Aug 16

Update: We’ll keep the light on for ya

Uncategorized 4 Comments there are»

I got a response from BP concerning my post about keeping the lights on in their building at night. Phil Cochrane, Vice President of External Affairs, sent me this in response to We’ll keep the light on for ya:

Dear Mr. Donat:
Thank you for your recent email to BP.com.  I appreciated you forwarding the link to your blog and, in particular, the opportunity to see your observations about the lighting in our Anchorage building.

You should know that we believe responsible use of energy is an important part of our business.  We strive to drive down the environmental impacts through the responsible use of energy and the reduction of waste. Not only does it help the environment, it makes sense to keep your costs down.

Our Anchorage building has an automatic control system that turns the lights off on a number of occasions through the night, beginning each night at 6 pm.  We have a system that allows people working in the building when the lights go out can turn the lights on in the zone they are working.  In addition, we have housekeepers working in the building until about 2 am every night.  Again, the automatic control system has automatic turn off times programmed in should the overrides be used during the evening.  The lights also automatically turn back on at 6 am.

I have spoken with our Facilities Management people to review your blog comments and they confirm that the system is operating properly.

We appreciate you raising this important issue.

So it appears that my emails got some attention and even a response, for which I thank Mr. Cochrane. I do apologize for jumping to conclusions as I did. However, I don’t apologize for posting my observations. I am familiar enough with large corporations that often their own built-in oversight protocols don’t always work, and sometimes it’s the little guy like me that has more success keeping the big guys on their toes. So, BP: I hope you understand my reasons for posting, and once again, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.

I did notice, however, that Mr. Cochrane neither denies nor admits the presence of the Mole Person. Do you think there’s something worth investigating there? If so, Irrelevant Cheetah’s crack investigative journalist is on it!