February 25, 2004

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Feb. 25, 2004 – Southern California Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) today announced they have reached a settlement with The Williams Cos. and Williams Power Company (Williams) providing for refunds against some of Williams’ power charges dating back to California’s energy crisis of 2000 and 2001. 

The agreement with SCE and PG&E is in addition to Williams’ previous agreement to provide approximately $417 million in cash and other benefits to various state governmental entities that also made claims against it to resolve issues associated with the California energy crisis.

“This is an encouraging development,” said SCE Chairman John Bryson.  “We will continue to pursue cost relief for our customers.”

Williams will forego its right to collect part of its receivables from the California Independent System Operator and the California Power Exchange for sales of electricity through those agencies between January 1, 2000, and June 20, 2001.  The exact manner in which this refund reaches SCE and PG&E customers will be determined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The settlement is subject to the approval of FERC, the CPUC and the PG&E Bankruptcy Court.  If approved, it would resolve, among other things, Williams’ portion of the current FERC refund case as to the two settling utilities, any additional refund obligations it might have incurred for sales during the summer of 2000, and possible civil claims. 

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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 12 million via 4.5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.