Before 1923
Before 1923 Electric light can
only be seen on the grounds of the Aruba Gold Company at Balashi.
1923
Mr. A.J.P. van Meeteren acquires a
concession to establish a power company on the island. The first
power plant starts its operation headed by van Meeteren. It consists
of just one engine and can only generate electricity for about 50
lampposts of 25 Watt each.
1931
The concession is transferred to
Mr. John G. Eman by van Meeteren. He works very hard to increase the
plant's capacity and steadfastly expands his area of distribution.
When he died, his wife, Mrs. F. van der Biest-Eman, continues the
operations of the firm under the name ELECTRA N.V.
Nov. 9, 1950
The Parliament meets to discuss a
proposal by the Island Government to expropriate ELECTRA in order to
serve the public interest of Aruba. The company has been struck by a
string of difficulties.
Nov. 11, 1950
ELECTRA becomes a Government
property with the passing of the proposal, 11 votes in favor and 8
against. The concession is granted to the Dutch owned corporation
OGEM N.V. (Overseas Gas and Electricity Company). The proposal
specifies that ELMAR (formerly ELECTRA) must be an independent
company and not a subsidiary of Curacao. It falls directly under the
management of the main office of its parent company OGEM in the city
of Rotterdam, Holland.
Nov. 15, 1950
N.V. ELMAR ("Naamloze Vennootschap
Electriciteit-Maatschappij Aruba") officially takes over the
production and distribution of electricity. The production plant is
located at Spaans Lagoen. It has three diesel engines with a
capacity of 3000 KW, which gradually increased in the following
years through the expansions that took place.
1958
The Island Government buys a new
power station with a capacity of 15.000 KW. It is destined for the
yet to be established WEB N.V. (Water and Power Company) that would
also provide Aruba with drinking water. Elmar and the Government
also agree that Elmar would buy as much power as possible from this
new power station.
1964
A new agreement is established
between the Island Government and Elmar; WEB is now bound to supply
Elmar with all the electricity it needs. From now on the power
production is entirely in the hands of WEB while Elmar is
responsible for the distribution of electricity and the building and
maintenance of the power lines.
1982 - 1990
A trustee of bankruptcy manages
Elmar because of OGEM's financial problems.
1990
The OGEM's consortium is
dissolved. Its shares in Elmar are sold to Utilities Aruba N.V., a
Government-owned holding company. Today Elmar is a stable company
with a solid financial record and managed on a commercial basis,
naturally within the limits of the concession.
|
