Important updates about the planned outage will be posted on this page on Sunday, Feb. 25.
Sunday, February 25
- 9:50 a.m. - The repairs are complete and power has been restored to campus.
- 7:20 a.m. — The outage began at 7 a.m. as planned and schedules repairs are underway. The campus cogeneration plant and generators are providing power to some campus facilities.
- 6:57 a.m. — Today's planned power outage is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and last to 3 p.m. You can find more information about campus services below.
UC Santa Cruz will experience a planned power outage from 7 a.m to 3 p.m on Sunday, February 25. The outage will impact most of the residential campus including all ten colleges and many upper campus facilities. However, power at Family Student Housing, Ranch View Terrace, Cardiff Terrace, Hagar Court, Westside Research Park, the Coastal Science Campus, and Scotts Valley Center will not be affected.
Campus electricians need to conduct important repairs to our primary electrical substation following the severe storm in early February. The repairs will require an estimated 6-8 hour power outage affecting the residential campus.
The repairs will require an estimated 6–8 hour power outage affecting the residential campus.
Additional information will be shared as soon as it is available and ongoing updates will be posted online.
Preparing for the power outage
In advance of this planned power outage, we encourage everyone to fully charge their electronic devices, including computers, tablets, cell phones, scanners, and backup chargers. Learn more about how to prepare for power outages.
Buildings expected to have full or partial power during the outage
During the planned power outage, generators will provide power back-up for some, but not all, campus facilities. Review the list below for buildings that we expect will be fully or partially powered by either the Cogeneration plant or generators. The following is a partial list of buildings that will be fully or partially powered during the outage:
- Jack Baskin Engineering Building
- Communication Building
- Cowell Student Health Center
- Earth & Marine Science Building
- West Field House
- Cogen Plant
- Fire Station
- Natural Science 2
- Interdisciplinary Science Building
- Center for Adaptive Optics
- Sinsheimer Labs
- Science and Engineering Library
- Thimann Labs
Dining halls providing service
Some dining halls will continue to operate with reduced offerings and hours. College Nine/John R. Lewis and Rachel Carson/Oakes Dining Halls will be open normal Sunday hours for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night meal service. Rachel Carson/Oakes Dining Hall will only offer to-go meals throughout the duration of the power outage. Porter and Crown dining halls and all dining retail locations will remain closed all day per the normal weekend schedule.
Transportation and Parking Services
Santa Cruz METRO buses will continue to run regular routes through campus and TAPS will continue to provide regular service.
Lighting levels in campus parking facilities may be impacted. Additionally, with a loss of power the elevators in Core West Parking Structure will return to Level One, open their doors and remain in that state until power is restored.
Researchers and labs with active projects
It is critical to review what equipment and resources you may need in the event of an outage. Develop mitigation plans to either safely pause or continue activities during the outage. Researchers are encouraged to review the Utility Failure webpage and undertake action items as appropriate.
Campus Network, telephones, WiFi, computer labs
Disruptions to the campus network, telephones, WiFi, and computer labs may occur. While campus generators will provide backup power to some areas, many IT services may be impacted by the outage. Please be prepared for potential interruptions. You may want to work/study from an alternative location - dining hall, McHenry or Science and Engineering libraries, or off campus. For the latest updates, visit the ITS Outage & Alerts web page.
