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In
1893 the first private lighting system was installed
by José Ramón Figueroa, of Villalba. Since then, up
until the inauguration of the
Carite #1 Hydroelectric Plant
in 1915, all electric power in Puerto Rico
was produced and distributed by private companies
established in the Island's most important urban
centers.
That same year,
public lighting was inaugurated in our capital city
with the installation of eight lamp posts and 600
incandescent lamps to celebrate a royal visit to the
Island. The Electric
Light Anonymous Society continued to
offer this service in San Juan for several years.
The Mayagüez
municipality was second, installing 116 arc lamps
for public lighting purposes.
Three small 120
volts generators were the first to be linked to a
hydraulic turbine to produce electricity in Puerto
Rico. These were installed in 1987 by Casellas and
Co. in the town of Utuado, to provide illumination
services to the public plaza and some residences in
the town center.
In 1908 the South
Coast Irrigation Service was created
by law. It was called upon to develop the systems to
provide this region with the water needed to
maximize its farming potential.
We owe this small agency the development of
government electric power service, which emerged as
a by-product of the irrigation system.
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The Carite #1 Hydroelectric Plant
was constructed by the South Coast Irrigation Service to
make use of the water head from the Carite Lake to the
irrigation channels. This was the first hydorelectric
plant owned and operated by the government. In this way
the production and distribution of electric power with
the purpose of promoting social wealth instead of profit
began in Puerto Rico.
The Carite Lake was the
first of a series of artificial lakes developed as part
of an irrigation system for the southern part of the
island.
The success on the
operation of the Carite Hydro System motivated the
construction of the Carite
#2 Hydroelectric Plant in 1922.
The development of
government owned electric power systems required the
creation of a new government agency. This new agency
would be in charge of managing the irrigation systems
and of operating and expanding the electric power
systems. In 1926 an agency named
Utilización de las Fuentes Fluviales
(Water Resources Use) was created.
In 1929
Utilización
placed into service the
Toro Negro #1 Hydroelectric Plant with
three 1,440 kilowatt generators. In 1937 a 4,320KW
generator was added. In this same year the
Toro Negro #2
Hydroelectric Plant was placed in
service with 1,920KW.
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