What Caused the Superbowl Power Outage?  By NovaTech Published:
Feb 03, 2013 Tags:  The Power Grid is an amazingly reliable
machine. It improves our lives with such efficiency that we
don’t ever think about it… until it goes out. So if you were
watching the Superdome blackout at the Super Bowl, and wondered
what caused that power outage, here’s what happens when the
lights go out:  Large remote power plants burn fuel, harness the
elements, or split atoms to generate huge amounts of power.
These huge volumes of power are distributed through a network of
wires and exchange points called substations, which funnel down
and distribute the power to things like the Superdome and the
Flatscreen TV you watched the Superdome go dark on.  At any
given instant, the amount of power being produced and the amount
being consumed have to be (more or less) in balance. Which is
really tricky on a small scale – like changing a wheel on a
train in motion. The whole thing “sings” at exactly 60Hz, and
any time that huge power deman