Spring Break
Power outages leave students in the dark
As of Mar. 21, crews restored power to the south side of campus
Nick Ngo
Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: News
Campus power is back on after Pacific Power repaired the damaged OSU power grid the afternoon of Mar. 21 -- the power had been out since Mar. 19.
On Mar. 19 at 8:47 p.m., the underground wire system along the corner of Northwest 26th Street and Southwest Washington Way malfunctioned. The malfunction shut down the power at Dixon Rec Center, Arnold Dining Center, Gill Coliseum, Finley hall and Bloss hall.
Pacific Power Spokesperson Bekki Witt said the power infrastructure at the university is old and worn out.
The system works as a distribution network, power comes into the campus via one location and is distributed throughout the rest by power lines and underground cables.
"Its like a spider web, the power comes in at a substation where it's distributed through feeders that runs to various building locations," Witt said.
"We're rebuilding it, we have to put in new parts and replace the parts that are deteriorating," said lineman Max Archibold.
Witt said it's hard to determine exactly where the problem originated from. She said it was caused by a combination of different problems.
One of the problems included an underground vault filled with water. The vaults, often made from concrete, serve as a protective layer for underground equipment -- such as different connection points where power lines meet. Witt said the water came into the vaults and damaged the equipment. The line crew had to work on pumping out the water.
As part of procedure, they had to test the power lines in order to see if there were any other problems.
Witt said the other problems they found were not associated with the vault being filled with water. For example, the crew found a bad power cable at the Gill Coliseum sub-station -- one of few substations that further breaks down campus electricity and splits in in different directions.
The line crew found that at least one splice, the connection between power lines, was not working properly. Lineman Shelby Stafflund said they have to work carefully with repairing the cables and splices because some of the parts are obsolete and no longer manufactured.
Witt said the power lines in the underground system were damaged because they were old, along with the fuses and junction boxes being blown out. Stafflund said some of the power lines have been there since the 1950s.
"The life of the cable has been used up," Stafflund said.
Power was restored to campus as of Wednesday evening.
Nick Ngo, assistant news editor
campus@dailybarometer.com, 737-2232
On Mar. 19 at 8:47 p.m., the underground wire system along the corner of Northwest 26th Street and Southwest Washington Way malfunctioned. The malfunction shut down the power at Dixon Rec Center, Arnold Dining Center, Gill Coliseum, Finley hall and Bloss hall.
Pacific Power Spokesperson Bekki Witt said the power infrastructure at the university is old and worn out.
The system works as a distribution network, power comes into the campus via one location and is distributed throughout the rest by power lines and underground cables.
"Its like a spider web, the power comes in at a substation where it's distributed through feeders that runs to various building locations," Witt said.
"We're rebuilding it, we have to put in new parts and replace the parts that are deteriorating," said lineman Max Archibold.
Witt said it's hard to determine exactly where the problem originated from. She said it was caused by a combination of different problems.
One of the problems included an underground vault filled with water. The vaults, often made from concrete, serve as a protective layer for underground equipment -- such as different connection points where power lines meet. Witt said the water came into the vaults and damaged the equipment. The line crew had to work on pumping out the water.
As part of procedure, they had to test the power lines in order to see if there were any other problems.
Witt said the other problems they found were not associated with the vault being filled with water. For example, the crew found a bad power cable at the Gill Coliseum sub-station -- one of few substations that further breaks down campus electricity and splits in in different directions.
The line crew found that at least one splice, the connection between power lines, was not working properly. Lineman Shelby Stafflund said they have to work carefully with repairing the cables and splices because some of the parts are obsolete and no longer manufactured.
Witt said the power lines in the underground system were damaged because they were old, along with the fuses and junction boxes being blown out. Stafflund said some of the power lines have been there since the 1950s.
"The life of the cable has been used up," Stafflund said.
Power was restored to campus as of Wednesday evening.
Nick Ngo, assistant news editor
campus@dailybarometer.com, 737-2232
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Be the first to comment on this story
Comments by registered users are approved by default.