Fitch Rates Itabo's Proposed US$125MM Notes Issuance 'B-'

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2006

The Positive Rating Outlook reflects the favorable operating conditions of the company within the local market, the Dominican government's continued support of the sector, the different steps taken by the government and sector participants in an effort to bolster the sector, and the country's recent economic recovery. An upgrade of the company's rating could be triggered if the sector continues its current path to recovery and self-sustainability, thereby lowering its dependency upon government's subsidies.

Itabo is a thermo-electric generator in the DR and the second largest generation plant in the country. The company has a total installed capacity 472 MW of thermo-electric generation. The company is currently owned 50% by AES Corp.'s subsidiaries and 49.97% by the DR government. The balance is owned by former employees of CDE (Corporacion Dominicana de Electricidad). As previously noted, AES Dominicana manages the company under a management contract, for a fee of 2.95% of Itabo's sales, while AES Corp. indirectly controls Itabo's management board.

Fitch's Recovery Ratings (RR), introduced in 2005, are a relative indicator of creditor recovery on a given obligation in the event of a default. A broad overview of Fitch's RR methodology as it relates to specific sectors, including a Case Study webcast, can be found at www.fitchratings.com/recovery.> Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.