MU Experiences Power Outage

Nov. 1, 2007

Story Contact:  Christian Basi, (573) 882-4430, BasiC@missouri.edu

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A portion of the University of Missouri-Columbia campus experienced a power outage this morning. The outage started at approximately 10:45 a.m. and power was restored to all buildings in approximately 20 minutes.

 Due to routine maintenance at the MU power plant, MU officials were buying a portion of the campus’ power needs from the Midwest electrical grid and the connection was disrupted due to a problem outside of the University’s control.

 “In a situation like this, when we lose our outside source of power instantaneously without notice, our system will automatically ‘shed load’ or turn off power to certain areas of campus. This safety feature prevents overloading the system and keeps power on to as much of the campus as possible until we can increase our own generation or restore the outside source,” said Paul Hoemann, director of energy management in the Division of Campus Facilities. “Fortunately, we have backup power systems and generators to keep our emergency systems operational. After determining the source of the problem, we were able to restore power to those affected buildings quickly.”

 Hoemann said that a little over half of campus buildings were affected by the outage.

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