Streetlighting was established in Limassol at the time of the first Greek Mayor of the city, Christodoulos Karydes, who began placing oil lamps on buildings and street piles in 1879. In 1909 the municipality was oriented towards the establishment of electricity facilities, which could be achieved with an investment of the amount of more than 500 pounds.
Limassol was the first city in Cyprus to pass into the electricity era, in 1911, during the mayoralty of Christodoulos Sozos. Under an agreement with the municipality, a new company was founded in the city from an out of Egypt entrepreneur, George Giagkopoulos, and, afterwards, by Stamatiou Brothers (originated from Leros).
Thus, the street of Nikiforos Fokas (parallel to Aneksartisias Street today) hosted the engine, which was a generator of 200 hp of the company Robey & Co Ltd, capable of producing 350 R.P.M. In 1915, under the Mayor Spyros Araouzos, a new company was subscribed by Stamatiou Brothers with the name "Electrolighting Company Ltd". The new company was then in charge of the electric lighting of the city, shops and houses.
In 1931 the Limassol Electrolighting Company invited from Sienna in Italy Bruno Cannoni, an electrical engineer, who by the year 1932 had prepared the new draft of expansion of the network and the infrastructure. So, in spite of the economic recession, Limassol was making important steps towards further development, thanks to the Italian expertise, establishing electric lighting along the sea front. In 1952-1953 the Electricity Authority of Cyprus gradually absorbed all the small companies operating in the country, bringing the industry to another level.
Mimis Sofokleous (ed.), Bruno Cannoni Working Calendar. Limassol Electrolighting Company (1931-1932), ed. Afi, Limassol, 2012.
* NOTE: The tributes of the Project "History of Limassol" present information that has emerged from historical research thus far. Any new data is embedded into the tributes, once it has been confirmed.
