It was used to power street lighting, private homes, flour and oil mills, a pasta factory, theaters, cafes, and hotels.

In today's Croatia, before the Krka–Šibenik system, Županja (1880), Pula (1880), Đurđenovac (1881), Vodnjan (1882), Belišće (1884), Zagreb (1886), Lipik (1894) had their first, small industrial DC generators powered mainly by steam engines.

[7] In December 1892, Vjekoslav Meichsner received a permit to build a new house on the Krka, intending to construct a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) within it.

He was granted a concession for water use from the river in December 1893 and in June 1895 founded a company with the mayor of Šibenik Ante Šupuk and his son Marko.

After sixteen months of construction,[8] the power plant and its 11.5 km (7.1 mi) long transmission line with distribution via 6 transformers began operation on 28 August 1895.

[11][9] At the start of World War I, Austro-Hungarian military authorities dismantled the old plant's equipment and melted its copper cables for wartime use.

[9] The old power plant building no longer exists, but its foundations have been restored and the original turbine put on display.

[8] The Croatian national power company Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP) lists the opening event as its origin and marks the date.

[3] Its construction began in 1901 and was completed by 1904, solely to provide more power for the furnaces of a new carbide and cyanamide factory in Crnica, Šibenik,[12] which was built concurrently.

[1] The generators were connected directly to the transmission line, making them prone to atmospheric discharges, which were the cause of frequent winding burnouts.

[11] The generator was again restored in 1974 by Končar, and in 1995 the reconstruction of the engine room, and replacement of electrical installations and control systems took place.