Chicago to Install New Cable That Can Prevent Power Outages

Nobody likes a power cut, they’re annoying and can cause a heck of a lot of problems in a major city such as Chicago. They can be caused by a whole number of factors, extreme storms, terrorism, faulty cables or human error just to name a few. There hasn’t been a solution of preventing power outages before and now the Obama administration wants to strengthen electricity infrastructures everywhere.  So as a result of this, Commonwealth Edison is soon to be laying down a superconductive cable system parallel to the current cable system that’s already underneath Chicago’s business center, the Loop.

The new cable is capable of carrying 10 times the amount of power than the current cables which is a huge benefit. Using these wires will enable the middlemen between the power plants and customers to redirect electricity around Chicago and the Loop if a substation has gone down, pretty cool right?

This particular project was funded with $60 million from the Department of Homeland Security, although the total cost will be much higher. The makers of the cable, American Superconductor, are also in negotiations with two more utilities.

Thanks to The Verge for supplying us with this information.

Images courtesy of Time.