Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad
Encyclopedia
The Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad, S. A. ("Sevillian Electricity Company, Inc.", known as CSE, Sevillana, or Sevillana de Electricidad) was a Spanish
electricity generation
company, founded in Seville
in 1894. In the course of the 20th century it absorbed various other companies and came to be practically the sole generator of power in Andalusia
. Beginning in 1996, it underwent the first of several stages in the process of being merged into the multinational corporation
Endesa
, becoming known as Sevillana-Endesa. That process was completed in 2002.
electrical generation equipment company Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft
(AEG) and from Deutsche Bank
. At that time its operations were limited to the province
of Seville. In 1914 the company became the sole generator of power in that province, with a capacity of 15 million KW/h.
in the province of Cádiz. In 1926, CSE acquired the Empresa Rondeña de Electricidad (based in Ronda
), giving CSE the dominant position in generating electricity in the province of Malaga, including hydroelectric generation
on the river Guadalevín, in the Tajo de Ronda. In 1936 it was the leading electrical generation company in Andalusia, with a capacity of 130 million KW/h.
After the interruption of the Spanish Civil War
, the company remained in Spanish hands, and a decade later began its most rapid period of expansion, beginning with a merger with Mengemor in 1951. In 1964 CSE absorbed the Sociedad Hidroeléctrica de Peñarroya, and in 1967 Hidroeléctrica del Chorro, its principal competitor in the Andalusian market and owner of the hydroelectric works at El Chorro
on the river Guadalhorce
in the province of Málaga. The process of expansion culminated in 1968 with the acquisition of the Centrales Térmicas del Litoral, coastal thermal power station
s built by the state-owned Instituto Nacional de Industria
(INI). This gave CSE a monopoly of electrical generation in Andalusia and in the Extremadura
n province of Badajoz.
When the 1973 oil crisis
threatened the supply of cheap fuel oil
, CSE entered into the field of nuclear power
generation. Together with other companies it participated in the creation of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant
(started in 1973) and the Valdecaballeros Nuclear Power Plant
(started in 1975).
The Almaraz plant began generating power in 1981. The Valdecaballeros plant never went online.
The increasingly important CSE became one of the stocks on the IBEX 35
index of Spanish stocks.
of the Spanish market for electricity as part of entry into the European Union
, brought in Endesa
as an investor, purchasing 33.5 percent of the company in 1991. In 1996 Grupo Endesa owned 75 percent of the company's shares, giving them absolute control of CSE.
In 1999, CSE stock ceased to trade on the exchange, and on 15 February 2002 the company ceased to exist as a separate corporation, integrated into Grupo Endesa, Spain's largest generator of electricity, as Sevillana-Endesa.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
electricity generation
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
company, founded in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in 1894. In the course of the 20th century it absorbed various other companies and came to be practically the sole generator of power in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
. Beginning in 1996, it underwent the first of several stages in the process of being merged into the multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
Endesa
Endesa (Spain)
Endesa, S.A. is the largest electric utility company in Spain. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, has 10 million customers in Spain, with domestic annual generation of over 97,600 GWh from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power...
, becoming known as Sevillana-Endesa. That process was completed in 2002.
Foundation
Spain first began to regulate the generation of electricity toward the end of the 19th century. On 23 July 1894 the Compañía Sevillana de Electricidad, Sociedad Anónima was founded, with capital coming from the then-new GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
electrical generation equipment company Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
(AEG) and from Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
. At that time its operations were limited to the province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
of Seville. In 1914 the company became the sole generator of power in that province, with a capacity of 15 million KW/h.
Expansion
At that point, CSE began to grow into neighboring provinces, beginning with the Campo de GibraltarCampo de Gibraltar
The comarca of the Campo de Gibraltar is a comarca in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of continental Western Europe...
in the province of Cádiz. In 1926, CSE acquired the Empresa Rondeña de Electricidad (based in Ronda
Ronda
Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...
), giving CSE the dominant position in generating electricity in the province of Malaga, including hydroelectric generation
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
on the river Guadalevín, in the Tajo de Ronda. In 1936 it was the leading electrical generation company in Andalusia, with a capacity of 130 million KW/h.
After the interruption of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the company remained in Spanish hands, and a decade later began its most rapid period of expansion, beginning with a merger with Mengemor in 1951. In 1964 CSE absorbed the Sociedad Hidroeléctrica de Peñarroya, and in 1967 Hidroeléctrica del Chorro, its principal competitor in the Andalusian market and owner of the hydroelectric works at El Chorro
El Chorro
El Chorro is a limestone gorge in Andalusia in southern Spain, through which passes the Guadalhorce river. It was dammed in 1921, forming three reservoirs which are flanked by pine forests....
on the river Guadalhorce
Guadalhorce
The Guadalhorce River is the principal river of the Province of Málaga, southern Spain....
in the province of Málaga. The process of expansion culminated in 1968 with the acquisition of the Centrales Térmicas del Litoral, coastal thermal power station
Thermal power station
A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this...
s built by the state-owned Instituto Nacional de Industria
Instituto Nacional de Industria
'Instituto Nacional de Industria' , literally National Institute of Industry, was a Spanish state-owned financing and industrial holding company, currently succeeded by the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales' .-History:...
(INI). This gave CSE a monopoly of electrical generation in Andalusia and in the Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
n province of Badajoz.
When the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
threatened the supply of cheap fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
, CSE entered into the field of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
generation. Together with other companies it participated in the creation of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant
Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant
Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station at Almaraz in Spain.It consists of two PWRs of 939 and 894 MWe.-External links:* at the Nuclear Tourist website....
(started in 1973) and the Valdecaballeros Nuclear Power Plant
Valdecaballeros Nuclear Power Plant
Valdecaballeros Nuclear Power Plant was a nuclear power plant under construction in Spain in 1983 when the Spanish nuclear power expansion program was cancelled following a change of government. Its two BWRs, each of 975 MWe, were mothballed, one 60% complete and the other 70% complete...
(started in 1975).
The Almaraz plant began generating power in 1981. The Valdecaballeros plant never went online.
The increasingly important CSE became one of the stocks on the IBEX 35
IBEX 35
The IBEX 35 is the benchmark stock market index of the Bolsa de Madrid, Spain's principal stock exchange. Initiated in 1992, the index is administered and calculated by Sociedad de Bolsas, a subsidiary of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles , the company which runs Spain's securities markets...
index of Spanish stocks.
Endesa
DeregulationDeregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of the Spanish market for electricity as part of entry into the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, brought in Endesa
Endesa (Spain)
Endesa, S.A. is the largest electric utility company in Spain. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, has 10 million customers in Spain, with domestic annual generation of over 97,600 GWh from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power...
as an investor, purchasing 33.5 percent of the company in 1991. In 1996 Grupo Endesa owned 75 percent of the company's shares, giving them absolute control of CSE.
In 1999, CSE stock ceased to trade on the exchange, and on 15 February 2002 the company ceased to exist as a separate corporation, integrated into Grupo Endesa, Spain's largest generator of electricity, as Sevillana-Endesa.