Transfer switch and UPS failures cause government data centre outage in Fredericton
June 2014Published 13 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
On 9 June 2014 an osprey building a nest on an NB Power transmission line shorted the line, and the Marysville Data Centre in Fredericton lost utility power. The automatic transfer switch, which should have connected the site to its diesel generator, did not operate. The data centre ran on its uninterruptible power supply (UPS), but the batteries ran out before the generator could carry the load, so most systems went down hard.
The site was switched to diesel about two hours later, but it crashed again while technicians were trying to repair the transfer switch. The UPS was damaged in the first crash and could not switch the site back to street power, so the centre ran on diesel for about two weeks. The diesel generator had frequency problems, and a portable generator failed on 20 June. A rented, trailer-mounted UPS allowed reconnection to utility power two days later. Justice, health and motor vehicle systems were disrupted, and data on the storage array was reported to be corrupted.
Contributing factors
The cause of the backup power failure was not clear from the records. Regular maintenance and testing had been carried out, and UPS maintenance was performed the day before the outage. The UPS was 25 years old. A data centre specialist interviewed by CBC said that if only one generator was in place, the system would not be redundant, and that 25-year-old equipment was a concern.
Lessons learned
- Test automatic transfer switches under load at intervals, and confirm they transfer before relying on them during a utility outage.
- Make sure UPS runtime comfortably exceeds the time needed for generators to start and take the full load.
- Provide redundant backup generation rather than depending on a single generator, and keep a tested spare.
- Plan replacement of ageing UPS equipment, and check that a damaged UPS can be isolated and replaced quickly.
- Do not repair a transfer switch while the site depends on it; use a planned procedure with a fallback.
- Prioritise restoration of critical systems and verify data integrity after a hard crash.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, electrical protection and isolation, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-10-13. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
