1. Introduction

A hundred years ago hydroelectric energy brought change to a Catalonia that was ex- hausted and dependent on coal to produce electricity and a Pallars plunged in a deep economic and social crisis. The water of the rivers and lakes of the Pyrenees, technological advances and the international economic and political situation sharpened the wits of people who were technically and economically equipped to bring about that change. Taking advantage of business opportunities enabled the industrial growth and diversi- fication of Catalonia, as well as the economic, social and territorial transformation of Pallars Jussà.

AMBIT 2 - 1

3. The industrial revolu- 4. The turbine and the tion in Catalonia: the coal industrial estates as alter- shortage native

In 1833 the steam engine, The coal shortage made symbol of the industrial it imperative to look for revolution, was introduced alternatives. The hydraulic into Catalonia at the Bonapla- turbine became the supreme ta factory in Barcelona. Until engine of Catalan industry in 1860, that “English” model of the second half of the 19th industrial development was century. based on the wide availability To take advantage of the of coal. water of the Ter, Llobregat Catalan coal, which came and Fluvià rivers factories from Sant Joan de les were installed in Bages, Ber- 2. Energy requirements Abadesses, Calaf, Berguedà guedà, Ripollès and Garrotxa, in the industrialisation of and Baix Segre, was scar- and around them housing, Catalonia ce, expensive and of poor nursery schools, shops, cafés Water, essential energy of quality. And so high quality and churches were built. This preindustrial Catalonia coal was imported from was the birth of the emble- Wales, England or Asturias. matic element of the Catalan In the mid 18th century, However, that industrial industrial landscape: the the Catalan economy was model became economically textile estate. basically that of an almost unviable. self-sufficient peasant so- ciety, which produced food, clothing, housing and tools. Traditional manufacturing was adapted to the availa- bility of a family workforce. Scarce capital, little specia- lisation, manual techniques and a limited use of energy resulted in low productivity. The most common energy for moving flour mills, forges or sawmills was water, with the water wheel as the driving force. PALLARS LIGHTS UP CATALONIA

5. The coming of the hydroelectric companies to Pallars Pallars 1911: crisis and emigration

In 1911, Pallars Jussà was going through a serious economic crisis owing to a succession of droughts that 7. La Canadenca 8. Energía Eléctrica destroyed the crops and the de Cataluña loss of the vine harvest to the On 12 September 1911 in To- phylloxera pest. 6. Hydroelectric compa- ronto (Canada) the Barcelona On 18 November 1911 in Between 1900 and 1911, the nies: La Canadenca and Traction Light and Power Barcelona the Energía Eléc- district had lost one third of Energía Eléctrica de Cata- Company Limited and its trica de Cataluña company its population. The situation luña. subsidiary Riegos y Fuerza was founded, promoted by was so dramatic that in 1910 A new boost for the district del Ebro were founded. It the Pallars financier and the local authorities propo- was popularly known as La entrepreneur Emili Riu, with sed to send a petition to the At the end of 1911 the two Canadenca. Its purpose was majority capital held by the president of Argentina asking big companies that promoted the production, distribution French Compagnie Générale for land for a collective emi- hydroelectric exploitation in and exploitation of electric d’Électricité and the Société gration. Pallars and the electrification energy to control the electri- Suisse d’Industrie Électrique. of Catalonia were founded: city market in Catalonia. The concessions, provided Barcelona Traction Light and Thanks to the water con- by Riu and his brother-in- Power (La Canadenca) and cessions acquired in just a law Cristòfol Massó, made it Energía Eléctrica de Cata- few months, the company possible to build the hy- luña. Their arrival in Pallars managed to build seven droelectric power stations provided a temporary respite hydroelectric plants: Sossís in Capdella (1914), Molinos from the crisis and had a (1912), Seròs (1914), Sant (1917) and La Plana de Mont- considerable impact on many Antoni (1916), Camarasa ros (1940). sectors. (1920), Sant Llorenç (1930), Gavet (1931) and Terradets (1935). Two names are always associated with La Cana- denca: Fred Stark Pearson and Carlos Montañés. The former created the company and promoted the production of electricity in Catalonia. The latter brought Pearson to Catalonia and persuaded him of the great business possibilities. 9. The Flamisell – Noguera Pallaresa – Segre river system: engine of Catalan industry

