32°38′00″N35°34′07″E / 32.6334°N 35.5687°E /32.6334; 35.5687
TheFirst Jordan Hydro-Electric Power House, also known as theRutenberg Power Station or theNaharayim Power Plant or theTel Or Power Plant, was aconventional dammed hydroelectric power station on the Jordan river, which operated between 1932 and 1948. It was situated in theEmirate of Transjordan (modernJordan), but built to supply power toMandatory Palestine (modernIsrael). The plant was built in an area known asJisr el-Majami, later renamed byPinhas Rutenberg'sPalestine Electric Corporation asNaharayim, and following theIsrael–Jordan peace treaty it is today part of the Jordanian area of Baqoura.
The plant was constructed – underconcession from the Mandatory government – by the Palestine Electric Corporation based on a plan put forward in 1926. It followed his original 1920Rutenberg plan to build ten reservoirs and fourteen hydroelectric plants on the Jordan river.[1][2] Financial capital for the project came from the worldwide Jewish community, organized with limited publicity in order to allow Rutenberg to be presented as an "entrepreneur" rather than part of the Zionist Organization.[3]
On 8 December 1920,Pinhas Rutenberg submitted a 60 page proposal to the British government, proposing to build 14 hydroelectric power stations along the Jordan River[4] On 21 September 1921, a concession agreement was signed between the British Government and Rutenberg granting him a monopoly over "utilization of such of the waters of the River Jordan and its basin including the Yarmuk River and all other affluents" and a right to "erect a power house nearJisr-el-Mujamyeh".[5] This agreement required Rutenberg to form a company with at least GBP1 million of capital within two years; such company was formed, named thePalestine Electric Corporation (PEC). The concession was then formalized on 5 March 1926 for a 70-year period and validated inMandatory Palestine by the Electricity Concessions Ordinance 1927 and in theEmirate of Transjordan by the Electricity Concession Law, 1928.[6]
The plant was constructed between 1926 and 1933. About 3000 workers were employed during the construction.[7] Rutenberg's original proposal explained that the location nearJisr el-Majami was the only site on which it was "possible to begin construction of a powerhouse immediately", due to the required proximity to theSea of Galilee (which would act as a natural reservoir) and because it represented the location which had been most densely settled by Jews.[8] The choice of the location influenced the ongoing Anglo-French discussions over the location of the mandatory borders, which became thePaulet–Newcombe Agreement.[9] A similar dynamic appeared in the finalization of the eastern border with respect to what became known as the "Semakh triangle".[10]
The plant operated between 1932 and 1948.[1][11][12] The opening ceremony took place on 9 June 1932, attended by EmirAbdullah I of Jordan and British officials including the High CommissionerArthur Grenfell Wauchope, Colonel Charles Henry Fortnom Cox, and Sir Steuart Spencer Davis.[13]
The plant ceased operations following the1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was captured and looted by the Iraqi Army on 14 May 1948.[14] Transjordan had a secret agreement with Israel regarding protection of the works.[15] United StatesChargé d'affairesWells Stabler reported in a confidential despatch that when the Iraqi army arrived, the Israeli operators of the plant blew up some of the electricity generators (alternators) in the plant and the plant was subsequently looted by the Iraqi troops.[15] Thirty-eight workers were captured;[16] they were released only after the Armistice Agreements were signed on 3 April 1949.[17] Stabler's despatch on 11 July 1949, written after a visit to the site, read:
It is understood that prior to the hostilities In May 1948, the Jordan Government and the Jewish Agency reached some form of agreement concerning the protection of the Hydro-Electric works. It is possible that the Jordan Government would have been able to observe this agreement if it had not been for the arrival of the Iraqi forces. When the Iraqi forces came into the area, the Israelis departed, but only after blowing up certain of the dynamos in the main dynamo building. Later the Iraqi finished the job, even removing numerous machines.... The area has been under the control of the Arab Legion since the departure of the Iraqi troops three months ago. All looting and damage has been stopped by the Legion and the area is under guard. ... It is quite obvious that the Rutenberg Hydro-Electric works can only be operated again by an agreement between Jordan and Israel. Jordan, on its part, is incapable of operating such a works by itself and, moreover, the Israelis can control the flow of the Jordan. Israel, on the other hand, cannot commence operations of the works as all the buildings are in Jordan territory. In addition, Jordan can control the flow of the Yarmuk River. It would appear that it would take some time yet to reach an agreement on the operation of the Rutenberg Hydro-Electric works as it remains, along with the Dead Sea Potash Works, an important bargaining point for Jordan.[15]
Various proposals were made for cooperation between Israel and Jordan regarding the use of the Jordan river in the wake of the 1948 war.[18][19] After an armistice agreement was signed PEC executives proposed to open the plant but the Jordanian king refused.[17] Proposal to apply the seven-stateTennessee Valley Authority scheme to the area was submitted to the United Nations in 1953,[18][19] stating:
Near the junction of the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers is located the Tel Or hydroelectric plant with an installed capacity reported to be about 18,000 kilowatts. It was designed to use waters of both of these rivers, and to make use of Lake Tiberias for storage purposes. The unified development of the Jordan Valley waters giving primary consideration to irrigation uses will result in diverting most of the Yarmuk and Jordan waters from the Tel Or plant and will make its operation entirely in-feasible. It is at present reported to be incapable of being operated, and its repair and replacement for permanent service seems to be entirely unjustified, if the overall plan herein proposed is to be followed. The plant might be repaired and used during the development period as a temporary source of power for construction purposes.
— The Unified Development of the Water Resources of the Jordan Valley Region[20]
After theIsrael–Jordan peace treaty of 1994, the so-called "Peace Island" at the confluence of the Yarmuk and Jordan has become a tourist attraction,[21][22] with plans to include visits to the actual power plant (the building with the turbines that lies south of Peace Island) sometime in the future. The 2019 cooling-down in the bilateral relations, with Jordan withdrawing the 25-year special arrangement for Naharayim/Baqoura, meant that the Peace Island became a no-go area for tourists,[21] before any plans regarding the power plant were put into practice.
prepared at the request of the U.N. This plan, drawn up by Charles T. Main, Inc., under the direction of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Visitors take likely final tour of Naharayim
Media related toFirst Jordan Hydro-Electric Power House at Wikimedia Commons