Super Bowl outage traced to faulty switch

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The energy company that operates the power at the Superdome in New Orleans traced the source of the power outage during Sunday's game to an device meant to protect the equipment in case of a cable failure.

Entergy New Orleans announced Friday that it had determined the cause of the 34-minute blackout that occurred during the early minutes of the second half of the Super Bowl last weekend.

An electrical relay device specifically installed to protect power equipment in case something went wrong with the cable between the switchgear and the stadium was triggered during the game, signalling the switch to open and causing a partial outage, Entergy said.

The device has since been replaced and the new equipment is being evaluated.

"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," said Charles Rice , president and chief executive officer of Entergy New Orleans.

The outage was the source of amusement and consternation for fans watching the game at home, sparking several well-placed memes but tanking television ratings.