The first plans regarding the construction of a power plant appeared as early as 1905. It was then that the authorities of Wadowice, headed by the Mayor Jan Iwański, concluded an agreement with the Vienna company owned by Johann Holzer. During the period of construction, the entrepreneur was given a rent-free lease for the post-military buildings situated in Młyńska (currently Legionów) Street. The contract provided for a so-called ‘lighting calendar’ which described in a detailed manner the schedule of supplying electricity to illuminating lamps. Individual customers were obliged to settle accounts in the form of lump sum payments depending on the number of electricity meters installed. The start-up of the Wadowice power plant was delayed because the entrepreneur from Vienna terminated the contract. Towards the end of 1905 a new agreement was concluded with the Vienna-based company Kraft und Lichtanlager Gesellschaft und A. Brauner und Comp. Wien. Under the new agreement, the company agreed to supply electricity to 130 incandescent lamps, 25 smaller lamps and 3 large arc lamps. The municipal authorities were guaranteed a revenue equal to 50% of the company’s profits. The power plant was finally opened in 1906, and a year later it was already serving 147 customers in the municipality. The power plant in Wadowice (one of the first in Galicia) was a marker of the civilizational development that was accomplished by the town at the turn of the 20th century. The electrification made up the foundation for further development of the industrial town, which became intensified just before the outbreak of the First World War and immediately thereafter.
