March 16, 2005

ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 16, 2005— With warmer weather approaching and the possibility of tight electricity supply predicted this summer, SCE is reminding customers that the utility can help them save money and reduce electrical usage through a variety of energy-efficiency programs and services.

“We have sufficient resources to meet the expected summer power needs of our customers,” said Pamela Bass, SCE senior vice president for customer service.  “But we want to remind them that it’s still prudent to use energy wisely.  Not only does it save them money, but it also helps to protect our power reserves should we encounter unexpected problems on hot days.”

Customers are again encouraged to take advantage of the statewide 20/20 Summer Savings Program and SCE’s Summer Discount Plan.  The 20/20 program, which does not require formal enrollment, is available to qualifying small businesses using less than 200 kilowatts of electricity and residential customers.  

With the 20/20 Summer Savings Program, customers successfully reducing their average daily energy use this summer by 20%  over the same period in 2004 (June 5 through Oct. 2) will receive a bill credit for their reductions.  They will also receive a 20% discount on the remaining summer bill charges.   Customers participating in the 20/20 program will save by using less, plus SCE will give them an additional 20% discount on their summer charges. 

With SCE’s “Summer Discount Plan,” participating customers with central air conditioners can receive bill credits of up to $200 for the summer season (June through September) in return for allowing SCE to interrupt their air conditioner during power-supply emergencies.  

There are two residential Summer Discount Plans available:  (1) The base plan, which turns off a maximum of 15 cycling times per year, and (2) the enhanced Summer Discount Plan, which provides twice the base credit amount for cycling a customer’s air conditioner an unlimited number of times per year.  A small, radio-controlled “cycling” device installed by SCE on the air conditioner(s) temporarily turns off the air conditioner when needed. 

Over the past five years, SCE’s energy-efficiency programs have achieved the largest energy savings of any such program in the nation, in effect eliminating the need to build a 500-megawatt power plant.  In fact, SCE has one of the nation’s largest portfolios of energy-efficiency programs.

The utility has distributed as many as 120,000 energy-efficiency rebate checks annually to customers and provided financial assistance totaling more than $73 million per year.  SCE customers have reduced annual energy usage by more than one billion kilowatt-hours or enough power to supply 140,000 average homes for a year.
 
“We are committed to energy efficiency and conservation as first-priority resources for our long-term energy plans,” said Bass.

Currently funded at $170 million annually, SCE is proposing to increase its annual energy-efficiency budget for 2006 through 2014 to an average of $245 million per year.  These funds are intended to obviate the need for a large new power plant every 2 ½ years. 

“Regardless of whether Southern California experiences tight power supplies this summer, there is something every Californian can do to save energy and save money,” added Bass.  “We encourage our customers to take advantage of the cash incentives we offer for reducing summer consumption or purchasing energy-efficient appliances and equipment.”

Customers wanting specific program information can visit www.sce.com and click the icon for “Rebates & Savings.” While at the Web site, residential customers can take a free home energy survey, which provides a fast, helpful analysis of energy usage and costs based on the customer’s billing history.

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An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.6 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.