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Unplanned Power Outages
Monday, Augus 18th, 2008 11:38AM - 4:40PM
All Main Campus Academic buildings served by Stanford Utilities. All Residences served by PG&E.
At approximately 11:38 AM, a PG&E transmission line tripped and shut off electricity to parts of Menlo Park, Redwood City, Atherton, Los Altos, and Stanford University. The outage caused Cardinal Cogen to shutdown, thus shutting downd electrical power, chilled water and steam to academic campus buildings. The Hospital did not lose electrical power, but lost steam & chilled water. PG&E partially resotred power by 2:00 PM and normal service was restored to about 60% of the main campus. Cardinal Cogen restarted at 4:15 PM, and power was restored to most campus buildings by 4:40 PM. PG&E restored power to most remaining PG&E direct service customers by midnight.
There are on-going investigations to determine the root cause of the outage and develop means to minimize future deisruptions.
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 02:20PM - 10:45PM
High Temperature Gas Labs (02-570), Dinkelspiel (02-200), Storey House (02-921), Post Office (02-001), Braun Music Hall (02-210), Robert Moore North (05-600), Robert Moore South (05-610), Flo Mo (05-200x, Drell (02-968), Owens (02-917), Hillel-Ziff (02-940), Sigma Nu (02-926), HAAS (02-935), Student Service Center (02-960, Columbae (02-925), Lathrup (02-920)
At approximately 2:20PM on Tuesday, April 24th, the Stanford Campus experienced a power outage affecting High Temperature Gas Labs, Dinkelspiel, Storey House, Post office, Braun Music Hall, Robert Moore North and South, Flo Mo, Drell, Owens, Hillel-Ziff, Sigma Nu, HAAS, Student Service Center, Columbae and Lathrup.
The cause of the outage is being investigated.
At 5:51PM, the following buildings were restored, High Temperature Gas Labs, Dinkelspiel, Storey House, Post Office and Braun Music Hall.
At 6:20PM the following buildings were restored, Robert Moore North and South, Flo Mo, Drell, Owens, Hillel-Ziff, Sigma Nu, HAAS, Columbae and Lathrup.
All buildings were restored by 6:56PM with the exception of HAAS and Student Services Building, which appears to have had it's service damage.
At 8:30PM HAAS was restored.
At 7:30AM on Wednesday, April 25th, Student Services Building was restored to power via temporary generator.
Repairs to the high voltage line feeding Student Services were completed by 10:45PM Wednesday, April 25th at which time all buildings were back on normal power.
Friday, October 20th, 2006 07:37AM - 9:47AM
Chemical Biology (Lorry Lokey) 07-230 & Keck Science Bldg 07-220
At 7:37 AM the Campus SCADA System alarmed to indicate a Palou Substation tripped breaker. Upon investigation feeder circuit F13 had tripped on ground fault over current. Affected Buildings were Lokey Chemistry and Keck Sciences. At the time of the electrical failure (fault) Gilbert also experienced a sag in voltage with the subsequent tripping of miscellaneous rotation equipment.
The power outage was the result of Phase to Ground fault resulting in a blown fuse on the Keck Building 12,470 volt transformer fused disconnect. The Palou feeder breaker F13 also tripped.
The blown fuse was replaced and at 9:47AM High Volt Electricians restored power to both Buildings.
Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 11:15AM - 4:50PM
Electrical Power Outage Affecting Encina West, Encina Commons, & Encina Hall
At approximately 11:15AM one of the three service transformers feeding three Encina Buildings exploded. The balance of the service was shutdown by High Voltage Electricians at approximately 12:30PM. Mobile Generators were dispatched, and temporary power service was restored at approximately 4:50PM
During this outage, Stanford network communication were disrupted to areas east of Encina.
Thursday, 3/30/06, High Voltage and Low Voltage Electricians will be installing a new Pad Mount Transformer. At the present time, the schedule to energized this permanent transformer will be late Thursday Night, early Friday Morning. During the installation of the final connections, the building electrical service will be disrupted at approximately 10:00PM with power restored prior to the start of business on Friday Morning.
Tuesday, September 20th, 2005 2:44PM - 4:09PM
Lightning Strikes Affect Campus Electrical Power
During yesterdays thunderstorm the Campus Electrical Power System was affected by four lightning strikes on the PG&E connected 62,000 volt transmission system. The most severe of these lightning strikes occurred at 3:06 PM and reduced the voltage to many Campus Buildings. The voltage sag was approximately 20% of the nominal building voltage. The duration of this sag was approximately 6 cycles or 1 tenth of a second.
Power System SCADA alarms showed the Foothill Pump Stations and the Carnegie Center for Global Ecology, as experiencing the maximum voltage sage and current spikes.
Computer and various building electrical equipment shutdown across Campus. Facility Operations Technicians re-started HVAC and electrical equipment in many building
Friday, June 17th, 2005 6:37AM - 7:41AM
Electrical Power Outage affecting approximately 242 Campus Buildings
At 6:37am, Stanford Palou Substation Transformer Banks 2 and 3 tripped off line. Approximately 242 Campus buildings lost electrical power. This overcurrent trip was caused by a PG&E breaker failure in the transmission system. Additional investigation by PG&E is ongoing.
Stanford High Voltage Electricians restored power at 7:41am.
Wednesday, June 15th, 2005> 1:37PM - 9:05PM
GSB 08-350, Hoover Tower 03-100, Cubberley 03-300, Bing Wing of Green Library 03-200
At approximately 1:37pm the transformer providing power to the above listed buildings, tripped off line. Investigation determined that a 12kV fuse, in the circuit feeding the area power supply, had blown. High Voltage Electricians switched power around to restore Hoover Tower, Cubberley and the Bing Wing of Green Library, at 3:30pm.
