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                       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

        Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): August 20, 1999

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


        DELAWARE               333-15487                   54-1163725
(State of Incorporation) (Commission File No.) (IRS Employer Identification No.)


                       1001 North 19th Street, Suite 2000
                            Arlington, Virginia 22209

          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

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

                                 NOT APPLICABLE
          (Former Name or Former Address, if changed since last report)



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Item 5.   Other Events

     On August 18, 1999, the AES Corporation (the "Registrant") issued the press
release attached as Exhibit 1 to this report and incorporated herein by
reference.











                                   SIGNATURES

          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 hereunto duly authorized.





                                                    THE AES CORPORATION





     Date: August 20, 1999                           By /s/ William Luraschi
                                                       --------------------
                                                          (signing officer)






FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               CONTACT: KENNETH R. WOODCOCK
                                                                  (703) 522-1315

            AES TO ACQUIRE $3 BILLION DRAX POWER FACILITY IN ENGLAND

        3,960 MW facility is largest coal-fired plant in western Europe


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ARLINGTON, VA, August 18, 1999 - The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) announced today
that a subsidiary has reached  agreement with National Power for the acquisition
of the Drax Power Station for (POUNDS)1.875 billion  (approximately $3 billion).
The Drax station is a 3,960MW coal fired power  station  complete  with flue gas
desulphurisation  located on an 1800 acre site in  northern  England.  It is the
largest coal-fired plant in western Europe and generates approximately 8% of the
electricity in England and Wales.  Completion of the transaction is subject to a
number of conditions,  including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals and
the approval of the shareholders of National Power. Closing is expected to occur
later this year, and AES expects to fund this acquisition  through a combination
of non recourse project financing, corporate debt financing and corporate equity
issuance.

AES's  subsidiary  will acquire the shares of a newly formed  company,  National
Power Drax Limited,  into which the assets of the station have been transferred.
In  addition  to the  purchase of shares in  National  Power Drax  Limited,  the
facility has entered into a coal contract with National  Power for the supply of
a portion  of the  output of Drax for the  period to March  2000 and a number of
other  short-term  transitional  technical  and  IT  contracts  related  to  the
operation of Drax.

Michael  Armstrong,  Group  Manager,  AES  Electric,  stated,  "We are extremely
pleased to have won this bid.  Drax is the  largest,  cleanest,  newest and most
efficient large coal plant in England.  Our  company-wide  Drax development team
has done an  exceptional  job in  structuring  an  innovative  approach  to this
acquisition."

Dennis W. Bakke,  President  and Chief  Executive  Officer,  commented,  "We are
excited about this major addition to our existing mix of generating  assets. Our
global  experience with other clean coal-fired plants should allow us to enhance
the operations of this facility.  Furthermore,  our forthcoming  experience with
Drax in the UK market should serve as a  springboard  to other  acquisitions  in
Europe."

AES is a leading  global power company that currently owns or has an interest in
one hundred and five power  facilities  totaling  over 32,000  megawatts  in the
United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Panama,
Mexico, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kazakhstan, China
and the United Kingdom.  AES also  distributes  electricity to nearly 14 million
customers and is also a retail marketer of heat and electricity.  In addition to
having assets in excess of $10 billion,  the Company has a significant number of
projects  in  construction  or  development.   AES  is  dedicated  to  providing
electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way.

                                   * * * * *

Fore 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.