Did Beyonce's 'Electrifying' Performance Cause the Lights to Go Out?

Did Beyonce's electrifying performance at this year's Super Bowl halftime show from New Orleans cause the stadium to be plunged into a prolonged darkness last Sunday? Not according to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In an article posted this morning by the EIA, it appears that the culprit may have been the HID lights, which are used at most sports stadiums. The lights reportedly take a great deal of time to return to their full brightness after they have been off for a while. This contributed to the length of the play delay at the Super Bowl. You can read the full article at EIA's website (www.eia.gov)

An excerpt from the article follows:

"Most sports stadiums and indoor arenas use high intensity discharge (HID) lamps for almost all of their overhead lighting needs. On average, stadium lights have much higher wattage than other outdoor lighting applications such as billboards, roadways, and parking lots. While HID lamps are very efficient, they require significant time to warm up and achieve full brightness after being extinguished. This characteristic contributed to the length of the delay in last Sunday's Super Bowl game after a power disruption knocked out some of the stadium lighting in the Superdome."