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Production and Distribution of Electricity in Bordeaux, 1887–1956: Private and Public Operators
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2008
Extract
Like other cities, Bordeaux discovered the phenomenon of electricity by the end of the nineteenth century and tamed it during the first third of the twentieth century. Here, as elsewhere, one could follow the stages in the diffusion of the uses of electricity. But tackling the history of the electricity industry in Bordeaux means, perhaps more than elsewhere, getting involved with the evolution of the governing bodies which have dominated the process of electrification. Indeed, Bordeaux presents the case, very rare in France of a town which has known several juridical changes in the development of generation and distribution of electricity. From the start, until 1919, the construction of the network and its exploitation were taken care of by private companies. At this date, the Council appropriated the means of production and of distribution of electricity; the authority which was created then remained in existence beyond the general nationalisation of 1946, until 1956, when the city entrusted its electricity supply to the national company Electricité de France (EDF). How can these statutory changes be explained? We shall see that they can primarily be accounted for by shortcomings in the supply, whoever the operator may have been at the time. Indeed, in this field, supply first created demand and thus engendered the first faltering attempts in electricity. But, then, on several occasions, the electric power supply hit financial and technical snags. The change of juridical status then appeared as the solution to the people in charge.
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References
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