The Power Plant

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1896

Electric lighting in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was inaugurated on 7 November 1897. A late date considering that electric light had already been operating in Santa Cruz de La Palma, a pioneer in the Canary Islands in this field, for four years. The delay in the introduction of electric lighting in the capital of Tenerife was due to the town council, during previous decades, having opted for another type of public lighting: gas lighting.

Electricity was not unknown in Santa Cruz. Its first appearance occurred on 25 May 1881, when, on the occasion of festivities commemorating Calderón de la Barca, an arc lamp was installed in the city centre. Years later, on the night of 22 April 1888, a group of enthusiasts carried out an electric lighting experiment on Calle del Norte (now Valentín Sanz), using as a power source a steam engine belonging to a nearby carpentry workshop. The same experiment was repeated the following night, when the entire street and the rooms of the Gabinete Instructivo were illuminated by electricity, on the occasion of the public session commemorating the death of Cervantes.

Due to the success and favourable comments, the idea of electric lighting began to gain popularity, being recommended by the Municipal Works Commission, despite opposition from the already established Gas Company. After doubts and controversy in the press, on 29 February 1896 the auction for the city’s electric lighting was held, awarded to Juan Martí y Balcells. The lessee committed to installing 350 lamps and 35 arc lamps within a maximum period of one year.

Immediately, on 20 July 1896, construction began on the building to house both the machinery and the offices of the new company. Its appearance was that of an eclectic typology building combining decorative elements with those intended for operation as a factory. The site where it was built was formerly occupied by the municipal slaughterhouse, on the left bank of the mouth of the Barranco de Santos.

Electric lighting became a reality on the night of 7 November 1897. The first private customer of the network was the Casino de Tenerife, which inaugurated its lighting with 200 lamps lit for the first time at a ball held on 29 November.

Electric light completely changed the appearance of the city, first in its nerve centre and then, little by little, reaching peripheral areas that had been left out in the first phase of the operation. It was a genuine business for the Compañía Eléctrica de Tenerife, the company that operated the lighting.

The old building that housed the city’s first power station was demolished well into the 20th century, and the site where it once stood, on the current Avenida Marítima, remains undeveloped today.

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