MEA management - dimmer switch fitted as standard

Ever wondered how serious a publicly run agency with responsibility for energy supplies is on the Isle of Man?
On the evidence of a short encounter with one yesterday, the answer is ‘not very’. In fact, while I used to think 25 watt was just a rating on a light bulb I now think it is a warning that should be tattooed across the foreheads of MEA (Manx Electricity Authority) management.
While in Douglas yesterday we looked for something fairly simple – an energy efficient lightbulb to use in a lamp with a dimmer switch. And on Strand Street there’s a shop called ‘Bright Ideas’, supposedly the MEA advice point for those trying to do the right environmental thing around the home.
They didn’t have any. In fact, they didn’t have many low energy light bulbs or other energy-efficient devices at all, and neither do any of the local branches of the MEA, which is why we had to ask at this ‘specialist advice centre’ in the first place.
Their sole suggestions for stockists were a home improvement centre hated by environmentalists in an out of town retail park only reachable by car, and one private shop 15 miles further south from Douglas. As my wife said, the Manx government seriously expects that, in order to save the energy from one standard light bulb, people should make a private car round trip of up to sixty miles.