Work will begin each day promptly at 7 a.m. All facilities that will experience power outages are listed below by date. Facilities not on the list will not be affected by these planned outages. Power may be restored earlier than 7 p.m. if daily work finishes ahead of schedule.
Supervisors are encouraged to allow flexibility for staff working in the impacted areas. Employees should work with their manager or supervisor to work remotely or arrange to work at an alternative location on campus that is not affected.
All emergency and standby generators will remain operational during the scheduled shutdown. The cogeneration plant’s services to its supported facilities will be affected only on Wednesday, March 26
Please notify all units and/or departments in your buildings affected by this utility shutdown. To avoid potential issues, ensure that all computer terminals and any sensitive equipment in your area are powered off before the scheduled shutdown.
Physical work will take place in the following zones, which may result in some parking and traffic impacts:
- Zone 1: Theater Arts Parking Lot
- Zone 2: Porter Road and Heller Drive
- Zone 3: Rachel Carson Kitchen
- Zone 4: McLaughlin Road at Engineering Circle - Electrical Manhole (MHE) 59-1-1 and Red Square - Electrical Manhole (MHE) 59-1-2
- Zone 5: Chinquapin Drive and McLaughlin Drive
Power outage schedule:
Monday, March 24, 2025
Zone 1 - Theater Arts Parking Lot, Electrical Manhole (MHE) 74-4-1
Zone 3 - Rachel Carson College Parking Lot
Facilities affected:
- Academic Resource Center
- West Fieldhouse
- Baskin Visual Arts Complex
- Oakes College Academic Building
- Oakes College Apartments
- Oakes College Residence Halls
- Oakes College Tutorial Commons
- Oakes College House
- Rachel Carson College Dorms
- Rachel Carson College Academic Building
- Rachel Carson Dining/Commons
- Porter College
- Porter/Kresge Apartments
- Kresge Residence Halls A, B and C
- Kresge College Academic Center
- University House
- Music Center
- Visual Arts Research Facility
- Theater Arts Complex
- Digital Arts Research Center
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Zone 2 - Porter Road and Heller Road, Electrical Manhole (MHE) 73-2-1
Zone 3 - Rachel Carson College Entrance Parking Lot
Facilities Affected:
- Academic Resource Center
- West Fieldhouse
- Oakes College
- Oakes Apartments
- Rachel Carson Dorms
- Rachel Carson College Academic Building
- Rachel Carson Dining/Commons
- Porter College
- Porter and Kresge Apartments
- Kresge College
- Kresge College Academic Center
- University House
- Baskin Visual Arts Complex
- Music Center
- Theater Arts Complex
- Visual Arts Research Facility
- Digital Arts Research Center
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Zone 4: Science Hill Road, Quad, Electrical Manholes (MHE) 59-1-1 &
59-1-2
Facilities Affected:
- Physical Sciences Building
- Biomedical Sciences Building
- Engineering Building 2
- Sinsheimer Labs
- Redwood Grove Apartments
- Graduate Student Apartments
- Natural Sciences Woodshop
- Jack Baskin Engineering Building
- Jack Baskin Engineering Auditorium
- Natural Sciences 2 Main Building
- Natural Sciences 2 Annex
- Science & Engineering Library
- Interdisciplinary Sciences Building
- Center for Adaptive Optics
- Core West Parking Structure
On March 26 only, the cogeneration plant will be available only to the Cogen Plant itself, the Central Heat Plant, and the Communications Buildings. It will not be available for any other facilities.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Zone 5 - Chinquapin and McLaughlin Roads
Facilities Affected:
- Cell Tower Site
- Fire House
- KZSC
- Cowell Health Center
- Crown-Merrill Apartments (Upper and Lower)
- Crown College
- Merrill College
- College Nine and John R. Lewis College Dining/Residence Halls 1 through 6
- College Nine Apartment Buildings 1 through 5
- Social Sciences 1
- Social Sciences 2
Preparing for the power outage
In advance of this planned utility shutdown, 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.
Dining halls providing service
Slug Stop at Quarry Plaza will be open Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All other operations will be closed during the break.
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. In the event of a power outage affecting the Core West Parking Structure, its elevators will automatically return to the ground floor, where their doors will remain open. They will remain inoperable until power is restored.
Researchers and labs with active projects
It is critical to review what equipment and resources you may need during the utility shutdown. Develop mitigation plans to either safely pause or continue activities during the shutdown. 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 or off campus. McHenry Library will be open with reduced hours during Spring Break - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the latest updates, visit the ITS Outage & Alerts web page.
For questions, please email Gary Riggs, superintendent for electrical trades at gcriggs@ucsc.edu or phone the Physical Plant Service Center Work Control Desk at 831-459-4444 or 831-724-0494. We kindly ask that you do not request updates from the workers.
