Faulty wiring caused a power outage that affected 10 buildings on the southwest corner of main campus Wednesday.
Bill Tryens, a UNM facility engineer, said an old cable likely blew a fuse in one of three main lines, which caused a transformer to overheat.
“It blew smoke into the Civil Engineering Building at about 8 a.m. this morning, which prompted the fire department to treat it like a fire,” he said.
Tryens said the crew would work all day Wednesday to find and replace the faulty wiring that caused the problem, but because the problem involved invasive tunnel work, power was shut down in the southwest portion of main campus.
The outage affected Hodgin Hall, Art Annex, Civil Engineering Research Laboratory, Engineering Annex, Chemical Engineering Laboratory, Wagner Hall, Mechanical Engineering, Farris Engineering Center, Nuclear Engineering Laboratory and Tappy Hall. All electrical systems, including cooling systems, were affected by the power interuption.
“The crews are working as quickly as possible to replace the wiring,” Tryens said. “It’s just another sign that we need to replace this outdated wiring system we have.”
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Tryens said the crew would not move the electrical upgrade project to the affected area ahead of schedule, instead opting for the quickest solution, which was to just replace the faulty wire.
During the ongoing utility project, the University will be replacing outdated wiring and laying it separately from tunnels that currently house electric, steam and water lines.
“It’s caused so many problems before, so we are glad that we won’t have to deal with it for much longer,” he said.
Supervisors in departments without power were asked to maintain skeleton crews as long as conditions allowed for it and reassign employees to other appropriate work areas. They also were told to use their discretion concerning work conditions and to send employees home, as necessary, on paid time off.
The power is expected to be back on by 8 a.m. today. Students with questions about classes can call the Registrar’s Office at 277-4336. Updated information also is being provided by UNM’s Snow Hotline, 277-SNOW.
