Historic electricity bills from another era have found a new home at the Small Hydroelectric Plant (SHPP) Agia!
A particularly significant bill, dating back to May 27, 1929, was donated by Mr. Emmanouil Tzilivakis, along with two more bills from the “Electrical Installations of the Municipality of Chania”—one dated October 29, 1945, and another, likely November 18, 1955. However, the date is not fully clear.
Mr. Tzilivakis, an educator and passionate collector, presented these bills to the Agias Municipal Waterworks Authority as tangible evidence of a time when handwritten bills were the norm.
All three bills feature a vertical note on the right side stating:
“The bill is invalid if it does not bear the three signatures”, signatures from the Director, Accountant, and Collector. The payer in all three cases was Mr. Spyros Zagourakis, likely a businessman in central Chania. Notably, the 1929 bill, issued by the Temporary Hydro-Efficiency
The commission of the Municipality of Chania also bears a one Drachma stamp at the bottom right. This 1929 account is especially remarkable as it appears to be among the first electricity bills of its kind, coinciding with the inauguration of SHPP Agia that year, which initially supplied electricity to only a handful of businesses in central Chania.
The donation offers a fascinating glimpse into the early days of electricity in the region and preserves an important piece of Chania’s industrial heritage.
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To make a donation or learn more, contact:
28216 07554 (SHPP office) | 28213 40114 (Regional Development Company of Crete S.A. office)
