In this case, Ohio Edison was the utility that was apologizing. The ad ran in the Journal back on July 12, 1971.
Back in July 1971, the area had just experienced a massive heatwave, resulting in some widespread power outages.
As the ad notes, “Heat records were broken day after day. More than 50 neighborhood distribution transformers failed in our Lake Erie Division alone because of being overloaded. These overloads were caused by the effect on these transformers of the combination of intense heat and your greater use of electricity, perhaps for air conditioning units or electric fans.
“We know it is small consolation to know that our customers on the average have dependable electric service 99.9% of the time. We’d like to make it 100%, but that isn’t yet possible. And when outages do occur your cooperation, your patience and your understanding are greatly appreciated.”
It’s a well-written ad, subtilely pointing out that consumers did share a wee bit of the blame.
Our old pal Reddy Kilowatt looks pretty remorseful. I’m not sure whether he’s crying or sweating. The sun – drawn in a rather menacing style – is obviously depicted as the villain in this case.
Anyway, in the 2020s we seem to lose power a lot. The difference from fifty years ago is you never find out why.
And Reddy’s retired, so he can’t even say he’s sorry.
