Outage disrupts campus

MU was drawing on outside power during maintenance.

By Elliot Njus

Published Nov. 2, 2007

A power outage left parts of MU in the dark for about 20-25 minutes late Thursday morning.

According to an MU news release, the university was drawing on the Midwest power grid while the power plant was undergoing maintenance. The power was interrupted around 10:45 a.m., the release stated.

Campus Facilities Energy Management Director Paul Hoemann said in the release that the power was cut automatically by the computer system that manages MU's power. He said the system automatically turns power off in certain parts of campus when outside power sources are cut off.

"Fortunately, we have backup power systems and generators to keep our emergency systems operational," he said. "After determining the source of the problem, we were able to restore power to those affected buildings quickly."

Campus Facilities Associate Director Phil Shocklee said the power was cut due to routine maintenance on the power plant. He said the university purchases power during this maintenance, which occurs every spring and fall.

The release stated that more than half of campus buildings were affected. Shocklee said between 70 and 80 buildings' power was cut. He said the automated system prioritizes which buildings will have their power cut. The automated system cuts power to some buildings in order to maintain power in high-priority buildings, such as University Hospital.

The power was still out when some classes were scheduled to meet. MU spokesman Bryan Daniels said there is no specific university policy on holding class during a power outage.

"Something like this is pretty rare," he said. "Something like that would be up to the discretion of the instructor."