Edison Erred on Naming Rights

* Back when Southern California Edison was rolling in the dough it apparently had enough extra money to sponsor a baseball stadium over in Orange County.

Now what does a utility need with a baseball stadium? Does it need to have name recognition, or advertise its product, or fend off other company’s product ads? No, this utility is a virtual monopoly, it has no real competition and no one can have electricity without knowing the name “Edison”.

So what does a virtual monopoly do when it has too much money in its coffers? Lower its rates? Improve its service? Help the less fortunate? Build new and much needed energy producing plants? Why, no, it buys naming rights to a baseball stadium. It puts its name all over it in big lights, and advertises on radio and television that it has a baseball stadium.

Is this what Thomas Edison would have wanted? Has sponsoring the stadium benefited Southern Cal Edison or any of its customers one iota?

ROGER EATON

La Palma