Oregon Public Broadcasting

Power to Lane County government offices in Eugene failed for the second time in three months Monday. And Tuesday, the county continues to run critical operations off a backup generator.

The power failure did not shut down the region’s 911 emergency call center and there were no reports of any injuries or crimes.

County Commissioner Bobby Green says after a circuit failure, police officers evacuated the courthouse.

The one safety concern was solved when offenders in the court were moved to secure locations before the power went off completely.

Green blamed the county’s aging power system – he says it’s 30 years old and expensive to replace.

Bobby Green: “We had this situation roughly three months ago. And just like any other piece of equipment, they wear down. And until there is some sort of an upgrade, or replacement altogether, we have to make do with what we got right now.”

The loss of power shut down regional government web sites, the police computer databases, radio dispatch, telephones, and elevators.

When the problem occurred previously, in August, buildings were shut down for days and more than 100 county employees were unable to work from their offices.