#264 - Electric Power Promotion

What Carlo did not expect was that just a few days after he finalized the order with the German government, the American ambassador also came to him and asked to buy the power company's electric lights and generator technology.

Although both Germany and the United States wanted Spanish power technology, the two countries' purchasing methods were completely different.

Germany wants to save money, and they have enough industrial technology to exchange for Spain's electricity technology.

There was nothing in the technology of the Americans that impressed the Spanish, and their choice was simple and straightforward: to buy it directly with money.

Of course, since we are buying things in Spain, the money we spend cannot be in US dollars. The US ambassador said that the US government is willing to use pounds or pesetas to buy Spanish power technology, as long as Spain is willing to name a price, the United States is willing to accept it.

It turns out that the United States now has the air of a nouveau riche. As a country that has just been independent for 100 years, the population of the United States has reached a figure that is unimaginable for European countries.

With the exception of Russia, which still outnumbers the United States in terms of population, the U.S. population already exceeds that of any country in Europe.

After the end of the Civil War, the United States entered a long period of peace, and the rapidly developing economy also attracted a large amount of European capital.

Under the intervention of these European capitals, the speed of development of American railways was so exaggerated that European countries could not catch up. This also indirectly affected the American industry and enabled it to develop extremely rapidly.

Under such circumstances, the United States became an industrial and economic power in a short period of time. But it is also obvious that because of the European capital behind it, the United States was restricted in industry and economy and could not be considered a real power.

Without these European capitals, the United States would certainly not have developed so fast. The United States' rapid development also earned it the title of nouveau riche. Because Europeans generally looked down on the United States, Americans who came to Europe were also nicknamed nouveau riche from remote villages by Europeans.

Of course, this is not entirely a mockery of Americans, there is also a hint of envy towards Americans in the middle.

Anyway, no matter what, Americans do have money. At least Carlo is satisfied with the Americans' attitude towards doing business. Since the Americans want to give him money, there is no reason for Carlo to refuse.

The wealthy Americans ordered more than 3,000 street lights and 20 large generators, an order that was larger than what the German government had placed.

The cost of 20 generators alone is enough for the power company to make a small profit, not to mention that the 3,000 street lights are also a considerable income, which can at least ensure that Spain can recover half of its investment in Madrid, the city that never sleeps.

Of course, if they want to complete these two large orders in a short period of time, the power company employees will have to work hard.

However, the employees of the power company are also very happy to do so, because they receive extra pay for overtime work, which can increase their income. The employees even actively request to work overtime one by one, just for the extra income of a few hours of overtime.

After signing orders with the nobles, the German government and the American government, the power company became really busy.

Although the company was established not long ago, the potential of the power company has been fully demonstrated. Carlo believes that perhaps in ten years, the Spanish power company will become one of Carlo's most profitable companies, and the money earned by the power company can be invested in the power laboratory, thus reducing Carlo's expenditure on scientific research.

The same is true for the car company. Once the car company makes money, Carlo won't have to invest too much money in cars.

The money earned by these two companies is enough to maintain the relevant scientific research and improvement expenses. Carlo's funds can be invested in other research areas to build a more solid foundation for Spain in more industries and more technologies.

Of course, not all countries wanted to introduce Spanish technology. A few days after Christmas, a piece of news from the British Empire set off a sensation throughout Europe.

The British government established the Royal London Electricity Company in London, and the Royal London Electricity Company announced that it would build at least ten power stations within three months to provide enough electricity for the whole of London.

Britain is the most powerful country in the world, and London is the most developed and prosperous city in the UK. As a beacon of European civilization, Londoners will never allow London to fall behind in electricity.

After learning the news of the establishment of the Royal London Electric Company, the citizens of London were quite satisfied with it, and the British government also successfully calmed the citizens' dissatisfaction with Madrid, a city that never sleeps.

After hesitating for a few days, the French government was forced to announce that it would set up an electricity company to illuminate the entire Paris.

Because it did not have enough technology to build a power plant, the French government finally had to turn to Spain and signed a cooperation agreement with Spain.

Whether cooperating with the Americans or the French, the Spanish National Electricity Company mainly focuses on selling patents and does not intend to cooperate with other countries through patent licensing.

The main reason for this is the weak awareness of patents in this era. Selling patents can ensure that you do not lose money, but if you license patents, once the licensing period expires, the other party will most likely not renew the contract and will instead use the technology they have already mastered to infringe on the patent.

In this era, it is almost impossible to file a patent lawsuit across borders, not to mention that the partners are all these powerful countries.

Even if the patent lawsuit can be won, by the time the lawsuit is won, electric power technology will have already been updated several times.

It is also because of this that Spain advocates the direct sale of patents in any cooperation regarding patents. Carlo does not trust the character of other countries. Patent infringement is almost everywhere in this era, and no one will be stupid enough to abide by the so-called patent terms.

