LIGHTS OUT

On Jan. 27, NEIU's campus suffered what has been deemed the most extreme case of power failure in its history. Some time shortly after 9:30 a.m., the entire main campus had to be shut down. Ralph Zia, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management, explained to the Independent what exactly made this incident so unusual.

"ComEd supplies two separate energy feeds into NEIU's independent COGEN system, operating out of building H," said Zia. COGEN is NEIU's independent diesel-powered, natural gas generator. The Bryn Mawr Ave. feed entering into building A, and California Ave.'s feed into building H.

Ordinarily, power surges overwhelm NEIU's electrical system, though they go undetected due to backup power supply. There was a power outage a few years ago, due to internal system control problems. According to Zia, along with Mark Wilcockson, Vice President of Finances and Administration, the last blackout on Jan. 27 occurred due to the loss of both ComEd energy feeds to the campus. Moments before the power outage took place, a ComEd contractor hit a line at Kimball Ave., causing service to be disrupted throughout the entire surrounding neighborhood.

This service disruption caused the California line of energy to cease, in turn knocking out NEIU's COGEN system. Also, NEIU's neighbor WTTW was affected by the neighborhood power disruption, placing both establishments on ComEd's high priority list. A generator was supplied by ComEd for the PE building, as it lies on the southern portion of campus, and is not covered by COGEN system power.

Damages from the blackout were mostly incurred regarding labor costs, though NEIU did suffer a financial loss of $1,300, stemming from a damaged transformer.

The transformer, located at the Bryn Mawr Ave. feed, was destroyed during Christmas break, due to torrential flooding. A new transformer is to be replaced soon by an outside source.

At the moment, NEIU's power is soley being run on its own COGEN system. High priority is being placed on getting the university's ComEd powered supply lines back in working order, along with replacing the ruined transformer.

NEIU has an Emergency Management Team, which is in charge of communications and response issues related to the school. Representatives from many key departments such as the provost, police, and public relations, have been meeting monthly in order to cross-functionally address future emergencies which may occur on campus. This team of representatives has already implemented an Emergency Procedure protocol/informational guide which can be viewed on NEIU's Portal (computer) system, should another emergency occur in the future. NEIU's Emergency Management Team is currently looking into securing an emergency public address system by the end of the semester. Fixtures would be placed in predestined locations, and would have LED messaging capabilities, along with sound. When not in emergency mode, these apparatuses would have the function of a clock.

NEIU is planning on upgrading COGEN's system software, once things are back to normal. For now, priority is given to transformer replacement, implementation of the emergency public address LED system, and getting the entire power system back to proper running order.