Dúrcal
Central Eléctrica de San Antonio
The remains of this former power station can be seen on the right bank of the Dúrcal River, along the Nico Molina hiking route. It was built by the Tuset family in 1902 and inaugurated in 1908. Several other privately owned power stations existed at that time. The nearby Molino de Juana also operated as an electrical power station until it was converted into a school farm. Both stations used water channeling systems to power their turbines via waterfalls. The building consisted of two distinct sections: the first, where electricity was generated and the turbines were located (these have now disappeared), and the second, which housed the workers.
Don Juan de Tuset y Malet, who was of Catalan origin, finished his civil engineering studies at the age of 25. After working in Tarragona, he came south to complete the challenging section of road between Granada and Motril, particularly the bridge that crossed the Dúrcal River. It was in this same town that he met Antonia Fernández y Padial, a young woman from the house of the Romanones and daughter of the Dúrcal doctor. The couple's great wealth and remarkable entrepreneurial and humanitarian spirit led them to build power stations to bring electricity to people's houses, specifically those in Cozvijar. Following the death of his parents, Antonio Tuset took over the family assets and various factories. The power plant was later bought by Hidroeléctrica El Chorro, which was taken over by Sevillana in 1951. It currently belongs to Endesa.