The Reason The Lights Went Out In The Superdome During The Superbowl

The reason the lights went out in  the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during the Superbowl was not because of Beyonce's  halftime performance.  It couldn't have been.

The reason for lighting problems in the Superdome Sunday during the Superbowl had nothing to do with Beyonce's halftime performance because she brought in her own generators.

Meters showed that the Superdome was not using anymore energy than during a regular Saints game, so what happened?

Superdome officials had concerns about the stability of the buildings electrical system months before the Superbowl and rushed to make vital repairs on the electrical system, but not all repairs were made.

The cause of the 34-minute outage is still under investigation, however, records released Monday show that Superdome officials were worried in October about losing power during the NFL championship.

Tests on the electrical feeders that connect incoming power from utility lines to the stadium showed decay and “a chance of failure,” state officials warned in a memo dated Oct. 15.  It's likely this is where the problem occurred.  A device used to protect the Superdome's electrical grid, automatically shut down power to much of the dome after detecting an abnormality.  Experts say the device worked flawlessly.

Key people from the companies that designed some of the new electrical devices installed recently are in New Orleans to try to determine exactly what caused the outage which may take days.

The blackout came after a nearly flawless week of activity for football fans in New Orleans leading up to the big game.

[Via:  AP, CBS]