CPL'S TOWN MEETING MARKS FIRST USE OF DELIBERATIVE POLLING BY ANY COMPANY TO INVOLVE CUSTOMERS IN PLANNING PROCESS.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1996--Central and South West Corporation (NYSE: CSR) said today final preparations are under way for its Central Power and Light Company (CPL) subsidiary's South Texas Town Meeting on Electricity Issues, which will be held this weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas. The meeting will mark the first time any company has used a new approach to public involvement known as "deliberative polling" as a part of its planning process.

CPL is using the deliberative polling process in its efforts to develop an integrated resource plan to meet the future electric needs of its customers. Approximately 330 CPL customers from throughout the company's 44,000 square-mile service territory will be in Corpus Christi this weekend to participate in the process. The meeting will be held June 1-2 at Texas A & M University in Corpus Christi.

Deliberative polling is a survey process where a scientific sample of customers is brought together in one location for a weekend and given the opportunity to "deliberate" about the various advantages and disadvantages associated with possible solutions to the issue. By using a scientific sample, the participants should represent the opinions of all CPL customers under conditions where they have the opportunity to arrive at a more informed judgment. CPL is using the deliberative poll as part of its public participation efforts to involve customers in the development of its resource plan. Professor James Fishkin, chairman of the Government Department at the University of Texas at Austin and author of The Voice of the People, Public Opinion and Democracy, developed the concept of deliberative polling as an approach for determining informed public opinion.

"This is a poll with a human face," Fishkin said. "Deliberative polling has the statistical representativeness of a scientific sample from which we can complete quantitative analysis of the results. But, just as importantly, it involves real people talking about real issues in their terms. That means it has the concreteness and immediacy of a discussion group or focus group."

Participants will examine the various choices CPL must make in determining how to meet its future energy resource needs. The most immediate need will occur in the Rio Grande Valley, where CPL forecasts that approximately 200-400 megawatts of electricity will be needed during the 1999-2001 time frame.

The three commissioners of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) will be in Corpus Christi to participate in a roundtable discussion during the Saturday evening large group session. That session will be taped by KEDT, the local Public Broadcasting Station for later telecast.

Advocates and opponents of competing resource options, such as natural gas generation and wind generation, have been involved in the development of briefing materials for participants and will serve as panelists during CPL's town meeting. The deliberative poll will alternate between large group settings involving the entire groups and small groups of 15-20 people.

Participants in CPL's deliberative poll were surveyed about their views on electricity prior to the town meeting, and they will be surveyed once again at the conclusion of the meeting to determine whether their opinions on the issues have changed and to what extent. Through this process, participants will be asked to make value judgments about the options associated with different resource choices.

CPL will consider and evaluate all of the information learned from its customers when developing the company's integrated resource plan. CPL is scheduled to submit its integrated resource plan to the PUCT in October.

Deliberative polling has been used twice in England and once in the United States. Its most recent application was during the National Issues Convention held in Austin in January 1996. CPL will be the first company to use deliberative polling to determine customer opinion.

CONTACT: Media contact: Larry Jones, senior communications consultant, Central and South West Corporation, 214/683-3703; or financial community contact: Sharon Peavy, director of investor relations, Central and South West Corporation, 214/777-1277, e-mail: corpcom(at)csw.com.