Atlanta airport to spend $130 million on generators in wake of outage

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport plans to spend $130 million on power generators in the wake of a massive December power outage that disrupted operations.

A measure to be considered by the Atlanta City Council seeks approval of financing, including $130 million for the installation of generators.

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Power has been restored at the world’s busiest airport after a massive outage Sunday afternoon left planes and passengers stranded for hours.

Airport officials had previously considered temporary portable generators, but Hartsfield-Jackson general manager Roosevelt Council said the $130 million will go toward permanent power generators.

The airport manager has said he wants to set up a system of emergency generators powerful enough to keep the airport's concourses in operation.

The Atlanta airport is served by two substations that sit six miles apart, with cables that run underneath the airport to each concourse. Those cables were damaged by a Dec. 17 fire triggered by the failure of Georgia Power switchgear equipment, resulting in the loss of power throughout the world’s busiest airport starting just after 1 p.m. and lasting until close to midnight.

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