Campus power outages planned for June 15

June 3, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As many of you know, the Campus Planning & Facilities Management team is preparing for the possibility of brief, controlled power outages on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. These outages would happen on a day when final grades are due. The issue will not affect faculty who are working off campus. But if you are finalizing grades on campus, I want to make sure you are aware of this.

In short, the brief outages will happen when CPFM workers shift from normal utility power to a power generation system that allows the routine work to be completed. The work commences at 7:35 a.m. and there could be outages that happen through roughly 1 p.m. The following buildings may experience a rolling power outage as feeders of the power system are de-energized, lasting at times about 15 minutes:

  • Berwick
  • Collier House
  • Computing
  • Education Annex
  • Fenton
  • Friendly
  • Frohnmayer Music
  • Gerlinger
  • Gerlinger Annex
  • Hendricks
  • Johnson
  • Lawrence (the northwest part of the building)
  • Lillis Complex (Anstett, Chiles, Lillis, Peterson)
  • Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
  • Susan Campbell
  • University Hall
  • Villard/Miller Theatre

At roughly 1 p.m., the plant will transition back to normal power.

If you will be on campus, it’s important to remember to shut down all computers, multi-function copier devices, and any printers. The software on these machines can be negatively affected due to the power surge when the power is turned back on. A power surge can corrupt the clone files in the machines and change preconfigured settings.

For a detailed schedule of feeders and maps of buildings affected, visit the June 2021 power outage webpage. Updates about the project will be posted on that page and Around the O. Anyone who needs planning assistance for the outages should contact CPFM Work Control at workcontrolcenter@uoregon.edu or 541-346-2319.

While this may not seem like an optimal time, CPFM has been planning this work for years. The team has worked with a variety of stakeholders, including faculty, to make sure this is pulled off with the least amount of inconvenience. The work will be done by CPFM staff who will be working with outside contractors to restore power quickly.

I understand that this might cause some frustration for instructors who were planning to finish their grading on campus. But this is critical work for CPFM staff, and it is in the best interest of the entire UO community that this work be done at this time. Many of us are working from home during the pandemic, so I would encourage you to maintain that approach at these particular times to avoid problems. I wish you the best as the spring term winds down. Take care.

Sincerely,

Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President