Authorities at Granite State Electric have identified and repaired the root of the recent campus-wide power outages as a defective instantaneous overcurrent relay at the electric station.
According to Associate Director of Facilities, Operating, and Management John Gratiot, the power losses early Tuesday morning between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. and Tuesday evening between 8:02 and 8:08 p.m. were due to an abnormal level of voltage which was automatically cut off by a circuit breaker for the protection of the campus.
While some buildings such as Kiewit, Gilman and the Hanover Inn retained electrical power via energy generators, approximately 90 percent of the campus experienced complete darkness during these periods.
"We all have to understand that power companies are complex systems and that parts occasionally fail," Gratiot said. Yet he assured The Dartmouth that Granite State Electric has fixed the problem. He said the defective relay has been replaced and the system should now be back in proper working order.
"We have pretty reliable service from our electric company," he said. According to Facilities, Operations, and Management, the relay replacement shouldn't have any adverse effects on the operating system.
"This transition to the normal operating alignment will have no affect on the electrical service to the College" FO&M stated in a BlitzMail bulletin.
Although the actual power was off only for a short time in both cases, it had serious effects on some of those who experienced it.
Electrically powered alarm clocks failed to wake many students for classes Tuesday morning.
"I missed the first half of my seminar, and everyone stared at me when I walked in late," Harry Johnson '03 said.
Jocelyn Bernatchez '03 felt that the power outage disrupted the rehearsal of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble.
"It was frustrating to lose power in the middle of rehearsal. We had just really gotten going when we had to stop, wait, and then start over again. It was such a waste of time," she said.
Even the first Initiative fireside chat was not immune to the outages. During Wednesday night's meeting, the Top of the Hop lost power, leaving the 100 participants to discuss in darkness.
Peter Bohler '03 had to complete his studio art project by candle light when the power went out.
"Remember the joke, 'how many Dartmouth students does it take to change a light bulb?' 'None, because Hanover doesn't have any electricity!' I always thought that was just a joke," he commented.
