{"id":243824,"date":"2017-07-28T17:30:39","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T20:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=243824\/"},"modified":"2017-07-28T17:58:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T20:58:02","slug":"light-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/light-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Light and Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Hist\u00f3ria da Light \u2013 Primeiros 50 Anos, by Edgard de Souza, 1989 <\/span><\/a> Building occupied by Companhia \u00c1gua e Luz, in 1901. The utility company had its offices in the old center of the capital of S\u00e3o Paulo StateBook Hist\u00f3ria da Light \u2013 Primeiros 50 Anos, by Edgard de Souza, 1989 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Now controlled by big companies, the electric power industry in S\u00e3o Paulo got its start in the 19th<\/sup> century thanks to dozens of small companies, founded most often by businessmen associated with coffee-growing. According to Gildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho, from the Department of History at the USP School of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH-USP), the same process occurred in the United States. \u201cThere were hundreds of small local companies that later joined into groups that served more cities. Those small companies optimized their power generation function in order to add customers. Then two or three cities became five, then 10, and the associations turned into regional companies. That was exactly what happened here in Brazil,\u201d says the researcher, who is coordinating the thematic project Eletromem\u00f3ria II. \u201cThat similarity was a very significant finding of the project that is now in its second phase.\u201d Since 2007 Magalh\u00e3es\u2019s group has been mapping collections of documents about the history of electricity in the state. The project will eventually feature a database on the subject that will be available for public consultation.<\/p>\n

Architect D\u00e9bora de Almeida Nogueira, collaborative researcher from the Enterprises Laboratory at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) and a participant in Eletromem\u00f3ria II, reports that the first city in the state to install a street lighting system fed by a thermoelectric plant was Rio Claro, in 1885. Three years later, on December 5, 1888, residents of the city of S\u00e3o Paulo celebrated the lighting of street lamps on Rua Boa Vista in the old city center thanks to a coal-fired thermoelectric plant installed on Rua Ara\u00fajo by utility company \u00c1gua e Luz. The service covered the triangle formed by S\u00e3o Bento, Direita, and Quinze de Novembro streets, the city\u2019s principal commercial zone at the time.<\/p>\n

As Nogueira explains, thermoelectric power plants cost less initially than hydroelectric plants, since the latter required the construction of dams. But in the long run thermoelectric plants lost that advantage because of the price of imported coal. The first hydroelectric plant to begin operation in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo was the Monjolinho plant in S\u00e3o Carlos, in 1893. It was followed that same year by the Luiz de Queiroz plant in Piracicaba. By 1900, nine more hydroelectric plants had bene built\u2014all of them in the region between Piracicaba and Ribeir\u00e3o Preto. Nogueira argues that this concentration indicates that it was coffee profits that financed the investments in electricity. \u201cThe families of coffee plantation owners gave birth to the businessmen who developed new industries, bought stock in the railroads, and won the concessions to operate public utilities,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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Renato Oliveira Diniz<\/span><\/a> Report published in A Gazeta (7\/20\/1965) entitled \u201cCherp opens doors to the development of an immense area of the state of S\u00e3o Paulo<\/em>\u201d depicts construction by Companhia Hidrel\u00e9trica do Rio Pardo (Cherp): the government of S\u00e3o Paulo began to increase electricity generation in the 1950sRenato Oliveira Diniz<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

That would explain why electric lighting appeared first in the cities of western S\u00e3o Paulo State, home to the most profitable coffee plantations. It was not until 1900 that electricity began to reach the older coffee-growing areas in the Para\u00edba Valley, spreading through the other regions of the state after 1910 (168 of the 204 S\u00e3o Paulo municipalities had electricity in 1920). The first hydroelectric plant to serve the state capital appeared in Santana do Parana\u00edba in 1903. It was considered big when compared to those in the interior of the state.<\/p>\n

Although coffee growers headed up many of those enterprises, businessmen from other fields were also interested in electric power. \u201cIn the case study that we conducted in S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 do Rio Pardo, we saw that among the 13 original subscribers there was quite a variety of individuals, from modest Italian immigrants such as a successful shoe repairman, to a coffee plantation owner who later bought out the holdings of the others. The company actually started out very democratically,\u201d Magalh\u00e3es observes. \u201cWe also found that in addition to the well-known use of electricity for illumination and electric traction (trolleys and trains), from the outset electrification was directly associated with industrialization in the inland regions of the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, notably in the textile, paper, and foods industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though the industry attracted a lot of investors, there were limits on the ability of those companies to expand. According to Nogueira, the entrepreneurs from the coffee business had enough capital to finance electrification but not enough to enable them to take full advantage of its potential, since they allocated only part of their surplus capital to the effort. The bulk of the profits was reinvested in the coffee plantations. Furthermore, since the farmers had neither experience nor technological knowledge of the business, they had to work with the foreign companies that ultimately established themselves in the region and eventually came to dominate the market.<\/p>\n

