Brief power outage darkens CES

The digital economy’s big annual trade show, CES, suffered a brief, disruptive plunge into darkness on Wednesday because of a power outage the show’s organisers blamed on a glitch caused by heavy rains the day before in usually sunny Nevada.

The irony of a partial blackout at a trade show dedicated to the latest electronic technology did not escape social or industry media. “Lights out at CES 2018. Does anyone have a battery pack?” wrote Endgadget, a technology news site. Large swaths of the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center lost power at about 11:15 am local time, shutting down brightly lit company booths and darkening rooms used by hundreds of journalists covering CES. Emergency lights stayed on, and backup batteries kept wireless internet connections functioning.