1. On November 5, 2002, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID” or “the Centre”) received a Request for Arbitration against the Argentine Republic (“the Respondent” or “Argentina”) from the AES Corporation (“the Claimant” or “AES”), a company incorporated in the State of Delaware, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, United States of America. The Request concerns AES' investment in eight electricity generation companies and three major electricity distribution companies in Argentina, and Argentina's alleged refusal to apply previously agreed tariff calculation and adjustment mechanisms.