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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1
 
                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
 
The Board of Directors
Trigen Energy Corporation
 
     We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements No.
333-4198 on Form S-3 and No. 33-83736 and No. 33-92468 on Form S-8 of Trigen
Energy Corporation and subsidiaries of our report dated March 24, 1997, relating
to the consolidated balance sheets of Trigen Energy Corporation and subsidiaries
as of December 31, 1996, and 1995, and the related consolidated statements of
operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the years in the
three-year period ended December 31, 1996, and the related schedules, which
report appears in the December 31, 1996 Annual Report on Form 10-K of Trigen
Energy Corporation. Our report on the consolidated financial statements refers
to a change in accounting for the impairment of long-lived assets in 1995.
 
                                          KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
 
Stamford, CT
March 24, 1997