94 95 cerro de pasco The greatest investment of the XXth century first, since both were conceived and built by the same firm. As historian Neydo Hidalgo explains, this hydroelectric plant would be expanded and upgraded almost a decade later, in 1927, connecting it to three new generators to reach a power output of 15,000 kilowatt-amperes in its machine room. Power was transmitted to the smelter by two three-phase circuits, as well as to the substations established in the different units of the company such as Morococha, Cerro de Pasco, Goyllarisquizga and even from 1914 to the Tinyahuarco smelter before it was replaced by La Oroya. Up to Cerro de Pasco the transmission line extended for a length of 140 kilometres, but the entire system extended for 200 kilometres. The extension of the line was a huge effort, especially at some points where there was no cart or railway access. However, persistence bore fruit for Cerro and also had a positive effect on the life of the population because, since 1914, the hydroelectric plant provided power to a large part of the towns in the central highlands. In his report, A.L. Wilcox noted that “the labourers who were employed in the construction work were almost all inhabitants of the neighbourhood and its surroundings. The company ... has taught many Peruvians to become mechanics, so almost the only foreigners who worked on this work were the foremen and the electricians (...) The plans, drawings and construction of the machinery were the work of Messrs. F.G. Baum & Co. from San Francisco”. It should also be noted that a year before the commissioning of La Oroya Power Plant, Casapalca had inaugurated a smaller power plant taking advantage of the waters of the Rímac river and the Yauliluco stream in the Lima mountains, which it called Bellavista. This energy was destined for the concentrator plant built on the same property, and in addition it fed the other mining units of the company distributed throughout the province of Huarochiri. Once Copper acquired this company in 1919, it added this hydroelectric plant to its interconnected system. 22 metres high. From there the waters were conveyed through a channel for sixteen kilometres. That channel had four tunnels, an inverted syphon, six “U” tubes, and more than a kilometre of timbered walls. Almost eight kilometres of that same channel were concrete and solidly lined with masonry. This diversion was complemented by a water supply ditch at the height of Saco Quebrado and a small intake reservoir at the end of the road, with enough water to keep the turbines running until the steam reserve facility for the smelter could be reactivated in the event of a contingency. From there the water fell directly to the machine room through a 1,400 metre long pipe that varied between 42 and 62 inches in width, built with riveted steel plates and ending with six branches that led to the pistons. The machine room measured 14 by 36 metres and its north end was built with galvanized iron, with the idea of projecting an expansion of the unit. It was equipped with two sets of generators driven by water wheels, three sets of three transformers each, and an oil pressure system to lubricate all the equipment. In addition, a crane with a 25-tonne load capacity ran the length of the building. Even under the main floor a room had been built to allow easier access to machinery in case it needed repair, as well as to disconnect circuit breakers and power and current transformers. That is to say, they anticipated the resolution of any future problems right from the design stage. Despite all these estimations, Cerro saw the need to regulate the upstream flow of water to the generation plant further. That is why it built the Pomacocha reservoir and a dam at the drainage of the Huascacocha lakes. These water reserves would later serve for the construction of the Pachachaca Hydroelectric Plant, originally conceived as an auxiliary plant. That is why of the four generators originally imported for the La Oroya hydroelectric plant, one was destined for the Pachachaca. Due to its design, equipment and infrastructure, it was considered from its inauguration on December 2, 1917, as a twin of the AS IT WAS A COUNTRY WITHOUT INDUSTRIES, THE STATE HAD MADE NO EFFORT TO SEEK OTHER MORE DURABLE AND CHEAPER SOURCES OF ENERGY. THAT IS WHY CERRO BUILT ITS FIRST HYDROELECTRIC PLANT IN LA OROYA IN 1914. Electric power improved the quality of life in the cities and towns located within the mining corridor of the central highlands.
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