Edison to Launch Fresh Name, New Logo and Restructuring

As the state’s electric utility industry prepares for coming deregulation, Southern California Edison Co.’s parent is taking another step toward full transformation by changing its name to Edison International from SCEcorp, and announcing a new logo and corporate structure.

The changes, to be announced today in a news conference in Los Angeles, include a new stock ticker symbol: EIX, to become effective next Monday.

The energy company will also announce the creation of a new unregulated subsidiary, Edison Source, to provide business consulting services about energy efficiency and environmental matters.

No employment changes are planned to accompany the restructuring, though a spokesman said: “We will assess our department to

department resource needs as we have over the past year.”

The changes, intended to improve the company’s competitive market position, also anticipate the deregulation of the electric utility industry approved last year by the state Public Utilities Commission. The restructuring is aimed at creating a competitive, unregulated market for electric power.

The changes signify “our . . . readiness to compete successfully in a restructured utility environment while building shareholder value through local, regional, national and international business opportunities,” Edison Chairman John E. Bryson said in a statement.

Edison Source will become one of five subsidiaries. The others are:

* Southern California Edison, the regulated electric utility.

* Edison Mission Energy, formerly Mission Energy, the unregulated unit that develops power plants.

* Edison Capital, formerly Mission First Financial, a financial services unit.

* Edison EV, the recently announced partner with General Motors Corp. that will develop electric-vehicle charging systems.

Last year, the utility itself announced a restructuring that would separate its power generation, transmission and distribution functions into discrete business units.

SCEcorp was created in 1988 as a holding company for Southern California Edison to spin off its unregulated businesses, which have figured more importantly to shareholders as the profitability of the utility industry comes under competitive pressure.