Power Outages Raise Infrastructure Concerns Ahead of Fall Semester

By John R. Adkins
jradproduction@gmail.com

A series of power outages occurred back in late July and early August, which resulted in the shutdown of all City College centers, just two weeks before classes were set to begin.

 

The outage initially occurred on Ocean Campus on July 29, and despite the “unknown reasons” behind the power outages at the time, the police department requested that “ALL” buildings be evacuated and to “STAY AWAY” from Ocean Campus until power has been restored.

 

Another alert was sent out shortly thereafter which stated that, due to “additional issues” caused by the power outages, all centers would be closed.

Although power eventually restored later that evening, the same sequence of events occurred again on Aug. 6.

 

A police officer stated on Aug. 6 that a new transformer had been installed about a month prior and that the wet ground underneath was causing the transformer to short out.

A statement was later released on Aug. 8 that Buildings and Grounds had identified issues in the Creative Arts Extension building as the root of the power issue.  

 

According to the statement, “Power to the Creative Arts Extension has been isolated and we are working with contractors to test the high voltage system, transformer, and electrical system within the building and make necessary repairs and upgrades to bring the building’s electrical system back on-line and to mitigate the risks of future campus outages due to this issue.”

 

A power shutdown was scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 11, to conduct further testing. It has not yet been confirmed by the facilities director or the police department if this issue has been fully resolved.