Off Peak

October 15, 2001

Runway Reliability

 

Electricity demands enter security mix at nation's airports.

Airports are scurrying to fortify their security apparatuses against future airliner sabotage in response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Among many concerns, Washington is assessing whether to federalize security checkpoints at airports and whether to expand its air marshal program.

But a different type of security concern pervaded the airport industry prior to the strikes: Airports were looking to secure a reliable flow of electrons into their terminals and air-traffic control towers. And if air travel eventually picks up after the nation gets over the shock from the attacks, airport managers will likely refocus on how to maintain adequate electricity supplies for their increasingly energy intensive operations.

As the passenger airline industry has grown over the years, so has the need to expand airport infrastructure to facilitate the increased number of flights. During the past 10 years, cities such as Denver have developed brand new airports, while others, such as Pittsburgh, have built new terminals at existing sites. Prominent within these new airport facilities are shopping malls and other passenger amenities such as sophisticated baggage and passenger-moving equipment that have placed a bigger strain on the local electricity grids than the facilities they replaced.