Holló Szilvia Andrea: Budapest's Public Works - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2010)

Direct current versus alternating current

■ The Szentendrei út substation is reminiscent oh a grand Roman vitla

which were in evidence all over the city (Kazinczy utca, 1893; Murányi utca, 1895; Horn Ede, today’s Weiner Leó utca, 1896; Liliom utca, 1909; Logodi utca, 1914; Honvéd utca—Markó utca corner, 1926; Szentendrei út, 1932; Gerlóczy utca, after 1927). The deed of foundation stated that the purpose of the company, which was registered with a capital of eight million korona, was to provide electricity for street and domestic illumination and for every other type of load, "for the purpose oh which it aimed to build, manuhacture or acquire central and branch units, cables and any other type oh necessary equipment”. BÁV Rt. needed an experienced and widely recognised expert to manage the company. Choice fell on István Fodor, an employee of the Edison Company, who was being engaged on a project of illuminating the shores of the Corinthian Channel when he was called back home. (The fact goes to explain why it was Fodor who had the honour of welcoming Edison to Hungary on the great man’s visit to the country.) Fodor stood at the helm of BÁV Rt. until 1918 and when the municipality exercised its pre-emption right spelled out in the concession, he was transferred from the post of director to that of technical advisor.

The first cables were laid beneath the street level at about a meter's distance from the walls. Initially the distributors' cables were put in the same track with the lines of BÁV Rt. running below and those belonging to MV Rt. above, but later on the two competitors were to use opposite sides of the same street. The population of Buda34