How They Kept the Lights On During the Super Bowl

In addition to ferreting out and fixing any electrical system defects that might cause an outage, organizers had to protect the power supply against the threat of an ice storm or other extreme winter weather.

No matter whether you were rooting for the Seattle Seahawks or the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, there was one play nobody wanted to see after the snap.

That's the kind of electrical malfunction that turned the lights out at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans during last year's big game, interrupting the second half for 34 minutes. (See related, "What Caused the Super Bowl Blackout at the Superdome?")

Since that mishap, the organizers of this year's game at New Jersey'sMetLife Stadium worked with the NFL, the state Sports and Exposition Authority, and local utility officials to make sure that the more than 82,000 fans in attendance and more than 100 million others watching on TV across the nation wouldn't be cursing the darkness. It was a daunting task. (See related quiz: "What You Don't Know About Electricity.")

For more about how organizers used backup power to prepare for this year's Super Bowl...

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