Power Outage Dims Lights on Tech at CES Show in Las Vegas

(Bloomberg) -- All the newest, most advanced technology in the world couldn’t protect the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas from the most basic of system failures: a power outage.

Lights dimmed starting around 11 a.m. local time in one of the main convention halls that hosts demonstrations from the likes of LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Though backup power kept some booths running at least partially, some sections of the Convention Center were cleared of attendees while the problem was addressed. Power was fully restored around 1:20 p.m., according to CES’s official Twitter account.

“We have confirmation that #CES2018 is indeed lit," CES tweeted.

The region has been afflicted by heavy rainfall, and on Tuesday, a booth run by Google had to be closed because of flooding. A joint statement from the city’s visitor and convention authority, local utility NV Energy Inc. and the Consumer Technology Association said a preliminary check showed condensation affected one of the facility’s transformers.

This was supposed to be a banner year for the world’s biggest global electronics show, which has been losing influence recently as the focus of consumer technology has swung from hardware to smartphone apps and social media. This year, however, the biggest internet companies are pouring money into a growing range of consumer gadgets, many in competition with one another.

"Lone blogger, two security guards: This is the world’s biggest tech show during a power outage. At the Samsung booth in Central Hall, but everywhere is dark. Time to start hoarding...” Claire Reilly, a senior editor at CNET, said in a tweet.

--With assistance from Mark Gurman David Welch and Jim Polson

To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Schuetz in New York at mschuetz9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack

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