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Gildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho\/FFLCH-USP <\/span><\/a> Construction workers building a dam on the left bank of the Paranapanema River in 1926Gildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho\/FFLCH-USP <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Internationalization<\/strong>
\nHistorian Alexandre Ricardi, who was Magalh\u00e3es\u2019s advisor during his doctoral studies at the FFLCH and a member of Eletromem\u00f3ria, examined, as part of his own master\u2019s degree studies, the principal model for internationalization of capital in the industry and described in detail the process by which Companhia \u00c1gua e Luz was organized, beginning in 1886. Ricardi explains that despite having important businessmen and politicians on its board of directors, \u00c1gua e Luz could not raise enough capital to build a hydroelectric plant, which prevented the company from expanding. \u201cThey already owned the Rasg\u00e3o waterfall and held a deed representing a formal commitment to purchase the Pau d\u2019Alho rapids on the Tiet\u00ea River. They needed 13,000 contos de r\u00e9is<\/em> for the construction project, but the board was only able to raise 2,000 contos<\/em>,\u201d he says. This is why in 1909 the assets and liabilities of \u00c1gua e Luz were permanently absorbed into the accounts of Light and Power, a Canadian company that had been a controlling shareholder in the S\u00e3o Paulo company since 1900.<\/p>\n

Light, as it was known, had more resources and soon attracted the support of the S\u00e3o Paulo elite. \u201cLight arrived in Brazil with the intention of using the country\u2019s hydroelectric matrix. Since it had money to invest, it won the support of politicians and other public figures for its projects, which the elite considered indications of modernization,\u201d Ricardi says. According to Alexandre Macchione Saes, a professor at the School of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting (FEA) of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), Light\u2019s ascent did not occur without resistance, as Saes demonstrated in his doctoral dissertation entitled \u201cConflitos do capital: Light versus<\/em> CBEE [Companhia Brasileira de Energia El\u00e9trica] na forma\u00e7\u00e3o do capitalismo brasileiro (1898-1927)\u201d (Capital conflicts, Light versus the CBEE \u2013 Companhia Brasileira de Energia El\u00e9trica – in the formation of Brazilian capitalism (1898-1927)<\/em>), which he defended at the Institute of Economics (Unicamp) in 2008. The multinational, however, was able to forge \u201ca broad system of alliances and relations with local political groups\u201d at a time when federal government influence was weak and electric power concessions were in the hands of the city councils.<\/p>\n

In 1927, when Light had already consolidated its domination in the capital city and in the Para\u00edba Valley, the U.S. firm American & Foreign Power (Amforp, part of the General Electric group) arrived in Brazil and within three years bought out 22 concessionaires in western S\u00e3o Paulo State and elsewhere. At the time, the prospects for the two foreign companies were quite promising: electric power concessions were valid for 90 years and tariffs could be readjusted whenever the Brazilian currency depreciated.<\/p>\n

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D\u00e9bora Nogueira Mortati<\/span><\/a> The first S\u00e3o Paulo hydroelectric plants to begin operations were the Monjolinho (above<\/em>) in S\u00e3o Carlos and the Luiz de Queiroz, in Piracicaba, both in 1893D\u00e9bora Nogueira Mortati<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The 1930 Revolution in Brazil brought changes to the industry. In 1934, Get\u00falio Vargas instituted the Waters Code, which limited the term of concessions to 30 years and changed the way rates were calculated, restricting remuneration on company capital to 10% per year. Under that scenario, both Light and Amforp drastically reduced their investments, and blackouts became more and more frequent. As Marcelo Squinca da Silva points out in the book Energia el\u00e9trica \u2013 Estatiza\u00e7\u00e3o e desenvolvimento, 1956-1967<\/em> [ Electric energy \u2013 Nationalization and development 1956-1967] (Alameda, 2011), the state then assumed the burden of expanding electricity generation but left distribution\u2014the most profitable part of the business\u2014to the private sector.<\/p>\n

In 1951, the S\u00e3o Paulo government began building hydroelectric plants on the Paranapanema River; in 1955 it established the Companhia Hidrel\u00e9trica do Rio Pardo (Cherp), and in 1961 inaugurated the Centrais El\u00e9tricas do Urubupung\u00e1. This change was examined by historian Renato de Oliveira Diniz in a thesis defended at the FFLCH in 2011. \u201cWhat justifies a change in course from state-owned company to private enterprise or vice versa is financing,\u201d says Diniz, who headed the Energy and Sanitation Foundation served on the board of Communications and Institutional Relations at CPFL Energia (successor to Amforp), whose headquarters are in Campinas. \u201cWhen nationalization came about, there was an increasing demand for electricity but investments were not forthcoming because foreign private enterprise was not interested and the Brazilian private sector lacked funds. So the state went in to build the energy infrastructure.\u201d The hefty government investments created conditions for S\u00e3o Paulo to expand its industrial infrastructure. \u201cAfter CESP (Companhia Energ\u00e9tica de S\u00e3o Paulo) built the Jupi\u00e1 and Ilha Solteira plants, S\u00e3o Paulo came to generate half of Brazil\u2019s electricity. The state\u2019s industrialization was a reflection of this,\u201d Magalh\u00e3es adds.<\/p>\n

