Entergy New Orleans Inc., which provides power to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, says that it has traced the cause of the Super Bowl's partial blackout to an electrical relay device. During the game on Sunday, the stadium went dark for about 35 minutes.
According to the company, the relay device was installed to protect the stadium's equipment in the event of a cable failure between the switchgear and the facility. However, the device triggered and opened the switch on Sunday when it should not have.
On Monday, Entergy Corp. and SMG, the facility's management company, originally attributed the power outage to a system “abnormality,” but added that the stadium’s fault-sensing equipment “operate as designed, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue.”
Entergy says the faulty relay device has been removed, and the company is evaluating a replacement.
“While some further analysis remains, we believe we have identified and remedied the cause of the power outage and regret the interruption that occurred during what was a showcase event for the city and state,” says Charles Rice, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans.
