AES Wins Bid for Controlling Interest in Two Hydroelectric Generating Companies in Panama for $91 Million.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1998--

With rights to add 133 MW results in 40% of

Panama's Generating Capacity

The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) announced today that it has won a bid to acquire for $91 million 49% of Empresa de Generacion Chiriqui S.A. (EGE Chiriqui) and 49% of Empresa de Generacion Bayano (EGE Bayano), two hydroelectric generation companies in Panama.

These shares will be purchased from Instituto de Recursos Hidraulicos y Electrificacion (IRHE), a government-owned utility company. IRHE will retain 49% of the companies and sell 2% to the employees.

EGE Bayano is comprised of a 150 MW hydro facility and 42 MW of thermal capacity, located near the capital Panama City, Panama. EGE Chiriqui is comprised of two existing run-of-river hydro facilities for a total of 90 MW, in the western part of Panama in the mountains near Costa Rica.

Part of the acquisition includes adding 133 MW of hydroelectric generating capacity in a project called Esti. With the Esti expansion, AES will be providing close to 40% of the generating capacity of Panama's 1067 MW; today's generating capacity is 935 MW.

EGE Bayano and EGE Chiriqui have 5 year contracts for their output with the distribution companies that were privatized in September (owned by Union Fenosa and Constellation). Thereafter, the units will sell their capacity and energy on the spot market or under new contracts with the distribution companies, who have an obligation to contract for 100% of their demand annually. AES' 49% share comes with an Administration contract which gives AES control of the companies.

Ms. Sarah Slusser, President of AES Aurora, stated, "We are looking forward to becoming the largest provider of electricity in Panama. These are excellent hydro electric assets in a good position in the electricity market. We are thrilled to expand our business in Central America and to serve an additional 1 million people in Panama."

Mr. Dennis Bakke, President and CEO of AES, stated, "We are so pleased with the result of the bidding process in Panama. AES obtained the plants it most desired at a reasonable price. These facilities will allow us to serve the people of Panama for many years."

AES' business development successes in 1998 include the following:

-- 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-Servicos 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 June, AES raised $173 million of non-recourse project financing for the AES Merida III 484 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the City of Merida, Yucatan, 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 Corporation ("NYSEG") for approximately $950 million.

-- In October, AES signed a Shareholders Agreement with the Government of Orissa as part of the process to acquire a 49% share in the Orissa Power Generation Corporation ("OPGC") for approximately $144 million.

-- In October, AES won a bid to acquire a 75 percent interest in Telasi, the electricity distribution company of Tbilisi, Georgia, for approximately $25.5 million.

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.

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.