Why do the scholars condemn electric light even though they see its effectiveness?

Nothing breeds innovation faster than innovation, and
nothing leads to questions quite like innovation.  If the scholars had allowed the
electric light, a piece of technology from the Unmentionable Times, that would have
undermined everything that had been established in the citizens' minds.  To allow one
such piece of technology would have invited questions, the last thing that a
collectivist state wants.  In addition to the type of questioning that new technology
brings (how can I make it better, what other uses can I find for it), once it was
discovered that the technology had existed previously, others would have inquired what
else they could find useful from that time, and why, exactly, were those things so bad
when they could be used for such good.  The scholars were afraid to open the door
because once opened, it can't be shut again.