Government Lab Tests 'super' Power Cables For NYC

"The superconductors offer the promise that they can take much more electricity through a much smaller cable," he said. "If it works, it truly is what fiber optics did for telecommunications."

Buswell said that while the financial district of New York was an obvious spot for an initial installation of resilient superconductors, he's sure "there are dozens of other places around the country that would be interested in being hardened for energy continuity," such as emergency command centers.

"We have to get a success first," he said after the Oak Ridge test. "And I think this was a big milestone towards that success."