8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                                February 18, 1997
                Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

                         Commission File Number: 0-19281

                               THE AES CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                                    Delaware
         (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

                                   54-1163725
                        (IRS Employer Identification No.)

                             1001 North 19th Street
                            Arlington, Virginia 22209
                     (Address of principal executive office)

                         Telephone Number (703) 522-1315
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)



Item 5.           Other Events.

                  On February  18, 1997,  The AES  Corporation  (the  "Company")
announced that it had reached agreement to acquire the international business of
Destec Energy.  Incorporated herein by reference in Exhibit 20.6 attached hereto
are details of the announcement.


Item 7.           Financial Statements and Exhibits.


                  The following is filed as an Exhibit to this Report.

                  Exhibit Number 20.6

                  Description

                  News  Release  Announcing  the  Company's  acquisition  of the
                  international assets of Destec Energy.



SIGNATURE

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

The AES Corporation
(Registrant)



BY:      WILLIAM R. LURASCHI
         WILLIAM R. LURASCHI
         GENERAL COUNSEL AND SECRETARY

Dated:  February 18, 1997


EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT NO.    DESCRIPTION


     20.6       News Release Announcing the Company's Acquisition of Destec.

EX-20.6

                                                                    EXHIBIT 20.6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

              AES TO ACQUIRE DESTEC ENERGY'S INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

              Acquisition Includes Five Electric Generating Plants

ARLINGTON,  VA, February 18, 1997 -- The AES Corporation  (NYSE:  AES) announced
today that it, together with the NGC Corporation ("NGC"), was the winning bidder
to acquire Destec Energy, a large independent power producer. AES and NGC teamed
up to bid for Destec and offered a winning  bid of $1.27  billion (or $21.65 per
share  of  Destec  common  stock)  for all of  Destec.  Under  the  terms of the
agreement,  Destec  will  merge  into  a  subsidiary  of  NGC,  and  immediately
thereafter,  AES will  acquire all of Destec's  international  assets,  with NGC
retaining all of Destec's US and other businesses.

The  international  assets to be acquired by AES for $365  million  include five
electric  generating  plants and a number of power projects in development.  The
acquisition  has been  approved  by  Destec's  Board of  Directors,  and remains
subject to the approval of Destec's shareholders as well as certain governmental
approvals.  Dow Chemical, which owns 80 percent of Destec, has agreed to vote in
favor of the merger.

The plants to be acquired by AES (with  ownership  percentages  in  parenthesis)
include the following:

- -- 110 MW gas-fired  combined cycle plant in Kingston,  Canada (50 percent);  
- -- 405 MW gas-fired combined cycle plant in Terneuzen, Netherlands (50 percent);
- -- 140 MW gas-fired simple cycle plant in Cornwall,  England (100 percent);  
- -- 235 MW  oil-fired  simple  cycle plant in Santo  Domingo,  Dominican  
   Republic  (100 percent); and 
- -- 1600 MW coal-fired plant in Victoria, Australia (20 percent).

The   acquisition   by  AES  also   includes   a  number  of   Destec's   non-US
development-stage  power  projects  in Taiwan,  England,  Germany,  Philippines,
Australia, and Columbia with a total capacity of approximately 2600 MW.

Mr. Thomas Tribone, President of AES Americas, commented, "This transaction is a
great  strategic fit with our existing plants and gives us a stepping stone into
new countries and markets around the world.  The projects in development  are of
great  interest  and we are  optimistic  that  some  of  these  projects  can be
converted into operating plants."

Mr. Dennis Bakke,  President and CEO of AES, stated,  "We were delighted to have
this  chance to work  together  with NGC.  AES and NGC each had an  interest  in
various parts of Destec's  business,  and we were able to combine our efforts to
achieve a  strategic  fit for each of us. The spirit of  cooperation  during the
bidding process was outstanding.  This deal allows us to aggressively expand our
global power company."

AES is a leading  global power company that currently owns or has an interest in
thirty-four  power  facilities  totaling  over  11,000  megawatts  in the United
States, Argentina,  Brazil, Pakistan,  Hungary,  Kazakstan, China and the United
Kingdom. In addition to having assets of $3.7 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 investing@aesc.com