They’ll leave the lights on for you
Tonight’s a big night for the greenest little utility in America: They’ll be sloughing off the baggage of the bad-old telecom years by choosing a new name.
The utility’s staff has decided that the name should be cost-effective, quickly implemented and enduring. Over its 122-year history, our utility (shall I just call it ? for now?) has been called the Municipal Electric Light Plant, the Department of Public Utilities, the Bureau of Electricity (its current legal name) and Alameda Power & Telecom.
The utility tried to get folks in on the naming fun by putting a survey online to ask folks what they think of the five name finalists. Just 29 people responded as of the writing of the staff report on this one, and they seemed to like Alameda Power best, followed by Alameda Municipal Power, Alameda Municipal Electric, Alameda Community Power and Alameda Green Power.
A few folks said they’d like Bureau of Electricity again (and maybe there’s some old stationery somewhere?). Other suggestions included Alameda Lite, Alameda Wired, Alameda Power Company and Alameda Power! with that exclamation point.
We’ll let you know the outcome of this nailbiter Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Board is slated to accept another potentially interesting item: their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the past two fiscal years, which includes info on the telecom sale, interfund advances, etc. Once accepted by the board, the report will be available at the library, the City Clerk’s office and online.
