A portion of Patricia Burroughs’ memories of her “Grannymamma:”

She also was the ringleader of a group of young GI’s wives who stole Reddy-Kilowatt from the front of the electric company in Baton Rouge and hid him in her bedroom until the end of the war. (The MPs talked a lot about the braze[n]ness of that burglary at the USO and she just listened and nodded sympathetically.)

Dang!

More on that old Reddy sign in Sioux City, Iowa:

A historic Siouxland icon is getting “ready” to return to the Sioux City skyline.

Reddy Kilowatt, the former symbol of the Iowa Public Service Energy Company, is getting a facelift at kern signs.

From KTIV in Sioux City, Iowa:

Before there was MidAmerican Energy in Sioux City, there was Iowa Public Service. And if you’ve been around long enough to remember that you probably remember their Mascot Reddy Kilowatt.

This metal and neon sign used to adorn the I-P-S garage near Interstate 29. The mascot was once used to help teach school kids the dangers of electricity

After being in storage over ten years, Reddy is “Ready” to come to life again, but not without a little cosmetic work first.

More from KMEG: Reddy Kilowatt, MidAmerican Energy Symbol, Needs New Home

Ha! Thanks to Adverganza for pointing out the the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh has a thing for Reddy:

Phil Lesh (of the Grateful Dead, young ‘uns), uses Mr. Kilowatt as his own personal mascot … if you go here, you’ll find some animations created by Lesh featuring Reddy.

Check out this interesting (and slightly goofy) font set featuring Reddy Kilowatt.

A Yahoo! Group for fans of Reddy. Has 130 members so far.

This group is for people who love Reddy Kilowatt, a long-time symbol for the electric utility business. Reddy was invented by Ashton B. Collins, Sr., who worked for Alabama Power Company. Reddy debuted on March 11, 1926 as the symbol for electric service. If you love Reddy Kilowatt…this is the place to be!

A writer from the Akron Beacon Journal wonders:

…does anyone know what happened to the giant light display of Reddy Kilowatt, the cartoon character that decorated the Ohio Edison building for decades in downtown Akron?

Good advice for reducing electricity consumption:

Six months ago, a friend pressed on me a six-pack of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Odd little pig-tail curls, but they fit in standard light bulb places. He’s a retired electrician, so I listened.. I followed his advice, added some aggressiveness turning off unused lights and “vampire” rechargers and “instant on” appliances. And now, I’m looking at an electric bill showing my usage is half — 50% — of what it was a year ago.

80 years ago, Alabama Power created Reddy Kilowatt, the little lightning-bolt figure, to promote electricity usage. Not surprisingly, today the electric utilities are less interested in encouraging conservation than promoting consumption, but they had the sensitivity to retire Reddy Kilowatt years ago…

A bridge collapsed in Washington, leaving the Gopher State Railway Museum’s vintage railway pieces stranded on the other side of the Minnesota River. One of the pieces is an old railcar with Reddy Kilowatt painted on the side.

Built in 1940 by Electro Motive Corporation for the CB&Q Railroad. Originally numbered 9146, it was transferred to CB&Q subdivision Colorado and Southern as 155. It was then transferred to Fort Worth and Denver as 601, after the BN merger it became 103. The locomotive was sold to NSP in 1973 and was used at the NSP High Bridge Plant till it was donated to Gopher State Railway Museum in 1999. Reddy Kilowatt is painted on the side of #4 which was the symbol of NSP.

Have a look at this ghastly adaptation of Reddy. Even if it’s for a good cause I have to say, um, yuck! :-)

Duke University computer scientists are developing a new approach to managing electric power use by computers. Their “Milly Watt” project not only promises to greatly increase the energy efficiency of computers, but alleviate the frustration of computer users who find their laptops or desktops abruptly shutting down because of drained batteries or unwanted “decisions” by the machinesâ power management software.