EXHIBIT 99.1

                      AES COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF IPALCO

                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                 Arlington, VA, March 27, 2001 - The AES Corporation
(NYSE:AES) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of IPALCO
Enterprises, Inc., the Indianapolis-based utility with 3,000 MW of generation
and 433,000 customers in and around Indianapolis. IPALCO has become a
wholly-owned subsidiary of AES through an exchange of shares where each
outstanding share of IPALCO common stock will be exchanged for 0.463 shares
of AES common stock. IPALCO common stock will be suspended from trading after
today's market close. Information relating to exchange procedures will be
mailed to IPALCO shareholders. Pursuant to an SEC Order, AES will restructure
and/or sell its ownership interests in CILCORP within 2 years in order to
continue as an exempt holding company under the Public Utility Holding
Company Act of 1935.

                 Thomas A. Tribone, Executive Vice President, stated, "We're
pleased to welcome the people and shareholders of IPALCO to AES. We look
forward to serving in Indianapolis and building on IPALCO's already strong
record."

                 Dennis W. Bakke, President and CEO, commented, "We are
excited to be adding to our capabilities in the Midwest with this acquisition
of IPALCO. As we go forward, Lenny Lee and his team will be leading our
effort to integrate IPALCO and the IPALCO people into the AES family."

                 Business development milestones in 2001 include the
following:

-    In March, a subsidiary of AES acquired from EniChem SpA an oil-fired 140MW
     cogeneration facility in the town of Ottana, which is in the province of
     Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy.

-    In February, a subsidiary of AES entered an agreement to purchase all of
     the energy assets of Thermo Ecotek Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary
     of Thermo Electron Corporation of Waltham, Massachusetts for $195 million.

-    In January, AES announced the start of construction of the $300 million AES
     Wolf Hollow power plant at a site in Granbury, Texas.





-    In January, a subsidiary of AES acquired a majority interest in a 290MW
     barge-mounted natural-gas-fired electric generating business in Lagos,
     Nigeria.

-    In January, AES Huntington Beach submitted a proposal to the California
     Energy Commission to restart two retired gas-fired units that will add an
     additional 450 megawatts of generation in the electricity-strapped state of
     California.

-    In January, AES announced the purchase of an additional 39% ownership
     interest in Hidroelectrica Alicura, a 1000 MW hydro plant in Argentina, on
     December 27, 2000.

-    In January, AES announced that it had successfully completed its offer to
     exchange all American Depositary Shares of Gener S.A. for AES common stock.


                 AES is a leading global power company comprised of
competitive generation, distribution and retail supply businesses in
Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, the
Netherlands, Nigeria, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka, the United
Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela.

                 The company's generating assets include interests in one
hundred and sixty facilities totaling over 54 gigawatts of capacity. AES's
electricity distribution network has over 920,000 km of conductor and
associated rights of way and sells over 126,000 gigawatt hours per year to
over 17 million end-use customers. In addition, through its various retail
electricity supply businesses, the company sells electricity to over 154,000
end-use customers.

                 AES is dedicated to providing electricity worldwide in a
socially responsible way.

                 This news release may include forward-looking statements.
Actual events and results may differ materially from those projected. Factors
that could affect actual results are discussed in AES's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and readers are encouraged to read those
filings to learn more about the risk factors associated with AES's businesses.

                                   * * * * *

                 For more general information visit our web site at
www.aesc.com or contact investor relations at investing@aesc.com. 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.