The sale of patented technology is still very profitable. The patented technology sold to the United States and France alone has earned the Spanish National Power Company more than 20 million pesetas in return.

Together with the income from the sale of power generation equipment and electric lights, Carlo has recovered all the costs invested in the electrical laboratory and even made a small profit.

After discussing cooperation with several countries, time passed quickly and it was New Year's Day 1880.

Regarding the goals of the National Electricity Company in 1880, Carlo gave the order to take a two-pronged approach to develop the electricity industry in Madrid and Barcelona.

Madrid, as the capital and most populous city of Spain, and with a large number of nobles living in the surrounding area, has the potential to find enough electricity users.

Barcelona also has a large population and is surrounded by a large industrial base, which also has many potential users.

The first step in the development of Spain's electricity industry is to connect all the streets and alleys of Madrid and Barcelona to electricity, and radiate to the factories around the two cities, so that the people can feel the charm of electricity.

Even though the main use of electricity at present is only for lighting, we cannot deny the convenience that electricity brings to people's lives.

Electric lights can make factories brighter at night, thereby improving workers' work efficiency and reducing work errors.

Electric lights can also illuminate people's homes. Whether it is used for studying or doing other activities at night, it is better to see clearly than not to see clearly.

The current power laboratory has been split into two parts by Gram. Gram led a group of researchers to form a power company, whose main task is to maintain Spain's power network and solve problems encountered by factories and the public in using electricity.

Tesla continued to study electricity with the remaining researchers. The Electricity Research Laboratory mainly studied larger power generators and longer-lasting light bulbs. Gramm also served as the chief expert of the Electricity Laboratory, and he would not give up his research on electricity.

In addition to promoting the use of electricity, power companies also need to develop a set of universal electricity standards as much as possible.

This includes how electricity is delivered, what voltage it uses for industrial and domestic purposes, and how much wattage light bulbs use.

If a set of electricity standards led by Spain can be formed, Spanish power companies will have a great advantage in electricity development.

After all, subsequent electricity research and development will be carried out according to its own standards. Spanish researchers only need to conduct research according to their own standards and do not need to connect with international standards.

The current electricity market is still blank, and even most European countries have purchased light bulbs and power generation equipment from Spain.

In this case, it would be easy for Spanish Energia to develop a set of common standards.

Other countries that want to overturn Spain's electricity standards will have to wait until they have better power generation equipment and light bulbs.

And whether to overturn Spain's electricity standards should also be considered whether such an action can bring benefits to oneself. If the disadvantages of doing so outweigh the advantages, I believe that many people will not choose to overturn the existing standards.

On January 11, 1880, the Barcelona City Government announced the plan to establish the Barcelona Electricity Company and also announced several streets in Barcelona where electric lights would be built.

Barcelona’s street lamp construction plan is not as crazy as Madrid’s. After all, Madrid, a city that never sleeps, has received strong support from the government.

Although Barcelona's development is also funded by the government, it also depends largely on Barcelona's own efforts. Fortunately, both the urban area and the industrial area of ​​Barcelona have high fiscal revenues, so it is not a problem to maintain Barcelona's development.

According to the street lamp construction plan announced by the Barcelona City Government, Barcelona will install at least 1,200 street lamps on four streets in the city of Barcelona in 1880, and build a large power station in the northeast and southwest of Barcelona to provide lighting for the city.

It is obviously too luxurious for two large power stations to supply only 1,200 electric lights. For this reason, the citizens of Barcelona can apply to the Barcelona Electricity Company for circuit connection and buy light bulbs from the power company to provide themselves with lighting.

Of course, factories in the industrial zone also have the right to do so. Even if there are too many factories that want to connect to the line, Barcelona Electricity will consider building another large power station near the Barcelona Industrial Zone to meet the electricity needs of factories in the industrial zone.

The greatest benefit of lighting is that people can continue to work or study in the dark.

For factories, this is extremely important. With the light bulb, workers can extend their working hours into the night, and factories can also operate two shifts to improve production efficiency.

This will not only increase the gross domestic product of the industrial zone, but also enable some small factories to earn more money.

Although this will sacrifice some workers' rest time, under the protection of Spanish labor laws, these workers can also get the income they deserve for overtime work, which is very cost-effective for the workers.

After all, in other European countries, many workers have to work overtime every day but do not receive any overtime pay. Not to mention extra overtime pay, they cannot even get their full basic salary.

It is natural for capitalists to do everything they can to deduct workers' wages. All the wages that are underpaid to workers will go into the pockets of capitalists, and which capitalist would complain about having too little money in his pocket?

Sure enough, after the Barcelona City Government officially established an electricity company, factory owners approached the newly established electricity company and asked about the prices of light bulbs and connecting lines.

