04/02/2012
A planned, campus-wide power outage will shut off electricity at SUNY Cortland for as long as seven hours Saturday, April 7, during the first phase of a complete electric distribution system upgrade.
“This is the first electric upgrade for the College in about 50 years,” said Jeffrey Lallas, the director for facilities planning, design and construction. “It’s a very important project.”
Students are encouraged to leave campus for the weekend to avoid inconvenience, but all students are welcome to remain on campus while the work is being done. To make travel easier, the SUNY Cortland Student Government Association will offer a holiday bus option that normally precedes long breaks.
The outage will begin at 6:30 a.m., cutting off electricity and Internet access in all College buildings. Power should be restored by 10:30 a.m. in Casey Tower, Clark Hall, Fitzgerald Hall, Hayes Hall, Hendrick Hall, Randall Hall, Smith Tower and Whitaker Hall. It should be functioning by 1:30 p.m. in Alger Hall, Bishop Hall, Cheney Hall, DeGroat Hall, Glass Tower, Higgins Hall and Shea Hall.
The West Campus Apartments and Leadership House will not be affected by the outage.
A second, 15-minute outage will take place between 1 and 2 p.m.
Fire alarm systems will be functional during the entire outage. Neubig Hall will remain open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will be the only dining facility open while the power is out and will offer wireless Internet access to students during the outage.
Students living in residence halls should unplug electronic devices as a precautionary measure although no power surges are expected when the power returns. Students also should manage perishable food in their residence hall refrigerators accordingly. If the power goes out, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that perishable foods in refrigerators should not be left unattended for more than four hours.
Residence hall toilets and sinks will remain accessible, but showers will be without hot water during the outage. Some bathrooms may not have lighting, so battery-powered lights will be provided. Emergency generators and ambient light through the windows will supply lighting in residence halls. Hallways and stairwells will have intermittent lighting.
Students who depend on temperature-sensitive medication should contact Residence Life and Housing at (607) 753-4724 by Wednesday, April 4, to make arrangements for the medication to be stored elsewhere. Student Health Services has confirmed that any insulin medications can stay at room temperature for up to 30 days.
If an emergency arises during the outage, students should call University Police at (607) 753-2111 or 911 to reach the Cortland County emergency services. Staff office phones will not be functional, but staff will be available in the Corey Union staff office.
The College will update the campus if any emergency situation arises using the New York alert system. Students can follow online instructions to sign up for the system before the outage.
Lallas said Saturday’s power shut down is the first, and longest, of three outages during the electric distribution upgrade’s first phase.
The next one will take place during the late summer.