SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                                Washington, D.C.

                                    FORM U-57

                 NOTIFICATION OF FOREIGN UTILITY COMPANY STATUS

                        Filed under Section 33(a) of the

             Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended

                        GAS NATURAL DEL CENTRO S.A.E.S.P.

                         ..............................
                            (Name of foreign company)

                               NORAM ENERGY CORP.

                          .............................
    (Name of filing company, if filed on behalf of a foreign utility company)


Item 1

         The name of the entity  claiming  foreign utility company status is Gas
Natural del Centro  S.A.E.S.P.,  a Colombian  corporation (the  "Company"),  the
business  address of which is Edificio Banco Cafetero  Oficina 1003,  Manizales,
Caldas,  Colombia.  The Company  will  provide  natural gas to  residential  and
industrial  customers  through  pipelines  it will be building in the  Colombian
State of Caldas.

         Based on currently  available  information,  the following is a summary
description of the facilities to be used by the Company for the  distribution of
natural gas:

                  The  Company  expects  by the end of year 1997 to have  40,202
                  meters of pipeline with eight regulator  stations in the State
                  of Caldas and will serve a total of 1,833 customers.

         Based on the most recent data available, the following own five percent
or more of any class of voting securities of the Company:

                  Gas Nacol                                            29.00%
                  NorAm Latin America, Inc.                            16.00
                  Terpel del Centro S.A.                               11.85
                  Empresas Publicas Manizales                          11.85
                  Forecal                                              11.85
                  Corporacion Financiera de Caldas                      9.16
Item 2

         The name of the  domestic  associate  public-utility  company  is NorAm
Energy Corp., a Delaware corporation  ("NorAm").  NorAm Latin America, Inc. is a
Delaware  corporation  and is a wholly owned  subsidiary of NorAm. No portion of
the purchase price for the shares owned in the Company was paid by NorAm.






                                    SIGNATURE


The  undersigned  company  has duly caused  this  statement  to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                     NORAM ENERGY CORP.


                                     By:
                                     /s/Hubert Gentry, Jr.
                                     Senior Vice President and General Counsel



Date:  August 1, 1997