In the coming weeks, Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, Mass., hopes to be able to turn off the lights in its building. That’s something it hasn’t been able to do since Aug. 24, 2021.
NBC News reports that day is when the software controlling the lighting system in school failed, and for more than a year, the 7,000 or so lights in the building have remained on 24 hours a day.
Officials in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District began working immediately to unravel the complications that led to their problem. But that has proven to be difficult. The company that installed the system has changed hands several times, and company now in charge found it difficult to find someone familiar enough with the system to fix it.
Soon, replacement parts were ordered, and repairs were planned, but weeks have turned into months as the Covid-19 pandemic caused supply chain delays in receiving the needed equipment from factories in China.
The good news is that the supply chain bottleneck has loosened, and district officials say the parts and people will be in place in February to install a properly functioning lighting system after 18 months of excess illumination.