Orders from the public sector enabled the major Brazilian-funded contractors to strengthen their position. As Diniz explains, until the Old Republic (1889-1930) civil construction had been dominated by foreign companies. \u201cEngineering plans were usually prepared abroad. The Brazilian offices brokered the contracts and later supervised their execution. Beginning in the 1950s, Brazilian companies started planning and carrying out the construction work. They then ceased to be regional companies and gained national dimensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho\/FFLCH-USP <\/span><\/a> Carrara marble control panel dating from 1912, at the Santa Alice power plant in S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 do Rio Pardo: still in useGildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho\/FFLCH-USP <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The data from the Eletromem\u00f3ria project is not restricted to economics. The cultural aspects of electrification are also being analyzed. \u201cThe 1907 Santa Alice plant in S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 do Rio Pardo is a living museum,\u201d Magalh\u00e3es points out. \u201cIt is operating with equipment from that era, its power has not been boosted, the control panel is made of Carrara marble, and the original clock, made by Siemens, is still functioning.\u201d The property has a high potential for attracting tourists and museum visitors. \u201cThe problem is that not many people appreciate their industrial heritage,\u201d he complains. According to Magalh\u00e3es, even the Council for the Defense of the Historical, Archaeological, Artistic and Touristic Heritage (Condephaat) is reluctant to treat power plants as having historic importance. \u201cThe Corumbata\u00ed plant in Rio Claro is the only one registered by the state as a historic landmark. The municipal departments of culture usually won\u2019t lift a finger in the cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magalh\u00e3es also calls attention to the environmental issue. \u201cThe areas surrounding the localities where those plants are situated have largely been devastated, replaced by cropland and pastures, but the hydroelectric plants sites, including natural forest vegetation, have been preserved,\u201d he says. \u201cThe smaller power plants are very pretty. The Esmeril plant, in Patroc\u00ednio Paulista, has a 90-meter waterfall. You can take a five-minute walk from the powerhouse to find a lake formed by that waterfall and be completely surrounded by nature,\u201d he observes, adding that now almost no one sees that beautiful landscape.<\/p>\n

Project<\/strong>
\nHistory of electricity in the State of S\u00e3o Paulo (1890-1960): industrial heritage, landscape and environment (n\u00ba 12\/51424-2<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Thematic project; Principal investigator<\/strong> Gildo Magalh\u00e3es dos Santos Filho (USP); Investment<\/strong> R$682,670.72.<\/p>\n

Scientific Articles<\/em>
\nMAGALH\u00c3ES, G. Is small really beautiful? Operating early Brazilian power plants. History of Energy<\/strong> (Electric Worlds). V. 8, pp. 559-74, 2016.
\nMAGALH\u00c3ES, G. Electricity in Brazil – Part 1<\/a>. IEEE Industry Applications Magazine<\/strong> (Print). V. 17\/2, pp. 8-12, 2011; Part 2, V. 17\/3, pp. 8-11\/69, 2011.
\nNOGUEIRA, D\u00e9bora Marques de Almeida and ARGOLLO FERRAO, Andr\u00e9 Munhoz de. Hidrel\u00e9tricas no desenvolvimento urbano e territorial de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>. Labor & Engenho<\/strong>. V. 9, pp. 19-36, 2015.<\/p>\n

Books<\/em>
\nMAGALH\u00c3ES, G. For\u00e7a e luz: Eletricidade e moderniza\u00e7\u00e3o na Rep\u00fablica Velha<\/strong>. S\u00e3o Paulo, Unesp\/FAPESP, 2000, 129 p.
\nMAGALH\u00c3ES, G. Hist\u00f3ria e energia \u2013 Mem\u00f3ria, informa\u00e7\u00e3o e sociedade<\/strong>. S\u00e3o Paulo: Alameda\/FAPESP, 2012, 375 p.
\nDINIZ, R. 100 anos de hist\u00f3ria e energia<\/strong>. S\u00e3o Paulo: Via das Artes, 2012, 142 p.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Companies from the 19th century formed the S\u00e3o Paulo electric power industry","protected":false},"author":594,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[227,241],"coauthors":[1580],"class_list":["post-243824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-humanities","tag-energy","tag-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/594"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243824"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=243824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}