Between 1912 and 1940 twelve hydroelectric power stations were built along the banks of the Flamisell – Noguera Pallaresa – Segre rivers: nine in Pallars Jussà, two in Noguera and one in Segrià. The installed power was 245,000 kW, 60% of the total of the electricity consu- med in the Barcelona area. 11. The Capdella hydroelec- tric complex

1911 also saw the start of work on the Capdella complex. The scant technical resources of the time, the hardness of the ground and the adverse local weather conditions made it a titanic task, which was nevertheless completed in only 23 months. 12. The work and the wor- In the spring of 1912, 4000 kers men invaded the north of the Fosca valley to open up The large hydroelectric 10. The Sant Antoni the road, interconnect and works needed a large labour hydroelectric complex refill the pools, build channels force, because of both the and the water tank, install scope and complexity of the To take advantage of the flow two forked pipes, build the projects and the scant tech- of the Noguera Pallaresa, hydroelectric power station nical resources of the time. La Canadenca built the Sant and the annexes and install According to some sources Antoni hydroelectric com- 175 km of pylons and electric up to 10,000 people connec- plex, consisting of a dam, a lines to Barcelona. ted with the work arrived reservoir and an electricity The Capdella power station, in La Conca de Tremp. In generating station. the first large hydroelectric the Fosca valley, the Ener- The preliminary work began power station in the country, gía Eléctrica de Cataluña in late 1911. Over 4000 came into operation on 28 company hired nearly 4000 workers took part in the January 1914. workers. building of the complex and other complementary works such as the auxiliary station at Sossís, the Terradets road and the irrigation channels. The works finished in 1916. PALLARS LIGHTS UP CATALONIA

13. Origin of the workers 14. Organisation of the work Most of the workers came from different regions of Working conditions were Spain (Murcia, Aragón and harsh. As well as the long Andalusia, basically). People twelve hour working days from the area and the rest of there were precarious tech- Catalonia also worked on the nical resources and extreme project. weather conditions. The engineers and mana- The construction employed gers of La Canadenca came workers of quite different mainly from the United categories and profiles States and Canada, whilst with wages that also varied those of Energía Eléctrica de greatly. In general, they were Cataluña were Swiss, Italian much higher than usual and French. in Pallars, but equal to or 15. The La Canadenca 16. The hydroelectric indus- smaller than in the city of strike try transforms Pallars Barcelona for the same kind of work. A labour conflict involving Water, in exchange for the anarcho-syndicalists what? working on the Camarasa The local authorities and power station in September powers negotiated with the 1918 triggered the so-called hydroelectric companies to La Canadenca strike, which obtain compensations in ex- began in Barcelona on 5 Fe- change for support for their bruary 1919. The city ground projects. The initial reaction to a halt because the trams of the people of Pallars was stopped running and the fac- surprise, scepticism and tories were forced to close. opposition. Barcelona was plunged into The main benefits which darkness. Pallars obtained were: the On 17 March the agreement creation of new irrigation that put an end to the strike channels, a free supply of was signed and marked a electricity for public or home milestone in the defence of lighting, large discounts for labour rights: the eight hour agricultural and industrial day. However a breach of the uses and a supply of drinking agreement set off a gene- water for some of the towns. ral strike on 24 March. The conflict came to an end on 12 Business and leisure: trade, April without having achieved entertainment and tourism its goals. The coming of the hydroelec- tric power stations stimulated the growth of various econo- mic sectors (local trade and hotels) to meet the needs of the large number of workers. It also provided new opportu- nities for business in the leisu- re and prostitution sectors. In the Fosca valley an economic sector that was new to the area sprang up: tourism. Barcelona showed itself to the world as an lit up city.

