Nearly two weeks after a power outage struck one of Utah’s largest medical centers, investigators are still unsure what caused the failure.
Murray’s Intermountain Medical Center lost power for unknown reasons at about 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 14. Its backup generator failed shortly after, and full power wasn’t restored to the campus until 1 p.m. that day, forcing the hospital to divert incoming ambulances and transfer some patients, including five babies and six laboring mothers.
The medical campus returned to normal operations the following day on Aug. 15, spokesperson Jess Gomez said in an email Tuesday. Since then, Intermountain employees have been investigating the outage, but have not yet identified what caused it, he added.
“The electrical system that supports the hospital is huge and multi-layered,” Gomez wrote. “Hospital engineers and maintenance teams have been working with outside experts and electrical teams to identify the root cause of the outage to prevent a reoccurrence. That process is still underway …”
The day after the outage, Murray Fire Chief Joseph Mittelman said the power failure wasn’t caused by an issue with Murray City Power, the hospital’s energy provider. The hospital campus appeared to be the only place within Murray City Power’s boundary that experienced a significant outage on Aug. 14, according to the city’s outage map at the time.
While the investigation continues, the hospital’s generators are being “continually monitored in person” and the medical center is using two Murray City Power substations on-site, Gomez said. Only one of the substations was in use when the outage occurred, he added.
“We don’t anticipate any further issues,” Gomez said, “but are prepared for any scenario to ensure the safety of our patients and caregivers.”