The Small Hydroelectric Power Plant Agia (SHPP Agia) honors its donors and the remarkable contributions they make, enriching its collection and, consequently, preserving and expanding its history and story for all of us.
The telephone of the Small Hydroelectric Power Plant of Agia
Mr. Argyris Karampinakis, a retired electrical engineer of PPC and former employee of MYIS Agia, donated the original telephone of the power plant, which has now been placed back in its exact historical location.
By today’s standards, the device seems almost comical: it has no dial and no buttons. It was used for direct communication with the Distribution Center of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) of Chania, located in the city center at the intersection of Peridou and Ipsilandon Streets. A second identical telephone was installed at the Distribution Center. The two devices were connected by a cable 9.24 kilometers long, running from the city center all the way to Agia.
At the beginning of the 20th century, this was an important innovation for Chania. Without dialing any numbers, simply lifting the receiver of one telephone would make the other ring at the opposite end of the line.
That ring itself was a signal for immediate action. For example, it could indicate that the station’s electricians should shut down the generating units because no additional electricity production was needed for Chania.
This direct and efficient form of communication, using nothing more than a simple ring, represented a model control system for the production and distribution of electricity at the time.
Contact details for donations to SHPP Agia:
28216 07554, 28213 40114
[email protected]
Photo: Snapshot from inside SHPP Agia during the Museum Theater performance “ΜΥΗΣ 1929”, organized for the second anniversary of the Small Hydroelectric Power Plant’s operation as a cultural center, in collaboration with THEATRE 73100 and with the support of Municipal Regional Theatre of Crete (May 2024).
