NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 6/17/97 -- Standard&Poor's today has assigned its 'A-1' rating to Edison International's $650 million commercial paper program. At the same time, the ratings outlook for Edison's primary subsidiary, Southern California Edison Co. (SoCal Ed), was revised to positive from stable. Over $4 billion of total debt is outstanding at Edison, a large diversified electric utility holding company. Edison's credit quality primarily reflects SoCal Ed's, (single-'A'-plus corporate credit rating) whose business profile is improving with the restructuring of the electric industry in California. SoCal Ed's outlook revision to positive recognizes that its business risk will be substantially reduced by state-approved mandates regarding pending divestitures of fossil-fueled power generation plants, full recovery of purchased-power
