Now Pacific Gas & Electric is the big kid in town, and light bulbs have remained on. Unfortunately, they too had a year to forget, with a fatal gas explosion, a failed attempt to buy the legislature, and missed renewable energy targets. So, as I walked up our street to find a large crew of PG&E men digging up the road, I sighed at the prospect of weeks of disruption and chaos. I grumpily crossed over because they had closed the sidewalk.
Imagine, then, my surprise at getting to the end of the roadworks to be greeted by a man dressed up as a PG&E hat! What stroke of public relations genius was this? Standing amongst the surly, orange-clad workers was (I have to say it again) a man dressed as a hard hat.
As is always the case when such things happen, I was lacking my camera. To be honest, I am also not intrepid enough to walk up to a bunch of workmen and ask if I can have my photo taken with one of their number who is probably sweating uncomfortably under this heavy latex contraption. PG&E Hard Hat Man is also tough to track down online, but I have found this rare shot:
Yes, officer, that's definitely the man I saw.
And a far more appropriate, toy-sized version:
Well...perhaps I'm breaking an exclusive on a new PR strategy from the energy company. Perhaps their marketing gurus figured that having a mascot to distract you when driving through road works would lessen any annoyance you feel. I mean, who's going to get angry and shout abuse at a huge squidgy hard hat? Perhaps I have glimpsed into the murky world of energy labourer initiation ceremonies, or witnessed a punishment. Why, frankly, didn't BP have a person in fluffy fancy dress at all their Gulf Coast disaster press conferences?
If I pluck up the courage to return and snap a photo I may have to ask these questions directly. In the meantime, it's good to know that we have an energy company utilising every available resource at their disposal...
