Power goes out at CES
Electricity restored after nearly two hours.
TV maker LG’s OLED Canyon, with 246 OLED panels and more than 30 high-definition generators, took nearly an hour to get back in full operation.
LAS VEGAS – Think you’re having a rough week? The Consumer Technology Association is right there with you.
The CES global trade show that seeks to extol the wonders of our connected world just illustrated a big Achilles’ heel: Without electricity, not much happens.
Late morning on Wednesday, the power went down in a main hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, sending thousands of vendors and visitors to other venues. The darkened hall houses booths from some of tech’s biggest companies, including LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Intel and Sony.
The rare blackout follows rains that had shuttered some events at the show, whose location in the Nevada desert usually offers visitors a respite from cold elsewhere in the country.
Record-breaking rains hit Las Vegas on Tuesday, leading to flooding and the closing of some major booths, including Google’s. That was enough to cut the power Wednesday, even though the sun had come out by then.
“Condensation from heavy rainfall caused a flashover on one of the facility’s transformers,” the CTA, Las Vegas Visitor and Convention Authority and NV Energy — which provides electricity to the Las Vegas Convention Center — said in a joint statement.
After almost two hours, electricity was restored and the areas that had been evacuated reopened. TV maker LG’s OLED Canyon, with 246 OLED panels and more than 30 high-definition generators, took nearly an hour to get back in full operation.