Industrial diversification During the period 1920- 1936, the industry producing consumer goods began to diversify. Thanks to hy- droelectric energy, many energy-intensive industries sprang up: chemical, iron and steel, metallurgical, mechani- cal or electric. Everyday life in the home also improved substantia- lly with the use of electric energy, which was flexible enough to be easily transfor- med into light and heat. 19. Pallars transforms Catalonia Electrification of transport At the end of the 19th century A great leap forward the trams in Barcelona began The construction of the to be electrified. The grea- Pallars hydroelectric power ter availability of electricity 17. The impact on popula- stations provided abundant derived from the introduction tion cheap electric energy for of the hydroelectric industry industry, public lighting and made it possible to electrify Between 1912 and 1916 the transport. Catalonia was some old railway lines as population of the Fosca valley modernised and became one well and work began on the grew by 200%. In Conca de of the leading industrial areas construction of the Barce- Tremp, 100%. of Europe. lona underground railway, a There was a shortage of lod- symbol of the new modern gings and the La Canadenca Public lighting city transport. workers slept in haystacks, Public lighting, which had farmyards or shared rooms. begun to appear in the last A workers’ estate was built decades of the 19th century, in the Fosca valley. The 18. A new landscape increased in power and be- labourers who worked on came more widespread, and the pools lived in shacks and Farmland gave way to was now used in commercial tents. reservoirs, pipes, hydroelec- establishments. With the The poor hygienic conditions tric power stations and a 1929 International Exhibition, of the lodgings fostered the string of pylons and electric spread of epidemics. Small- wires that were gradually pox, typhus and influenza incorporated into the Pallars were deadly. landscape. The reservoirs began to New roads supply the irrigation channels, To transport goods and ma- which brought new crops of chinery to the power stations, almonds and fodder to the the companies opened up the detriment of the traditional roads to Terradets and the vines and olive groves. Fosca valley. At first they were private roads, but later agreements were reached to allow everyone to use them. This enabled the emergence of new local transport compa- nies: La Pirenaica Pallaresa and La Primera del Flamisell.

PALLARS LIGHTS UP CATALONIA

23. A hundred years of hydroelectric heritage: + energy for Catalonia

In 1985, in Barcelona, the innovatory exhibition Cata- lonia, the factory of Spain, was mounted. For the first time it highlighted the Catalan industrial heritage which had been practically unknown until then. 20. A new period: hy- 21. Insufficiency of hy- 22. The new hydroelectric Now, a hundred years later, droelectric exploitation droelectric production power stations those first hydroelectric continues and expands infrastructures make an (1940-1985) Despite the larg e increase in At this time the Noguera interesting industrial heritage hydroelectric production over Ribagorçana river and its to be appreciated through The Spanish Civil War (1936- this period, the rate of con- tributaries, the Garonne research, conservation and 1939) marked the end of sumption rendered it quite river and its tributaries, dissemination. the first stage of expansion insufficient and it took an in- the upper reaches of the All these resources help us of hydroelectric production creasingly secondary place to Noguera Pallaresa river and understand the last century and brought the building of thermoelectric energy, first, its tributaries, and the lower of electric light. Are you new power stations in the and nuclear energy later. reaches of the Ebro were interested? Pyrenees to a halt: in the 40s fully exploited. Reversible only the one at Vielha on the power stations were built to Garonne river (1947) was operate in combination with completed. the nuclear power stations, The late 40s ushered in a using up the surplus energy. new period of expansion, Between 1946 and 1985, which lasted until the 80s, ENHER, FECSA and HECSA with ENHER (Empresa built 31 hydroelectric power Nacional Hidroeléctrica del stations in Ribagorça, Val Ribagorzana) as the great d’Aran and Pallars Sobirà. reference point, together The stations at Mequinensa with Fuerzas Eléctricas and Riba-roja, on the lower de Catalunya (FECSA) and reaches of the Ebro river, Hidroeléctrica de Catalun- also came into operation. ya (HECSA). Behind these companies were great entrepreneurs of the time such as Victoriano Muñoz or Juan March, some of them controversial characters.