Dear Campus Community,

Facilities Management would like to notify the campus community of a planned electrical work associated with the Main Switchgear Upgrade, scheduled for:

Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. until approximately 2:00 a.m.

This work is necessary to complete critical modifications of the campus electrical infrastructure to support future micro grid function. Several power outages will affect electrical service across campus, most campus buildings will be supported by generator power during the work.

What to Expect

At the beginning of the work, campus electrical service will be shut down and transferred to generator power. Buildings receiving generator support may experience a temporary loss of power for up to approximately 30 minutes while this transfer takes place. No Creekview buildings will be affected by the work being done.

Once the transfer is complete, generator-supported buildings will receive full electrical service for the duration of the work. This is full building electrical support, not emergency power only.

All occupied housing facilities and science buildings will receive full generator support. No confirmation from Facilities is necessary for these buildings.

A limited number of buildings will remain de-energized during the outage. These buildings will have emergency power only for required fire, life-safety, and other emergency power systems. Normal electrical service, including general lighting, receptacles, and other non-emergency electrical equipment, should be considered unavailable in these buildings.

Buildings Without Full Generator Support

The following buildings are expected to remain de-energized during the work:

• Jenkins Hall

• Gist

• Forestry

• E&T

• KA & SRC

• Nelson Hall

• HGH

• SERC

All buildings not identified on the de-energized list will receive full generator-supported electrical service following the initial transfer period.

How Long Will the Work Take?

The electrical work itself is anticipated to take approximately five hours. 

Restoration of Normal Power

Once the electrical work is complete, a final test of the equipment is required and will require up to 1 hr without generator support. After the final test Facilities Management will return the campus to normal electrical service. Building level backup generators will be operational during this period

Some clocks and other devices that rely on continuous electrical power may need to be reset. Faculty and staff should check their spaces and equipment when they return and reset clocks or other devices as necessary.

Facilities Management personnel will be onsite throughout the outage to manage the shutdown, generator operation, electrical work, and restoration of normal campus service.

Before Leaving Campus 

Faculty and staff are encouraged to take the following precautions before the outage:

• Save your work and properly shut down computers and other electronic devices.

• Where practical, power down or unplug sensitive electronic equipment.

• Do not assume that generator-supported equipment will have uninterrupted power. There may be a loss of power of up to approximately 30 minutes during the initial transfer to generator service.

• Ensure equipment that requires manual restarting following a loss of power is addressed appropriately before or after the outage

If your building is not listed as de-energized, no additional confirmation from Facilities is necessary regarding generator availability. If you have a concern that is not addressed by this notice or the de-energized building list, please contact the Facilities Customer Service Center at fmsrevice@humboldt.edu or call 707-826-4475.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we complete this important work to maintain campus infrastructure.