@jwcph@edavies@yngmar and something that's key to remember here is that the light bulb manufacturers, through their relationship with companies that made generators, were very involved in the build out of the electricity grid.
Light bulbs were the main reason people wanted electricity initially, and if they started competing with each other on runtime, people would be using very energy-inefficient bulbs which would make the grid build out harder in addition to costing consumers more money.