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March 26, 2008 |
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AES CORP: Official Says Chilean Prices In Need of New Investment Business News Americas reports that U.S. official at AES Corp. said that power prices in Chile are in need for new investment. "The recent gas cutoffs from Argentina and node price increases of 45% in 2007 have confirmed our view there is a near-term opportunity to add new capacity, particularly non-gas fired," the official said during a conference call with the investors. According to the official familiar with the matter, the high marginal cost of power in the northern SING and central SIC grids, has showed a shortage of efficient generation capacity, BNamericas relates. The report adds that 2007's average marginal cost on the SIC grid has boosted to US$170/MWh compared to US$46/MWh last year. The company has planned in advanced development in Chile adding 700MW to projects already under production, the official said in a statement. In addition, a 470MW Angamos coal-fired coal plant in region II has been planned. The company staff disclosed that the contracts have been signed and the power purchase pacts have almost completed, the report states. Construction, the report notes, would begin this year for the plant to come online by the end of 2011. About AES Corporation AES Corporation -- http://www.aes.com/ -- a global power company, operates in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean countries. Generating 44,000 megawatts of electricity through 124 power facilities, the company delivers electricity through 15 distribution companies. AES has been in Eastern Europe for over ten years, since it acquired three power plants in Hungary in 1996. Currently, AES has two distribution companies in Ukraine, which serve 1.2 million customers and generation plants in the Czech Republic and Hungary. AES is also the leading company in biomass conversion in Hungary, generating 37% of the nation's total renewable generation in 2004. The company has Latin America operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama. * * * The AES Corporation still carries Moody's Investors Service's Corporate Family Rating and the senior unsecured rating assigned at B1. The company also carries Fitch Ratings' 'BB/RR1' rating on US$500 million issue of senior unsecured notes due 2017. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on March 7, 2008, AES Corporation is in default under its senior secured credit facility and its senior unsecured credit facility due to a breach of representation related to its financial statements as set forth in the credit agreements. As a result, US$200 million of the debt under the company's senior secured credit facility will be classified as current on the balance sheet as of Dec. 31, 2007. There are no outstanding borrowings under the senior unsecured facility. |
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