A Bright Idea : Edison Giveaway Turns On Publicity for Energy-Saving Fluorescent Bulb

Mary Martinez’s small house on Mooney Drive in Rosemead was packed with executives in three-piece suits, and a handful of photographers and reporters.

They munched bran muffins and sipped coffee Thursday morning while milling around the 78-year-old grandmother’s living room.

Martinez, a smiling, self-described “retired housewife,” stood in a corner, hands clasped. She was soaking up the spotlight--even though the beam was only coming from a fist-sized fluorescent bulb screwed into her living room lamp.

Martinez had just watched Southern California Edison executives screw in the 1-millionth compact fluorescent bulb the utility has given to its low-income and senior citizen customers. Electric company executives turned her patio into a mini-display for the energy-saving gadgets.

But Martinez didn’t mind. She laughed, fielded a reporter’s questions, and, at one point, asked an Edison representative, “Am I handling this well?”

Edison officials weren’t taking things so lightly. Their prized bulb, made by a handful of companies, is the star of the utility’s campaign to save energy.

It shines about nine times longer than an incandescent bulb, and uses one quarter of the energy--a saving equal to a barrel of oil over the life of the bulb, said Edison Chairman John Bryson. Low-income customers and senior citizens receive as many bulbs as they need under a program started in 1985.

The bulb giveaway was the first of its kind among utility companies in California, Bryson said. Other companies now have similar programs.

Now Edison wants to provide all its customers a chance to light their homes with the bulbs, Bryson said. Starting Thursday, customers who purchase one of the $13 bulbs can receive a $5 rebate from Edison. The bulbs are also widely available at hardware stores.

“But how much light does it give?” Martinez wondered, as Bryson switched on her lamp. A 75-watt beam glowed. “I like it. It’s very nice and bright,” she said.

On the wall in back of the lamp hung a picture of Martinez’s grandson, who is serving in the Army in the Persian Gulf. Edison executives said even something as small as a light bulb can help the crisis by reducing reliance on foreign oil.

“The events in the Persian Gulf have concentrated our efforts (to save energy),” Bryson said.

Martinez found another bright side to the morning.

“I even got a corsage,” she said with a laugh, fingering the red flowers which Bryson gave her for receiving the 1-millionth bulb. “I feel like I’m going to a prom.”