  aggressive  and  innovative
approach  to the  industry,  will  create a  partnership  that will enable us to
provide  our   customers   with   end-to-end   energy   management   solutions,"
ServiceMaster President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Cantu said.

     Texas Utilities is a $6 billion electric and gas utility, serving the North
Texas  area.  ServiceMaster  and  TU  subsidiary,   Texas  Utilities  Integrated
Solutions,  will provide bundled  services to give customers access to an energy
source  through  Texas  Utilities  and to the  energy  management  expertise  of
ServiceMaster.

     ServiceMaster  has also  completed the strategic  review of its home health
care business and has concluded that without significant investment to make home
health  care one of its core  businesses,  it  cannot  profitably  provide  high
quality  service in the future and  continue  to satisfy all the changes and the
requirements of new governmental  reimbursement programs. The Company has signed
a letter of intent to sell its direct  operations  of home health care  agencies
and  certain  support  operations  to a  major  provider  of home  health  care.
ServiceMaster  expects to close the  transaction  by the end of January 1999. In
addition,  the Company will discontinue its outsourced  operation of home health
care agencies,  but will continue to provide consulting service to hospitals and
other providers of home health care.

     "ServiceMaster is committed to an orderly transition of these businesses to
ensure continuity for our customers and employees," said Cantu.

     The Energy  Management  transaction  will  result in a pre-tax  gain of $37
million,  which is expected to be offset by charges  relating  primarily to home
health care, including the impairment of intangible assets and costs relating to
exiting  customer  arrangements.  The  Company  expects  the cash  impact of the
charges to be $5-6  million in 1999,  with the  remainder  of the charges  being
primarily noncash.

     ServiceMaster serves more than 9 million customers in the United States and
in 38 countries around the world,  with annual customer level revenue  exceeding
$5.6 billion.  ServiceMaster is a network of quality service  companies with two
major operating  segments,  ServiceMaster  Consumer  Services and  ServiceMaster
Management Services.

     ServiceMaster   Consumer   Services  now  includes   eight   market-leading
companies--  TruGreen-ChemLawn,  Terminix,  American Home Shield, Rescue Rooter,
ServiceMaster  Residential and Commercial Services,  Merry Maids,  AmeriSpec and
Furniture  Medic--  which  operate  through the  ServiceMaster  Quality  Service
Network of  approximately  5,800 U.S.  Company-owned  locations  and  franchised
businesses.

     ServiceMaster  Management  Services  is the leading  facilities  management
company serving health care,  education,  and business and industrial facilities
with  management of plant  operations and  maintenance,  housekeeping,  clinical
equipment maintenance, food service, laundry, grounds and energy.

     In accordance with the Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995,
the Company  notes that  statements  that look  forward in time,  which  include
everything other than historical  information,  involve risks and  uncertainties
that may affect the Company's actual results of operations.  Factors which could
cause actual results to differ materially  include the following (among others):
weather  conditions  adverse  to  certain  of the  Company's  Consumer  Services
businesses,  the entry of additional competitors in any of the markets served by
the Company,  labor  shortages,  consolidation  of  hospitals in the  healthcare
market,  the  condition of the U.S.  economy,  the inability of key suppliers to
achieve timely Y2K compliance in their delivery  systems or the inability of the
Company to make its own systems Y2K  compliant,  and other  factors  listed from
time  to  time  in the  Company's  filings  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission.