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): July 13, 1998

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

<TABLE>
<S>                                             <C>                                    <C>       
        DELAWARE                                0-19281                                54-1163725
(State of Incorporation)                 (Commission File No.)             (IRS Employer Identification No.)
</TABLE>

                             1001 North 19th Street
                            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)



<PAGE>



ITEM 5.   OTHER EVENTS

     This report is filed to file with the  Securities  and Exchange  Commission
(i) the press release issued on July 21, 1998,  announcing the Company's  second
quarter  earnings and the Company's  intention to offer 6,500,000  shares of its
common stock and  $200,000,000  aggregate  principal  amount of its  Convertible
Junior Subordinated  Debentures due 2005 and (ii) the Company's statement of its
ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the first quarter of 1998 (the  Company's
statement of such ratio for the last five fiscal  years  having been  previously
filed as an exhibit to the Company's  Annual Report on Form 10-K for 1997).  The
press  release  and the  Company's  statement  of its ratio of earnings to fixed
charges are each incorporated herein by reference to Exhibits 12 and 20 attached
hereto.

     This  report  is also  filed  to file  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission the following recent developments with respect to the Company:

     In May,  subsidiaries  of AES  completed  the  purchase  of three  electric
generating stations from Southern California Edison ("Edison") for approximately
$781 million.  In connection  with the  acquisition,  the Company  obtained $713
million of  non-recourse  project  financing.  AES Alamitos  (Long  Beach),  AES
Redondo  Beach and AES  Huntington  Beach all fire  natural  gas with a combined
summer peak  generating  capacity of 3,956 megawatts (MW). AES has contracted to
provide fuel conversion services from the facilities to Williams Energy Services
Company  ("Williams").  Under the long term agreement,  Williams delivers gas to
the plants and owns and markets the  electrical  output.  Project debt financing
for  the  acquisition  was  provided  by  a  syndicate  of  banks.  Pursuant  to
California's electricity restructuring law, Edison will remain under contract to
operate and maintain the facilities  for two years,  after which AES will assume
operations.

     In May, a subsidiary  of AES entered into an agreement  with Hanwha  Energy
Co., Ltd. of South Korea ("Hanwha") to acquire Hanwha's power generation  assets
located in the City of Inchon, South Korea,  consisting of 1,500 MW in operation
and an additional 300 MW under  construction,  for  approximately  $873 million.
Closing  of  the  transactions  contemplated  by the  agreement  is  subject  to
significant   conditions  including  negotiation  and  execution  of  definitive
documentation.  The  agreement  requires  AES to (i) fund  $371  million  of the
purchase price upon execution of a Business Transfer  Agreement and satisfaction
of  certain  conditions   precedent   contained  therein,   (ii)  assume  up  to
approximately $273 million of existing project debt and leases upon closing, and
(iii) commit to fund the  remaining  $230 million  towards  construction  of the
additional  300 MW. In  connection  with  this  potential  transaction,  AES has
entered  into a $380  million  standby  non-recourse  bridge  loan,  secured  by
approximately  4 million shares of Common Stock, to fund the intial $371 million
payment.  There  can be no  assurances  that  the  Hanwha  acquisition  will  be
consummated.

     In June, a subsidiary  of the Company  raised $173 million of  non-recourse
project financing for the $230 million AES Merida III 484 MW gas-fired  combined
cycle power plant currently under  construction in the City of Merida,  Yucatan,
Mexico.  When constructed and in operation,  the new facility will provide power
to the state utility in Mexico,  Comision  Federal de  Electricidad,  under a 25
year power purchase agreement.

     In  June,  a  subsidiary  of  AES  was  selected  by the  Bangladesh  Power
Development Board as the First-Ranked Sponsor to build, own and operate a 450 MW
(net)  gas-fired  combined  cycle  power plant at a site 12 miles  southeast  of
Dhaka,  Bangladesh on the Meghna River (the "Meghnaghat  Project").  The site is
about 3 miles from  AES's  Haripur  project,  a 360 MW  gas-fired  plant that is
currently  under  development.  AES was awarded  the Haripur  project in January
1998.  Electricity from the Meghnaghat  project is anticipated to be sold to the
Bangladesh Power  Development  Board under the terms of a 22 year power purchase
agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly.  Commercial operations of the
Meghnaghat   plant  is  expected  to  commence  in  the  year  2000.  Titus  Gas
Transmission and Distribution Company, a subsidiary of Petrobangla,  will supply
natural gas to the  facility  from a nearby  pipeline  for the term of the power
purchase agreement.

     In June, a subsidiary  of AES acquired 90% of Empresa  Distribuidora  de La
Plata S.A.  ("EDELAP"),  an  electric  distribution  company in the  province of
Buenos Aires,  Argentina for approximately  $350 million from a joint venture of
Houston Industries  Energy,  Inc. and a subsidiary of Techint S.A., an Argentine
industrial firm. EDELAP serves approximately 278,000 customers in and around the
city  of La  Plata,  the  capital  of  Buenos  Aires  Province.  A $193  million
non-recourse  loan provided for a portion of the purchase price.  The balance of
the  purchase  price  was  financed  through  a $165  million  bridge  loan to a
subsidiary of AES. (the "EDELAP Bridge").

     In July, two  subsidiaries  of AES, AES Lal Pir Limited ("AES Lal Pir") and
AES  PakGen  (Pvt)  Company  ("AES  PakGen"),  received  "Notices  of  Intent to
Terminate" certain project  agreements from the Government of Pakistan.  AES Lal
Pir is a 351 MW (net)  oil-fired  thermal  power  plant  located  in the  Punjab
Province of Pakistan. AES PakGen is a 344 MW (net) oil-fired thermal power plant
located  adjacent to AES Lal Pir. The notices  issued to these  projects  assert
that AES's subsidiaries made inaccurate  anti-corruption  representations to the
Government  of Pakistan.  AES believes that these notices are similar to notices
received by other independent power producers in Pakistan. AES


                                        2

<PAGE>

     strongly denies the allegations  made in the Notices of Intent to Terminate
and intends to  vigorously  pursue all  available  legal  options to enforce and
preserve its contractual  rights under the project  agreements.  To that end, in
August 1998, AES Lal Pir and AES PakGen filed a Request for Arbitration with the
International  Chamber of Commerce  International Court of Arbitration seeking a
declaration  that the  purported  Notices  of Intent to  Terminate  are  invalid
because,  among other things, the allegations contained therein have no basis in
fact,  there  has  been no  breach  or event of  default  of any of the  project
documents  relating  to the  allegations  and the  Government  of  Pakistan  has
provided no evidence  to  substantiate  any of the  allegations.  Despite  these
notices, both plants continue to operate normally and the customer, the Pakistan
Water and Power  Development  Authority,  has  continued to make its payments in
accordance with the contracts.

     On August 3, 1998,  the Company  announced that it 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.  The  facilities  represent the bulk of NYSEG's  coal-fired  generation
assets and were auctioned as part of NYSEG's implementation of its restructuring
plan in  accordance  with  New  York's  introduction  of  wholesale  and  retail
competition into the state's electricity  generation  market.The six facilities,
located in western and  west-central  New York,  are Kintigh (675 MW),  Milliken
(306 MW), Goudey (126 MW), Greenidge (161 MW), Hickling (85 MW) and Jennison (71
MW). The facilities  include low cost generating  plants and, with the exception
of some of the  smaller  units,  are  expected to run as  based-load  units in a
competitive New York electricity  generation  market.  Sulfur dioxide  scrubbers
have already been  installed at the largest  plants,  Kintigh and Milliken.  The
acquisition is expected to be completed  during the first quarter of 1999 and is
subject  to  customary  closing  conditions,  including  the  receipt of various
governmental approvals. The Company currently intends to finance its acquisition
of NYSEG through one or any  combination of the following:  (i) borrowings under
its  revolving  credit  facility;  (ii)  issuance  of  non  recourse  debt  by a
subsidiary; (iii) issuances of debt or equity by the Company; or (iv) borrowings
under a bridge facility.


     EXHIBITS

     The following are filed as Exhibits to this Report.

     Exhibit  4 Form of First  Supplemental  Indenture  (Supplemental  to Junior
Subordinated  Debt  Securities  Indenture  between  The  Company  and The  First
National Bank of Chicago),

     Exhibit 12 Statement of the Company's Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

     Exhibit 20 News Release  announcing the Company's  second quarter  earnings
and the offering of common stock and convertible debentures by the Company


                                   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 4, 1998                          By /s/ William Luraschi
                                                     ---------------------------
                                                        (signing officer)




                                        3
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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): July 13, 1998

                               THE AES CORPORATION
             (exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE                                0-19281                                54-1163725
(State of Incorporation)                 (Commission File No.)             (IRS Employer Identification No.)
1001 North 19th Street
                            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)
ITEM 5.   OTHER EVENTS

     This report is filed to file with the  Securities  and Exchange  Commission
(i) the press release issued on July 21, 1998,  announcing the Company's  second
quarter  earnings and the Company's  intention to offer 6,500,000  shares of its
common stock and  $200,000,000  aggregate  principal  amount of its  Convertible
Junior Subordinated  Debentures due 2005 and (ii) the Company's statement of its
ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the first quarter of 1998 (the  Company's
statement of such ratio for the last five fiscal  years  having been  previously
filed as an exhibit to the Company's  Annual Report on Form 10-K for 1997).  The
press  release  and the  Company's  statement  of its ratio of earnings to fixed
charges are each incorporated herein by reference to Exhibits 12 and 20 attached
hereto.

     This  report  is also  filed  to file  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission the following recent developments with respect to the Company:

     In May,  subsidiaries  of AES  completed  the  purchase  of three  electric
generating stations from Southern California Edison ("Edison") for approximately
$781 million.  In connection  with the  acquisition,  the Company  obtained $713
million of  non-recourse  project  financing.  AES Alamitos  (Long  Beach),  AES
Redondo  Beach and AES  Huntington  Beach all fire  natural  gas with a combined
summer peak  generating  capacity of 3,956 megawatts (MW). AES has contracted to
provide fuel conversion services from the facilities to Williams Energy Services
Company  ("Williams").  Under the long term agreement,  Williams delivers gas to
the plants and owns and markets the  electrical  output.  Project debt financing
for  the  acquisition  was  provided  by  a  syndicate  of  banks.  Pursuant  to
California's electricity restructuring law, Edison will remain under contract to
operate and maintain the facilities  for two years,  after which AES will assume
operations.

     In May, a subsidiary  of AES entered into an agreement  with Hanwha  Energy
Co., Ltd. of South Korea ("Hanwha") to acquire Hanwha's power generation  assets
located in the City of Inchon, South Korea,  consisting of 1,500 MW in operation
and an additional 300 MW under  construction,  for  approximately  $873 million.
Closing  of  the  transactions  contemplated  by the  agreement  is  subject  to
significant   conditions  including  negotiation  and  execution  of  definitive
documentation.  The  agreement  requires  AES to (i) fund  $371  million  of the
purchase price upon execution of a Business Transfer  Agreement and satisfaction
of  certain  conditions   precedent   contained  therein,   (ii)  assume  up  to
approximately $273 million of existing project debt and leases upon closing, and
(iii) commit to fund the  remaining  $230 million  towards  construction  of the
additional  300 MW. In  connection  with  this  potential  transaction,  AES has
entered  into a $380  million  standby  non-recourse  bridge  loan,  secured  by
approximately  4 million shares of Common Stock, to fund the intial $371 million
payment.  There  can be no  assurances  that  the  Hanwha  acquisition  will  be
consummated.

     In June, a subsidiary  of the Company  raised $173 million of  non-recourse
project financing for the $230 million AES Merida III 484 MW gas-fired  combined
cycle power plant currently under  construction in the City of Merida,  Yucatan,
Mexico.  When constructed and in operation,  the new facility will provide power
to the state utility in Mexico,  Comision  Federal de  Electricidad,  under a 25
year power purchase agreement.

     In  June,  a  subsidiary  of  AES  was  selected  by the  Bangladesh  Power
Development Board as the First-Ranked Sponsor to build, own and operate a 450 MW
(net)  gas-fired  combined  cycle  power plant at a site 12 miles  southeast  of
Dhaka,  Bangladesh on the Meghna River (the "Meghnaghat  Project").  The site is
about 3 miles from  AES's  Haripur  project,  a 360 MW  gas-fired  plant that is
currently  under  development.  AES was awarded  the Haripur  project in January
1998.  Electricity from the Meghnaghat  project is anticipated to be sold to the
Bangladesh Power  Development  Board under the terms of a 22 year power purchase
agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly.  Commercial operations of the
Meghnaghat   plant  is  expected  to  commence  in  the  year  2000.  Titus  Gas
Transmission and Distribution Company, a subsidiary of Petrobangla,  will supply
natural gas to the  facility  from a nearby  pipeline  for the term of the power
purchase agreement.

