AES Takes Over Hydro Facility and Signs Concession in San Juan, Argentina.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 1998--

Organizational Changes are also Announced

The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) announced Monday that its subsidiary, AES Caracoles, signed a 40 year concession agreement for its 230 MW Caracoles project and has taken over the operation of Quebrada de Ullum, an existing 45 megawatt hydroelectric plant.

As announced last fall, the Caracoles project is located in San Juan Province, Argentina on the San Juan River, where AES already owns and operates the Ullum 45 megawatt hydroelectric facility.

The project is a mixed hydroelectric/irrigation system that when completed will consist of the existing Quebrada de Ullum plant and two newly constructed dams and their associated facilities. The Province of San Juan, with credit support from the Republic of Argentina, is providing the funds for the irrigation portion of the project.

The signing of the concession and takeover of Quebrada de Ullum marks the completion of the first phase of the project. At this time AES has no cash investment in the project. Under the concession agreement AES has committed to use its best efforts to achieve an acceptable project financing for the new construction. AES expects to make an equity investment contingent on the closing of this project financing, expected later in 1998.

Thomas Tribone, president of AES Americas, stated, "This project typifies the purpose of AES. It will provide renewable energy and will be a major factor in the economic development of the Province. Working closely with the Province we have been able to arrive at a commercial structure that will, for the first time, we believe, allow successful private project financing of such a project."

Dennis Bakke, president and CEO of AES, stated, "We are pleased to have completed the first phase of this project on time. When completed, the project will provide needed electrical capacity and will double the irrigated area in the Province of San Juan. It will facilitate a major increase in economic activity in the region and we are proud to have been chosen by the Province to develop this important project."

AES also announced today organizational changes that are in the process of being implemented. The changes arise from recent growth of Company business and are intended to make the company more responsive to opportunities to supply electricity around the world. The changes also allow certain senior group heads to change venues and provide new leadership opportunities for younger leaders. The changes are as follows:

-- Stu Ryan, AES Transpower Group Manager, will relocate to California to lead a new group that will run existing and new businesses in California and elsewhere in the western US;

-- Paul Hanrahan, AES Chigen Group Manager, will lead a new group that includes Argentina and southern Brazil, including AES Sul and Uruguaiana;

-- Bill Ruccius, presently head of AES' plants in Pakistan, will relocate to Hong Kong and lead most of AES businesses in China as well as AES business in Mongolia, North and South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan and Hawaii;

-- Lenny Lee, presently a Project Director in AES Transpower, will lead Transpower from Singapore and run AES businesses in parts of China as well as Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia;

-- Shahzad Qasim, presently a Project Director with AES Silk Road, will lead a new group that is responsible for the Asia Sub-continent and selected middle-eastern countries.

These transitions will take place over the next few months.

AES' business development successes early in 1998 include the following:

-- On Jan. 21, AES acquired the CLESA distribution company in El Salvador for $109 million.

-- On Jan. 26, AES won a bid to sell electricity from a 360 MW gas-fired plant in Haripur, Bangladesh.

AES is a leading global power company that currently owns or has an interest in eighty-seven power facilities totaling almost 23,000 megawatts in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kazakhstan, China and the United Kingdom.

In addition to having assets in excess of $8 billion, the Company has more than $5 billion of projects in construction or late stages of development. AES is dedicated to providing electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way.

For more general information visit our web site at www.aesc.com or contact investor relations at [e-mail]. The list aes-pr-announce is an automated mailing list and can be found on the investing page of our web site. Those who subscribe to this list will receive updates when AES issues a press release.

CONTACT: The AES Corporation

Kenneth R. Woodcock, 703/522-1315