AES To Acquire 49% Stake Of 420 MW Coal Plant In India.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1998--The AES Corp. (NYSE:AES) announced Thursday that it signed a Shareholders Agreement with the Government of Orissa as part of the process to acquire a 49% share in the Orissa Power Generation Corp. ("OPGC") for approximately $144 million.

OPGC owns and operates a 420 MW mine-mouth coal fired power station in the eastern Indian State of Orissa. AES was awarded the acquisition following a competitive bid in May, 1998. The acquisition is subject to receipt of government approvals and satisfaction of conditions precedent, and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 1999.

Electricity from the plant is sold to the Grid Corp. of Orissa under the terms of a 30 year power purchase agreement. The base load facility generates low cost competitive electricity and is located adjacent to the 500 MW Ib Valley greenfield project that is being developed by AES.

Shahzad Qasim, president of AES Oasis, said, "We are excited about growing our business in South Asia by winning the first electricity generating asset privatisation tender in India. OPGC is a strategic acquisition for us in many respects and further strengthens our position in the region."

Dennis Bakke, president and CEO of AES, stated, "Our persistent efforts are starting to yield tangible success in India. This acquisition will expand upon our business in this important market. We congratulate the Government of Orissa and the World Bank on their leading edge electricity reform program and look forward to working together in Orissa."

AES' business development successes in 1998 include the following: -0-

--   In January, AES acquired the CLESA distribution company in El
     Salvador for $96.5 million.
--   In January, AES won a bid to sell electricity from a 360 MW
     gas-fired plant in Haripur, Bangladesh.
--   In April, 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 MW hydroelectric plant in
     Argentina.
--   In April, AES' affiliate, Light-Servios de Electricidade,
     acquired Eletropaulo Metropolitana, the distribution company
     serving the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
--   In May, AES completed its purchase of three electric generating
     stations from Southern California Edison.
--   In May, AES acquired 90% of Edelap, an electric distribution
     company in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
--   In June, AES raised $173 million of non-recourse project
     financing for the AES M rida III 484 MW gas-fired combined cycle
     power plant in the City of M rida, Yucat n, Mexico.
--   In June, AES won a bid to sell electricity from a 450 MW
     gas-fired plant, Meghnaghat, in Bangladesh.
--   In June, AES completed the $350 million acquisition of Edelap, an
     electric distribution company in the province of Buenos Aires,
     Argentina.
--   In August, AES won a bid to acquire six coal-fired, electric
     generating plants from NGE Generation, Inc., an affiliate of New
     York State Electric & Gas Corp. ("NYSEG") for approximately
     $950 million.

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AES is a leading global power company that currently owns or has an interest in ninety power facilities totaling over 27,000 megawatts in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, China and the United Kingdom. AES also distributes electricity to nearly 13 million customers.

In addition to having assets in excess of $9 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.

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