Central and South West Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend
Dallas (October 20, 1999) -- The board of directors of Central and South West Corporation (NYSE: CSR) today declared a quarterly dividend of 43.5 cents per share. The dividend is payable on November 30, 1999, to shareholders of record on November 5, 1999.

On December 22, 1997, Central and South West (CSW) announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), whereby each common share of CSW would be converted into 0.6 shares of AEP. As announced previously, CSW anticipates continuing its current dividend policy until the close of the transaction. However, the dividend policy will continue to be reviewed quarterly by CSW’s board of directors.

For additional background information and information regarding the merger, please see CSW’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998, Form 10-Qs for the quarters ended March 31, 1999 and June 30, 1999, and Form 8-Ks dated September 1, 1999 and October 18, 1999.

Central and South West Corporation is a Dallas-based public utility holding company that owns four U.S. electric utility subsidiaries with 1.7 million customers, a regional electricity company serving 2 million customers in the United Kingdom, and non-utility subsidiaries involved in energy-related investments as well as subsidiaries that offer telecommunications, energy efficiency and financial transactions.