The invention of the paraffin lamp by Ignacy Lukasiewicz in the mid-19th century began the birth of light in Lviv. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, several small power stations were already operating in the city and developing rapidly.

Light on the Poltva River - the first power station in Lviv
In 1854, when Ignacy Łukasiewicz, an unknown pharmacist at the Mikolasch Pharmacy in Lviv, invented the paraffin lamp, and on a July night that same year, thanks to this lamp, a human life was saved by illuminating the operating theatre in the Lychakiv hospital, Lviv became known as the birthplace of light.

It arrived in its electric version at the Poltva River later, but also sooner than in other cities. The first electric light was installed in the premises of the Galician Parliament as early as 1881. At the end of the 19th century there were several small power stations in Lviv, but they could not supply the entire city with electricity. The construction of a large power station was undertaken in 1894 on Vuletskaya Street (now Sakharov Street), and the immediate impetus for its construction was the organisation of a tramway line for the General National Exhibition. Two years later it was bought by the city - thus the Municipal Electrical Works (MZE) was established. Until 1908, the power station powered only the tramway network. In 1900, the newly built Municipal Theatre building was connected to the network. In the following years, electric lighting was installed in various institutions and buildings of the city as well as industrial plants. Between 1908 and 1910, a modern 4,500 kW AC power station building, designed by architect Adolf Piller (1877-1951), was erected in the southern district of Persenkówka.

Municipal Electric Works in Lviv in the Interwar Years
. During the battles for Lviv in November 1918, the power plant suffered severe damage. The machine hall was completely destroyed, and the city's cable network was also devastated. The first start-up in the makeshift sheds took place in May 1919, and between 1921 and 1922 work was carried out to fully restore electricity in the city. The following years saw intensive modernisation and expansion of the network.

The Lviv Municipal Electricity Works encouraged the use of electricity - monthly consumption of 100 kWh or more entitled people to a reduced tariff. In 1938, for monthly consumption of 100-150 kWh, the price for 1 kWh was 15-20 gr, for consumption up to 5 kWh it was much higher - as much as 70 gr for 1 kWh. The best customers also received attractive gifts in the form of electrical household appliances. By the end of the 1930s, the plants supplied customers with 30-35 million kWh per year (of which only about 7 million kWh was consumed by trams). In 1923, there were 101 electricity consumers per thousand inhabitants. In 1930, the figure was already 179, and on the eve of the Second World War, 208.

MZE was the richest and best organised municipal utility of Lviv. The high income was constantly growing. In 1938, the pure profit amounted to more than 3.8 million zloty. The enterprise was also exemplarily managed and, as a result, work at MZE was among the most attractive and desirable. Salaries for employees, as the only ones in the municipal enterprises of Lviv, were paid in advance at the beginning of the month. The plants also paid employees for hospital stays and paid 'thirteenths'.

Thanks to the electric works, the appearance of the city was changing. Characteristic equipment, transmission lines and switching stations appeared in the streets. By the end of the 1930s, there were 251 transformer stations in Lviv, 83 of which were installed in metal enclosures, 157 in basements and 11 on the ground floors of buildings. MZE also had its own shop on Akademicka Street (now Shevchenko Prospect), selling and renting household electrical appliances and repairing them.

The new building of the Municipal Electrical Works in Lviv
. Following the expansion of Lviv's administrative boundaries, in 1930 the magistrate decided to divide the MZE into two enterprises: Municipal Electric Railway (MKE) and Municipal Electric Lighting Works (MZE). The newly formed tramway company remained in the old building on the corner of Vuletskaya (now Sakharov) and Lenartovicha (now Nechuji-Levickoho) Streets.

A modern building was constructed for the new MZE on Pełczyńska Street (now Witowski Street). Before the First World War, the Pełczyński Pond, a popular recreation spot for Lviv residents, was located here. During the war, the Russian army, which occupied the city in 1914, drained it. This was because the command received a rumour that the Austrian authorities had hidden untold treasures at the bottom of the pond during their hasty abandonment of the city. The rumour turned out to be a gossip spread by Lvov pranksters, and the Russians had to eat their fill - nothing was found at the bottom of the pond. In the early 1920s, the empty basin was filled in.

A competition was held for the architectural design, which was won by a Warsaw team (Bolesław Szmidt, Janusz Juraszyński, Juliusz Dumnicki), but in the end a design by two architects from Lviv - Tadeusz Wróbel (1886-1974) and Leopold Karasiński (1886-1952) - was purchased for realisation. Construction was carried out in 1935-1936.

Architecture of the new Municipal Electrical Works building
. The building of the Municipal Electrical Works in Lviv is an excellent example of modernism inspired by the ideas of Le Corbusier, with a particular emphasis on the so-called ship style. This is evidenced by its dynamic, rounded volume with a roof terrace, which definitely stands out from its surroundings. The side elevations are segmented by dense vertical ribs, demonstrating the use of reinforced concrete construction. The ground floor zone was distinguished by the use of clinker cladding. Window openings in banded arrangements were also introduced, thus completely fulfilling Le Corbusier's five postulates of modern architecture. On the ground floor, there was a large customer service room in which the cash registers, information desk and advertising department for the new electrical appliances were located. In the courtyard, in a separate wing, the MZE director's suite was located. The supply of electrical equipment for the transformer station in the basement of the building was entrusted to a well-known Warsaw company, Fabryka Aparatów Elektrycznych Szulim, Kleiman i Synowie.

The consecration ceremony for the new building took place on 7 March 1937. To celebrate the opening of the new building, an All-Polish Reunion of the Association of Polish Power Plants was organised, to which the directors of all municipal power plants in Poland were invited, as well as guests from Prague and Budapest.

During the Second World War, the building was the headquarters of the NKVD and later of the Gestapo. After the war, the building was extended, retaining the essential features of its original architectural form. During the period of Soviet rule, it was the headquarters of the KGB of the Lviv region. Its grim reputation meant that it was known anecdotally among the city's residents as "the highest building in Lviv", from whose windows one could "see" Siberia. Today, it houses the Regional Board of the Security Service of Ukraine.