N. V. Elmar

N.V. Elmar was founded on 22 June 1950. It began operation on 15 November 1950. Prior to that date, electricity distribution for the island had been provided through N.V. Electra. In June 1951, the Public Works Department presented a draft agreement to Elmar which the company did not counter until March 1952. Members of the Finance and Public Works departments met with Elmar's management on 25 September 1952 for negotiations. The Attorney General determined the agreement reached to be legally acceptable, and Elmar stated that it could be enacted retroactively to 1 January 1953 with the stipulation that it be swiftly agreed to. The agreement that Elmar returned initially contained provisions to extend the contract from 25 up to 75 years, and offered a savings of 14% of what had been paid for distribution with Electra. The executive board objected to the length as well as the high tariff imposed. In response to the tariff complaint, Elmar announced a new fee schedule that would begin on 15 May 1953. In a November meeting, other concerns with the contract were raised, including the absence of some items from the agreement which would nullify the purported forthcoming savings.

In 1956, negotiations with the N.V. OGEM included provisions for Elmar, specifically the requirement that the company purchase all residual electricity up to 4,000 kW at a rate of 2.1 Antillean cents per kWh. The agreement explicitly stated that Elmar was responsible for "uninterrupted and sufficient power supply". It stipulated that the pricing would be good for ten years and was to be tacitly extended, and included details regarding the maintenance of the power plant and high-voltage cables.

In 1960, OGEM negotiated a plan with the Netherlands to expand electric service to the whole of Aruba over a period of three years that included the construction of 50 new transformer stations, and laying more than 46,000 m (151,000 ft) of high-voltage and more than 33,000 m (108,000 ft) of low-voltage cable. The agreement included an eight-year budget of 98,100 florins. An agreement between Elmar and Aruba in which the island government agreed to pay for the expansion of electricity throughout the island was signed on 7 December 1961. Elmar began the work to connect more neighborhoods to the electrical grid in August 1962. The company connected those in which residences were more closely congregated to the grid first.

On 13 February 1964, the interim governor of Aruba, Isaac S. de Cuba, signed an agreement with Elmar which ended the 1956 contract as well as stipulating for the closure of Elmar's power plant in Balashi, which had been built in 1950.

On 17 September 1964, eight neighborhoods gained access to electricity via the Elmar power line running through Noord. The project spanned three years, used 72 tonnes of copper, and required the construction and installation of 1832 utility poles. Palm Beach, which began receiving electricity on 5 July 1965, was the final area of the grid expansion project.

In September and October 1965, customers' electric bills decreased due to a tariff reduction negotiated by the Director of Social and Economic Affairs with Elmar and OGEM. Residents received a 48.2% tariff reduction. On 29 November, the entire island experienced power loss for between thirty minutes to an hour, which Elmar stated was a result of a communication failure between equipment at Water and Energy Company (Dutch: Water en Energie-bedrijf, WEB) and Elmar's central distribution. The power failed again on 9 December, from approximately 8:45 AM until 1 PM.

Elmar built a substation in Paardenbaai in 1967.

On 19 September 1969, the island government contracted Elmar to improve the lighting of public streets throughout Aruba, increasing the number of street lights to 3,000 and upgrading them to mercury lamps.