AES

AES improves lives by providing safe, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions in every market it serves. AES provides affordable and reliable energy to customers worldwide through its distribution businesses and thermal and renewable power generation facilities. With more than 30 years of experience, a diverse mix of generation and utility sources provides the strength and flexibility to adapt to local and regional market needs, maximize plant efficiency and deliver reliable, affordable electricity.

1981: The company was founded by Dennis W. Bakke and Roger W. Sant and is headquartered in Arlington, VA.

1984: Sales grew an additional 75 percent the following year, while net company income witnessed similarly spectacular growth, soaring from $1.6 million in 1988 to $42.6 million in 1991. It was an auspicious start for the struggling company, which, over the course of the next 11 years (1984-94), proceeded to build or acquire ten new power plants.

1985: The firm's luck took a turn for the better when Sant and Bakke invested all of AES's assets in a single deal: a Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, coal-burning plant.

1987: A study into such a program was initiated after growing concern by company executives that such emissions were contributing to global warming and therefore having a deleterious effect on the environment. The Beaver plant begins production. Sant was chairman, CEO, and president, and Bakke was executive vice president until assuming the position of president.

1988: Pioneering the model of Independent Power Producer (IPP), AES became the first and largest IPP in the US with three cogeneration plants in operation in California (Placerita), Pennsylvania (Beaver Valley) and Texas (Deepwater)

1989: Caring for our carbon before it was common, AES created the first documented carbon offset program in the US by planting 52 million trees in Guatemala to offset carbon emissions from a plant in Connecticut.

1990: One startling discovery was that the S-boxes appeared to be secure against an attack known as “Differential Cryptanalysis” which was only publicly discovered by Biham and Shamir.

1991: Going public with investors, AES was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AES).

1992: Bakke, for instance, estimated that up until about mid-year, 70 percent of the money that AES spent on the new business activity was spent in the United States. Expanding on our work in the US, AES extended its business globally for the first time to broaden our impact

1994: However, despite all this controversy, NIST reformed DES for government use for a further five years for use in areas other than “classified”. Dennis Bakke became AES’ second CEO as the company continued its international expansion.

1995: In fact, the firm was spending an estimated 85 percent of its venture capital abroad. AES generated, sold, or marketed electricity in more than 25 countries, ranging from Italy to Vietnam and India to Mexico, all with the aim of building on its role as one of the world's chief suppliers of electricity.

1997: In January, NIST announced a competition for the successor to DES. To allay the suspicions that the NSA had placed “back doors” in DES, the competition was to be open and public, and the encryption algorithm was available for use royalty-free worldwide.

1998: AES announced its $885 million purchase of United States-based Cilcorp Inc., which was completed the following year.

1999: The firm also acquired California-based NewEnergy Inc. in July, the Virginia-based company operated in 24 countries and over half of its profits stemmed from its operations outside the United States and Europe.

2000: Over the course of three competitive rounds and intense cryptanalysis by the world’s foremost experts on encryption, NIST selected the winner, the Rijndael (pronounced “Rhine doll”) algorithm of Belgian cryptographers Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen in October. According to Sant, the world needed $30 billion worth of new power plants a year. AES also acquired the Chilean-based subsidiary Gener.

2001: Early this year, AES's growth and expansion appeared unflappable. Focusing on improving lives, AES entered the retail customer arena with the acquisition of IPL in Indiana and is the symmetric cypher of choice for government and commercial use today.

2002: The firm also began to divest its merchant generation businesses and in June announced the sale of its New Energy arm to Constellation Energy Group. Although AES has grown a great deal during my tenure, it became clear to me that this is a time for a new CEO. Different times require "different leaders," proclaimed co-founder Bakke in a June company press release. Paul Hanrahan became AES’ third CEO as the company made its first investments in wind and solar.

2003: However, AES with key sizes of 192 and 256 bits has been found to be secure enough to protect information up to top secret. Dick Darman became AES’ second Chairman of the Board.

2005: Seeing a greener energy future for the world, AES made an investment in wind generation, acquiring SeaWest, one of the largest wind companies in the US and starts its expansion into cleaner energy sources.

2006: Focusing on continuous improvement means continuous benefits for our stakeholders that matter most, AES launched AES Performance Excellence Program (APEX) to drive greater innovation, efficiency and process improvement in its day-to-day operations.

2008: Phil Odeen became AES’ third Chairman of the Board.

2009: Beginning a new era of firm renewables with utility-scale energy storage, AES connected the first utility-scale system in the world in Indianapolis and installed the first commercially operating system at the Los Andes facility in Chile

2010: Electricity consumption in the United States, for instance, was expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.9 percent until the year 2010, according to the Edison Electric Institute.

2011: Together with the Philippines, AES became the first company to win two Edison Electric Institute Awards within a five-year period for its world-class turn-around of the Masinloc facility in the Philippines Andrés Gluski became AES’ fourth CEO and initiated the company’s plans to accelerate the future of energy AES acquired DPL Inc., then known as Dayton Power & Light.

2012: Working together with Chile, AES received an Edison Electric Institute Award for its hybrid plant model for the future combining energy storage with conventional generation, Hanrahan resigned from his position as president and CEO of the company and was succeeded by Andres Gluski.

2013: Charles Rossotti became AES’ fourth Chairman of the Board working together with Cameroon, AES won its fourth International Edison Electric Institute Award for its work in Cameroon to improve the electricity sector and the overall economy and social well-being in Cameroon.

2015: Expanding its distributed energy capabilities, AES acquired Mainstreet Power to add distributed solar resources to its portfolio in the rapidly expanding distributed solar market AES's total revenue was $15 billion.

2016: Working together with the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, AES again received the International Edison Electric Institute Award for its Advancion technology and the global expansion of its energy storage services.

2017: Seeing the future in solar, AES acquired sPower, the largest independent solar developer in the US with Alberta Investment Management Co (AIMCo).

2018: Jay Morse became AES’ fifth Chairman of the Board.

2019: Together with KIUC in Kauai, AES won the Edison Electric Institute Award for helping the island meet its renewable enable targets with the world’s largest solar PV Peaker plant and energy storage facility developing the most comprehensive suite of customer-facing solutions for electric and gas utilities. AES announced the merger of Simple Energy with Tendril to form the digital energy management company, Uplight.

2020: Being recognized for our people being our energy, AES was named to the Fast Company List of the Best Workplaces for Innovators Sept. Dayton Power & Light announced a Smart Operations Center in Ohio, the first of its kind in the United States. In October. AES continued to accelerate the future of energy with the launch of a new brand and product offerings. By November, AES achieved the coal reduction target by reducing energy generation from coal to less than 30%. As well, AES attained a second investment grade rating.

2021: January, AES Alamitos Battery Energy Storage System commissioned, the world’s first standalone energy storage project for local capacity.

We are united in our mission and purpose: accelerating the future of energy, together. We share a vision of being the world's leading power company and are committed to improving lives by delivering the greener, smarter energy solutions the world needs.

AES maintains its commitment to providing clean, affordable and reliable energy to the world.