Phil Matier: Preventing Future Outages at Candlestick
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) - San Francisco and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. officials plan to install equipment to help prevent a repeat of Monday's blackouts at Candlestick Park, which happened during a nationally televised game between the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mayor Ed Lee says the city will install additional backup power to the computer that partially controls the stadium's power system by Friday.
PG&E President Anthony Earley says the utility will install equipment that will provide real-time data on the power lines going into the stadium, as well as perform a test to ensure the lights stay on when the stadium switches to backup power.
KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier:
The power went out twice Monday -- once before kickoff and a second time during the game. Officials say a malfunctioning switch caused the backup power system to fail the second time. That switch will be replaced.
"Talk about what a way to sort of wrap up the year," opined KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier. "Monday Night Football, the whole nation is literally watching and the lights go out."
"How do you think the mayor handled it?" he asked former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
"He handled it as well as you could possibly handle that kind of a natural disaster," responded Brown.
"When something like that happens," Brown continued, "you've got to have some place to lay it off, after all you're the head guy and if it gets laid off on you it becomes a problem, just ask Jean Quan," he said in reference to the public flap over Oakland's Occupy encampment.
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