ORLANDO, Fla. – A spokesperson for Orlando International Airport said Monday that the airport's power delivery system is reliable and backed up in case of emergency.
Spokesperson Carolyn Fennell said the airport has generators in place that can power all critical systems if electricity is ever cut off.
For security reasons, Fennell wouldn't discuss specifics of the power delivery system or the backup system in place but insisted the systems are "protected" from fire and other vulnerabilities.
"The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has a backup system for power and energy generation. The system is tested monthly in conjunction with The Orlando Utilities Commission on a scheduled basis. Due to locations in secure areas we are unable to grant access. The backup system in place provides power to critical operations areas."
The fire that led to the 12-hour outage at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) Sunday has prompted OIA to reevaluate its own power delivery systems and look for weaknesses, Fennell said.
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A fire in a tunnel under the Atlanta airport knocked out both the main electrical feeder cable and the backup feeder cable to the terminals.
Firefighters spent almost two hours extinguishing the fire.
Georgia Power crews couldn't begin to repair the cables until the tunnel was vented for toxic fumes.
Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded in the dark, and more than 1,000 flights were canceled. Some passengers were bused to the convention center to spend the night.
Atlanta's mayor insisted Monday that ATL does have a backup power system in place, but unfortunately, the backup cable happens to run alongside the main feeder cable in the same tunnel that caught fire.
The mayor said a switchgear - a piece of electrical equipment that regulates the flow of power - is what failed and caught fire in the tunnel.
The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) delivers power to OIA. OIA officials said the airport tests its generators monthly in conjunction with OUC.
“OUC invests heavily in infrastructure at OIA and monitors our equipment 24/7 so we can respond as quickly as possible," OUC spokesman Tim Trudell said.