2008 Woodie Awards
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Campus will be without power Saturday
Catherine Klene
Issue date: 7/30/08 Section: News
It will be lights out for SIUE Saturday as a planned power outage will temporary cut off electricity to all core campus buildings.
Director of Facilities Management Bob Washburn said Ameren IP will cut off the electrical distribution system to replace a 40-year-old switch mechanism near the Early Childhood Center that controls power to every building on the core campus.
Washburn said there are two separate electrical feeds to every building, and this switch controls one of those feeds. The switch no longer meets safety standards, and so Ameren must replace it.
The outage will take place from 9 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m.
"It's during a Saturday evening during the break period, so there are very few people affected," Washburn said.
According to a Facilities Management e-mail announcement, the core campus buildings include all residence halls, the Morris University Center, the Early Childhood Center and all core classroom buildings. These buildings will be closed throughout the day because lighting and other electrical systems can not be used.
The announcement also said Cougar Village, University Park and Stadium Drive athletic facilities will not be affected.
Washburn said some core campus buildings house sensitive research or information that could be affected by the power loss, and Facilities Management has taken steps to remedy this.
"We have eight small generators running around campus in different locations," Washburn said.
These generators will power items such as a research instrument in kinesiology, refrigerated pharmaceuticals in Health Services and a 911 telephone switch in the residence halls during the outage.
Washburn also said another larger generator will provide power to the Science Building.
"We have a very large generator behind Dunham Hall that keeps the campus computer center running," Washburn said.
Washburn said replacing the switch now will prevent further problems later.
"(It is) much better to do this planning ahead than waiting for the failure," Washburn said.
Another power outage is planned during the fall semester break to replace another switch. A switch that caused a fire in Cougar Village in July has already been replaced.
"We're getting pretty good at this," Washburn said.
Director of Facilities Management Bob Washburn said Ameren IP will cut off the electrical distribution system to replace a 40-year-old switch mechanism near the Early Childhood Center that controls power to every building on the core campus.
Washburn said there are two separate electrical feeds to every building, and this switch controls one of those feeds. The switch no longer meets safety standards, and so Ameren must replace it.
The outage will take place from 9 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m.
"It's during a Saturday evening during the break period, so there are very few people affected," Washburn said.
According to a Facilities Management e-mail announcement, the core campus buildings include all residence halls, the Morris University Center, the Early Childhood Center and all core classroom buildings. These buildings will be closed throughout the day because lighting and other electrical systems can not be used.
The announcement also said Cougar Village, University Park and Stadium Drive athletic facilities will not be affected.
Washburn said some core campus buildings house sensitive research or information that could be affected by the power loss, and Facilities Management has taken steps to remedy this.
"We have eight small generators running around campus in different locations," Washburn said.
These generators will power items such as a research instrument in kinesiology, refrigerated pharmaceuticals in Health Services and a 911 telephone switch in the residence halls during the outage.
Washburn also said another larger generator will provide power to the Science Building.
"We have a very large generator behind Dunham Hall that keeps the campus computer center running," Washburn said.
Washburn said replacing the switch now will prevent further problems later.
"(It is) much better to do this planning ahead than waiting for the failure," Washburn said.
Another power outage is planned during the fall semester break to replace another switch. A switch that caused a fire in Cougar Village in July has already been replaced.
"We're getting pretty good at this," Washburn said.
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