Old Power Station Mata-AEG, Barcelona

On the Avenida Parallel, a block from the Maritime Museum, there is a large building with three tall red brick chimneys. It is the oldest power station in Barcelona. Electrification of the Catalan capital began in 1883, when the Spanish Electricity Company (Sociedad Española de Electricidad, SEE) built the Mata steam power plant, which had a capacity of 220 kilowatts. However, by the end of the century, the company's business was far from brilliant, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1896, the company Barcelonesa de Electricidad (CBE) was founded with money from the German concern AEG, which acquired the assets of SEE. As a result of the installation of new equipment, the capacity increased to 750 kilowatts.

In 1906, a 1000 kW steam turbine generator was put into operation, and a year later two more turbines of 3000 and 3600 kW were launched. By 1905, the power plant produced 70 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 10 times more than 7 years earlier. In 1911, the reconstruction was completed with the installation of a turbo generator that produced 5 megawatts of electricity. In the same year, the power plant came under the control of the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company Limited, which supplied power to Barcelona trams. In addition to electricity, the station supplied residential areas with hot water and heating.

In 1959, Mata was again completely renovated, a new turbine and boiler rooms were built, and the power plant received three power units of 60 megawatts each. The power plant operated until the beginning of the 21st century, before the commissioning of a new power plant in the port area, with a capacity of 850MW. Now only the pipes remain from the old station, and instead of the turbine and boiler rooms, the buildings of the headquarters of Fábrica Española de Confecciones S. A.(FECSA), Spain's largest electricity producer, and Red Eléctrica de España, a company engaged in transmission and distribution of electricity, have grown.

On the remaining space, a park of "Three Pipes" (Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies) with an industrial entourage was arranged.

The gigantic pipe gate valve with a diameter of 2 meters, through which steam was supplied from boilers to turbines, makes a great impression.