Although Barcelona Electricity was established by the municipal government, the Spanish National Electricity Company is the real major shareholder. The Barcelona Municipal Government only holds 40% of the shares, and the remaining 60% belongs to the Spanish National Electricity Company.

Because of this, the electricity price in Barcelona is the same as that in Madrid, which is 2.5 pesetas per kilowatt-hour.

In the early stages of the establishment of the power company, such a low electricity price would definitely be a loss. Because the number of people using electricity is small, a considerable amount of electricity generated by the power plant will be wasted, but power generation requires capital.

Fortunately, the factory owners in Barcelona are really supportive. Since the establishment of the Barcelona Electricity Company, there has been an endless stream of factory owners going to the power company to seek cooperation.

Perhaps it was the good effect of Madrid, a city that never sleeps. In less than a week, more than 20 factories chose to connect the circuits and buy light bulbs.

These factories are basically medium-to-large factories in industrial zones, with hundreds or even thousands of employees.

The reason why they bought light bulbs was very simple, that is, the lighting of light bulbs could improve the work efficiency of the factory and allow factory owners to make more money.

Don't underestimate these more than 20 factories. Each factory purchased dozens of light bulbs, and the total purchase amount reached hundreds.

Moreover, compared with the electricity usage time of ordinary people, factories use electricity for longer time.

In addition, there is a certain difference in the electricity prices charged by power companies for industrial and residential use, which also means that cooperation with factories is more profitable than cooperation with ordinary people.

Currently, the price of residential electricity in Spain is 2.5 pesetas per kilowatt-hour. The cost of industrial electricity is not much different, but there will be certain changes in some cases.

That is to say, electricity needs to be promoted at present, so the price of industrial electricity is kept at a low level. When electricity is widely used, the cost of industrial electricity will definitely increase.

After all, industrial electricity consumption accounts for the bulk of electricity consumption. If industrial electricity prices remain low, the power companies will be the ones who lose money.

In addition to the Barcelona Electricity Company's cooperation with factories, the Madrid Electricity Company is also promoting the introduction of electric lights into factories in the suburbs.

The total number of factories in Madrid is less than that in Barcelona, ​​but the owners behind the factories in Madrid are mostly powerful capitalists or aristocrats.

The nobles certainly understood the role of light bulbs, and in order to improve factory efficiency, they were certainly willing to buy them.

There are even more factories in Madrid that have negotiated orders with power companies than in Barcelona, ​​reaching a total of 30.

However, such data is not exaggerated. After all, the factory owners around Madrid are very powerful. In addition, Carlo's factory signed the order almost as soon as the power company was established, so it seems that there are more factories in Madrid willing to introduce electricity.

Carlo's steel mill currently has two major locations, Madrid and Barcelona. Both the Madrid Royal Steel Plant and the Barcelona Royal Steel Plant have introduced electricity and installed at least hundreds of light bulbs.

Moreover, a considerable number of the light bulbs purchased by the steel mill are 35-watt bulbs, which are more expensive and naturally brighter.

Some small factories buy 15-watt bulbs. Although they can also be used for lighting, their brightness cannot be compared with that of 35-watt bulbs.

However, as the saying goes, every trade-off has its own merits. Although the 15-watt bulb has a lower brightness, its power consumption is also lower. Factory owners still need to consider the cost of electricity.

In both Madrid and Barcelona, ​​electricity companies have failed to take into account the electricity needs of rural areas and smaller cities.

After all, the electricity prices at this time are unaffordable for ordinary people. Even if there are electricity customers in small cities, the number will definitely not be too many.

There is no other way. Before the cost of electricity is completely reduced, electricity is destined to be enjoyed by only a small number of people.

It will take at least several decades for most ordinary people to enjoy the convenience brought by electricity.

Even in later generations, there are still many areas that are not connected to electricity. After all, not all countries can afford the electricity needs of such a small population in rural areas.

Laying lines and maintaining electricity supply both costs money, and providing electricity to some sparsely populated rural areas is clearly a loss-making proposition.

In an era where everyone can enjoy the convenience of electricity, we should actually be grateful for the policies and governments that allow both urban and rural populations to use electricity.

In this era, it is impossible for everyone to have access to electricity. In the past month, there are less than a thousand households in the city of Madrid willing to connect to electricity, or a few thousand people.

The population of Madrid is over 500,000, and these few thousand people are only one percent of the population of Madrid.

This is similar to the initial estimate of the power company. Less than one in ten people in Spain can afford electricity. Even in Madrid, the capital of Spain, the number of households that have been able to connect to electricity and use electricity in recent years will definitely not exceed 10,000.

There are many nobles and capitalists among them. If we only count the common people, the number will be even smaller, even pitifully small.

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