Central and South West Awards Wind Turbine Contract.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1994--Central and South West Corporation (NYSE:CSR) has awarded a $5 million contract to Zond Systems Inc. of Tehachapi, Calif., to provide the wind turbines for its wind power generation facility, a part of Central and South West's $17.3 million renewable energy project in West Texas. Three companies bid for the project.

Zond will install 12 of its Z-40, 500 kilowatt wind turbines at a 75-acre wind site located between Fort Davis and Marfa, Texas. The wind turbines were developed by Zond in conjunction with the Department of Energy's Valued Engineered Turbine project. The Z-40 is the largest wind turbine commercially produced in the United States.

Installation of the first wind turbine is scheduled for April 1995, and operation is expected to begin in July. Initial construction already has begun at the project site.

After the turbines are connected to the West Texas Utilities Company electric grid, data will be monitored for three years. The data will be used to estimate wind power generation performance at this and other potential wind sites which are being evaluated in the CSW system service territory.

In August 1993, Central and South West was one of three electric utilities selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to participate in a nationwide wind turbine performance verification program. DOE provided a $2 million grant toward construction of the CSW wind power generation facility, and EPRI provided an additional $3 million of funding through a dollar-for-dollar cost-sharing program. The grant has enabled Central and South West to expand its project to 6 megawatts from an originally planned 2-megawatt facility. Six megawatts of electricity can serve approximately 2,000 homes.

A goal of both DOE and EPRI is to test systems, such as Zond's Z-40, which offer improvements such as more efficient blades, more responsive partial span aileron control, lighter materials and a streamlined integral gearbox design having fewer parts for reduced weight and cost.

Central and South West began its renewables project in 1992 to investigate the viability of wind, solar and other renewable energy resources throughout its 152,000-square mile service territory.

Central and South West Corporation, a Dallas-based public utility holding company, owns Central Power and Light Company, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Southwestern Electric Power Company and West Texas Utilities Company. These subsidiaries provide electric service to more than four million people in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Central and South West also owns Transok, Inc., an Oklahoma intrastate natural gas pipeline subsidiary, and six other subsidiaries.

CONTACT: Central and South West Corporation

Connie True, 214/777-1168