150ᵗʰ Anniversary of Gas Usage in São Paulo: The Beginning

150 years of Gas

A century and a half ago, on August 28ᵗʰ, 1872, the english business firm San Paulo Gas Company was authorized to operate in the Empire of Brazil, prompting the use of gas as a source of energy in Brazil, beginning in São Paulo. Piped gas, initially derived from coal, now derived from natural gas, was at the heart of the history of the land, in moments that transformed its’ way of life, such as on the implementation of public lighting; the welcoming of illumination on households; and, finally, to substitute wood-fired ovens and to provide water heating. 

We are happy to share with you a little more about the beginning of this history.

Before coal gas

The initial stages of public lighting utilities in the city of São Paulo went through a constant replacement of contractors and experimentation with different fuel sources. The first contractor deal took place in 1844, when Bernardo Justino da Silva made use of oil lamps. Succeeding oil lamps, among the many different fuel sources used were liquid hydrogen, rosin oil (a mixture of turpentine and alcohol), until 1863, when Jacques Dutton and Francisco Taques Alvim brought along a service of “carbonated hydrogen gas”. The associates, however, could not implement their proposal and transferred their contract to a group of entrepreneurs that founded in London the San Paulo Gas Company Ltd, in December of 1869.

Illuminated downtown

Initially, only the main streets of the Capital city in São Paulo were provided with lighting, while the rest of the city remained in the dark. Nowadays, this region is equivalent to the “old center” of São Paulo.

The Gasometer

The site chosen for the construction of the gasometer was the plot of land from Ferrão’s Farm, now known as the Gasometer Street, in the district of Brás, which was previously owned by the Marquise of Santos. 

On the night of January 6th, 1872, the first gas street lamps were experimentally lit up. The official inauguration took place on the 31st of March of that same year, the same day in which D. Pedro the First, then Emperor of Brazil, returned from an overseas trip.

On August 28th, 1872, exactly 150 years ago, the San Paulo Gas Company received, through an imperial decree, the concession to operate in the Empire of Brazil.

The building belonged to the Marquise of Santos, Maria Domitila de Castro Canto e Melo, between 1834 and 1867, and was also known as Carmo Manor,  has its history linked to gas. In 1909, the building was then acquired by the San Paulo Gas Company, to become its head office. In 1967, it was appropriated by the City, and eight years later, became the main office of the Municipal Department of Culture. As of today, the building is the main office of the Museum of the City of São Paulo.

In 1899, with the arrival of the Light Company in São Paulo - which would go on to acquire share control of the San Paulo Gas Company em 1912 -, and with the beginning of the contract auctions for generation and distribution of electric power, electric trams and public electric lighting, the whole situation changed. The San Paulo Gas Company would lose its market share on public lighting and began investing in water heaters and ovens, bringing its way of life innovations into the homes of the people.

And history is still in the making…

Here, we talked a little about the first decades of the use of gas in the lands of São Paulo, starting at the capital. But, since the 1980’s, the distribution of gas expanded well into the upstate.

Throughout the years, beyond the expansion of the services, great transformations occurred in the sector. Initially produced using coal as a source, the gas was eventually obtained from naphtha, up until the extraction of natural gas was made possible, in the 1980’s.

In 1988, some households on Ida Kolb Garden, at the capital, were the first to receive domiciliary supply of natural gas. Few decades later, natural gas went on to become a staple in people’s day-to-day lives, from cooking to heating. The first CNG-fueled vehicles began circulation in the early 1990’s. 

Today, more than 2.2 million people utilize gas in houses and industries, in 92 municipalities in the state of São Paulo, and more than 5,400 vehicles have already been converted to run on CNG as fuel.