     In June, a subsidiary  of AES acquired 90% of Empresa  Distribuidora  de La
Plata S.A.  ("EDELAP"),  an  electric  distribution  company in the  province of
Buenos Aires,  Argentina for approximately  $350 million from a joint venture of
Houston Industries  Energy,  Inc. and a subsidiary of Techint S.A., an Argentine
industrial firm. EDELAP serves approximately 278,000 customers in and around the
city  of La  Plata,  the  capital  of  Buenos  Aires  Province.  A $193  million
non-recourse  loan provided for a portion of the purchase price.  The balance of
the  purchase  price  was  financed  through  a $165  million  bridge  loan to a
subsidiary of AES. (the "EDELAP Bridge").

     In July, two  subsidiaries  of AES, AES Lal Pir Limited ("AES Lal Pir") and
AES  PakGen  (Pvt)  Company  ("AES  PakGen"),  received  "Notices  of  Intent to
Terminate" certain project  agreements from the Government of Pakistan.  AES Lal
Pir is a 351 MW (net)  oil-fired  thermal  power  plant  located  in the  Punjab
Province of Pakistan. AES PakGen is a 344 MW (net) oil-fired thermal power plant
located  adjacent to AES Lal Pir. The notices  issued to these  projects  assert
that AES's subsidiaries made inaccurate  anti-corruption  representations to the
Government  of Pakistan.  AES believes that these notices are similar to notices
received by other independent power producers in Pakistan. AES

                                        2
strongly denies the allegations  made in the Notices of Intent to Terminate
and intends to  vigorously  pursue all  available  legal  options to enforce and
preserve its contractual  rights under the project  agreements.  To that end, in
August 1998, AES Lal Pir and AES PakGen filed a Request for Arbitration with the
International  Chamber of Commerce  International Court of Arbitration seeking a
declaration  that the  purported  Notices  of Intent to  Terminate  are  invalid
because,  among other things, the allegations contained therein have no basis in
fact,  there  has  been no  breach  or event of  default  of any of the  project
documents  relating  to the  allegations  and the  Government  of  Pakistan  has
provided no evidence  to  substantiate  any of the  allegations.  Despite  these
notices, both plants continue to operate normally and the customer, the Pakistan
Water and Power  Development  Authority,  has  continued to make its payments in
accordance with the contracts.

     On August 3, 1998,  the Company  announced that it 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.  The  facilities  represent the bulk of NYSEG's  coal-fired  generation
assets and were auctioned as part of NYSEG's implementation of its restructuring
plan in  accordance  with  New  York's  introduction  of  wholesale  and  retail
competition into the state's electricity  generation  market.The six facilities,
located in western and  west-central  New York,  are Kintigh (675 MW),  Milliken
(306 MW), Goudey (126 MW), Greenidge (161 MW), Hickling (85 MW) and Jennison (71
MW). The facilities  include low cost generating  plants and, with the exception
of some of the  smaller  units,  are  expected to run as  based-load  units in a
competitive New York electricity  generation  market.  Sulfur dioxide  scrubbers
have already been  installed at the largest  plants,  Kintigh and Milliken.  The
acquisition is expected to be completed  during the first quarter of 1999 and is
subject  to  customary  closing  conditions,  including  the  receipt of various
governmental approvals. The Company currently intends to finance its acquisition
of NYSEG through one or any  combination of the following:  (i) borrowings under
its  revolving  credit  facility;  (ii)  issuance  of  non  recourse  debt  by a
subsidiary; (iii) issuances of debt or equity by the Company; or (iv) borrowings
under a bridge facility.

     EXHIBITS

     The following are filed as Exhibits to this Report.

     Exhibit  4 Form of First  Supplemental  Indenture  (Supplemental  to Junior
Subordinated  Debt  Securities  Indenture  between  The  Company  and The  First
National Bank of Chicago),

     Exhibit 12 Statement of the Company's Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

     Exhibit 20 News Release  announcing the Company's  second quarter  earnings
and the offering of common stock and convertible debentures by the Company

                                   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 4, 1998                          By /s/ William Luraschi
                                                     ---------------------------
                                                        (signing officer)

                                        3