This Monday, the transfer of PEUSA's documentary fund to the Alt Urgell Regional Archive, managed by the Consell Comarcal de l'Alt Urgell, was formalized. The agreement guarantees the preservation, conservation, and access to a collection of great historical value linked to the production, distribution, and commercialization of electrical energy in the region for over a century.
The fund comprises 346.5 linear meters of historical documentation, including plans, technical drawings, invoices, construction files, accounting records, and photographs. Due to its size and value, it ranks among the most significant commercial and industrial collections in Catalonia, holding the top spot for linear meters within the regional archive and being among the 8 chronologically oldest.
Particularly noteworthy are the accounting and financial documents (111.7 linear meters) and the files related to the construction and development of electrical infrastructure. Additionally, approximately 50 boxes of external documentation, dating from the 18th to the 19th centuries, are also preserved.
The Regional Archive highly values this incorporation, which represents 85% of the company's total documentary collection. This transfer demonstrates PEUSA's commitment to preserving its heritage and its strategic vision, entrusting the archive with tasks of indexing, description, and digitization, including recent documentation.
This fund will enable the reconstruction of the evolution of electricity production and distribution in la Seu d’Urgell, the Alt Urgell, and part of Cerdanya, analyzing the impact of electrification, the expansion of grids, relationships with municipalities and consumers, and the region's modernization.
The plenary session of the Consell Comarcal de l'Alt Urgell unanimously approved the fund's accession on April 16th. The agreement signing ceremony was attended by PEUSA's General Director, Marcel Dorna, the President of the Consell Comarcal de l'Alt Urgell, Josefina Lladós, the Director of the Regional Archive, Julio Quílez, and the Mayor of la Seu d’Urgell, Joan Barrera.
Julio Quílez highlighted the fund's immense historical and patrimonial value, considering it one of the archive's most complete collections and the most significant among the business archives it holds. Josefina Lladós emphasized PEUSA's dedication to making its documentary heritage available for knowledge and research. Marcel Dorna underscored the company's commitment to preserving its historical memory and promoting the understanding of industrial development in the Alt Urgell. Finally, Joan Barrera noted that preserving PEUSA's memory also means preserving an essential part of the contemporary history of the city and the region.
Once accessioned, the fund will undergo archival tasks including classification, organization, inventory, and digitization to ensure its conservation and facilitate future consultation by researchers. The agreement allows free access for duly accredited researchers, adhering to data protection regulations. Any reproduction for commercial purposes will require express authorization from PEUSA.
With this transfer, the Alt Urgell Regional Archive solidifies its role in protecting the region's documentary heritage and ensuring the right to access public information, thereby preserving a fundamental part of the territory's business, economic, and energy history.
