Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM 91.5 went off the air locally Wednesday morning after a power outage struck its Navy Pier studios, forcing the station to abandon live programming and switch to syndicated BBC World Service feeds for several hours.
The blackout began around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, knocking out electricity to the entire facility at 848 E. Grand Avenue. Staff evacuated the building as a precaution, and local shows—including the scheduled 10 a.m. “Say More” program—were canceled.
The outage also darkened the shared newsroom of the Chicago Sun-Times, which operates alongside WBEZ under the nonprofit Chicago Public Media umbrella.
Over-the-air broadcasts on 91.5 FM continued without interruption using remote feeds, but the station’s website, app, and live stream went silent. As of early afternoon, ComEd had not provided an estimated restoration time.
WBEZ, Chicago’s primary NPR member station, has operated from its high-profile Navy Pier studios since 1995. By late afternoon power was gradually returning, and the station began resuming portions of its regular schedule.
Listeners were advised to tune to 91.5 FM or access podcasts while local production remained offline.