South Bend Power Outage Due to Underground Fire Leaves Businesses Scrambling
Downtown South Bend, Indiana faced a rather unusual power outage this past weekend when a fire ripped through underground passages, eventually damaging power delivery lines for more than 800 customers. Problems began Friday evening, and officials estimated that repairs could last into Sunday evening.
What was done in the meantime to keep area businesses online? Read on to find out >>
A Noisy Contingency Plan
City officials said the contingency plan for the infrastructure in the area included placing 39 gas-powered generators at intersections to power both traffic and street lights. It was up to businesses in the area, however, to determine what to do for themselves.
Protecting Against Extended Outages
This case is an extreme example of an extended power outage, which last around 8 hours on average. In South Bend, a nearby hospital was running on power from backup generators, which would work in concert with UPSs around the facility to provide seamless power when the utility supply failed.
To prepare for extended outages, Minuteman’s XL and EXL Battery Packs can provide hours of backup time for critical equipment, and provide a stop-gap power solution for transfer to generator power.
