Chivilingo Hydroelectric Plant

The plant is now registered on the list of IEEE Milestones in electrical engineering, and open to visitors.

Chief engineer William E. Raby formulated its initial plans, which settled upon the production of alternating current to feed three phase motors, powered by waterfalls of the nearby Chivilingo River.

Two Pelton turbines powered two alternators of 215 kilowatts (288 hp) each (315 horsepower, 400 volts, 360 amperes, 50 Hertz).

The resultant alternating current power was then transferred to the undersea mine via a 10 kilovolt transmission line approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in length.

The Chivilingo plant was in operation from 1897 to 1975, in its later years as part of the Chilean Central Interconnected System.