Power has been restored to much of Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus after Saturday’s widespread outage, but hot water remains unavailable in most buildings.
MSU is moving East Lansing classes online and directing most employees to work remotely through 11 p.m. Monday.
The university said a power bus failed at the T.B. Simon Power Plant on Saturday, cutting incoming electricity the plant needs to operate. That prevented the plant from generating electricity and steam.
Much of campus went dark for several hours beginning around 4:15 p.m. Dining halls closed, Saturday night’s performance of Beetlejuice at the Wharton Center was canceled, and MSU’s volleyball match against Wright State at the Breslin Center was called off and will not be rescheduled.
Crews have been working with Consumers Energy to restore incoming power, and MSU says the plant is now partially back online.
While the plant was down, condensation built up in campus steam lines. Those lines serve more than 100 buildings, and about 80% of campus floor space relies on steam for hot water, including residence halls and dining facilities. Dining locations remain open Sunday.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz said crews are continuing to work on problems at the power plant.
The remote-work and online-class notice applies only to the East Lansing campus. Events are being handled on a case-by-case basis.