Fuse, High Volt Cable & Transformer Testing was finalized around 8:24pm and power restored to GSB at 9:05pm.
Tuesday, May 24th, 2005 4:25AM - 11:50AM
Escondido Village Building 71 & 72 Transformer Outage
At approximately 4:25am the Transformer providing power to Escondido Village Buildings 71 & 72 flashed over the high volt primary bushing insulator at the transformer. Utility Department electricians were requested to respond at 7:20am. They found that a 4160 Volt fuse in the Barnes Mid-Rise Switchgear had opened and protected other transformers in the system. To work on the single fuse required de-energizing 9 other buildings in the area. This was done around 8:27am.
High Voltage Electricians required Escondido Village 71 & 72 Transformer bushing and the power was initially restored to all but Escondido Village Buildings 55 & 56. The Transformer to these two buildings had no secondary power. The power to the original 11 buildings was again switched off and this second Transformer repaired.
All service was restored at 11:50am.
Sunday, April 10th, 2005 10:38PM - 5:45AM
Chemical Biology (Lorry Lokey) 07-230 & KECK (WM>M) Science Bldg 07-220
At 10:38PM on Sunday, April 10th the Campus SCADA System alarmed to indicate a Palou Substation tripped breaker. Upon investigation feeder circuit F13 had tripped on over current. Affected Buildings were Lokey Chemistry and Keck Sciences. At the time of the electrical failure (fault) may other campus buildings experienced a sag in voltage with the subsequent tripping of miscellaneous rotation equipment. EMCS alarms were also triggered in these buildings.
The power outage was the result of Phase fault resulting in blown fuses on the Keck Building 12,470 volt transformer fused disconnect and the Palou feeder breaker F13.
At approximately 2:20AM High Volt Electricians restored power to the Lokey Chemistry Building.
The Keck fused disconnect was cleaned out, the transformer and insulation tested, and the blown fuses replaced.
At approximately 5:45AM power was restored to Keck Building.
Monday, March 21st, 2005 4:50PM - 3:45AM
MUDD (Seeley G) Chemistry 07-210
At approximately 4:50PM on Monday, March 21, 2005, there was a fire in the B phase winding of the main transformer serving normal power to MUDD Chemistry. High Voltage & Low Voltage Shop Electricians responded to the incident. The fire did not propagate outside of the Transformer Housing in the basement of the building. The winding fire was extinguished prior to the arrival of the Fire Services.
High Voltage Electricians secured the 12kV service feeder and Low Voltage Electricians by passed the Emergency Diesel Generator transfer switch temporarily restoring power to the building from the Emergency Generator.
A more permanent, normal electrical services, will be installed in the next 48 hours with energization scheduled for 8:00AM on Thursday morning, March 24, 2005.
Transformer "B" phase winding Damage.
Wednesday, November 10th, 2004 4:21PM - 7:35PM
Chemical Biology (Lorry Lokey) 07-230 & Keck (WM.M) Science Bldg 07-220
At 4:21:33PM on Wednesday, November 10th the Campus SCADA system alarmed to indicate a Palou Substation tripped breaker. Upon investigation feeder circuit F13 had tripped on over current. Affected Buildings were Lokey Chemistry and Keck Sciences. At the time of the electrical failure (fault) many other campus buildings experienced a sag in voltage with the subsequent tripping of miscellaneous rotation equipment. EMCS alarms were also triggered in these buildings.
The power outage was the result of blown fuses on the Keck Building 12,470 volt transformer fused disconnect. At approximately 5:20PM High Volt electricians restored power to the Lokey Chemistry Building. The Keck fused disconnect was cleaned out, the transformer and insulation tested, and the blown fuses replaced. At approximately 7:35PM power was restored to Keck Building
Monday, November 8th, 2004 3:35PM - 4:23AM
GSB/Cubberley Green Library - Area Power Outage
The power outage was the result of the loss of one phase of the 3-phase of the 3-phase power to the area. At approximately 3:35 PM High Volt (HV) electricians found a blown fuse on the low side of a 12,470 Volt to 4160 Volt Transformer. (T-57 - 12kV/4kV) step down transformer) that feeds that section of the 4kV system. Building Power to GSB, Cubberley Auditorium ( School of Education), Hoover Tower, and Green Library West experienced partial reduction of electrical service. Building personnel requested a delay, until 4:00 PM, before HV electricians could fully restore power from another source. At 4:00 PM switching commenced to restore power from the Panama Substation source. At 4:23 PM all power was restored to the affected buildings.
Tuesday, August 31st, 2004 - Wednesday, September 1st, 2004 10:50PM - 4:26AM
Panama Substation Power Outage
The 4160 Volt electrical power outage that occurred last night at 10:50 PM affected most of the central area of Campus (Quad 01), many dormitories, dining and athletic areas. Power was restored in blocks with all buildings back on line at 4:26 AM this morning.
The main distribution breaker tripped at Panama Substation.
Initial investigation could
not determine the cause. The main breaker was re-closed at 1:22 AM.
Repairs and adjustments were made to other distribution breakers that would not
initially re-close. Power was restored to campus beginning with the 4F11
breaker at 1:29 AM. Final restoration was completed at 4:26 AM. The
exact cause of the fault that affected the Panama Main breaker is still under
investigation.
Wednesday, May 5th, 2004 12:03PM - 12:40PM
Panama Substation Power Outage
At 12:03PM the main circuit
breaker feeding electrical power from Cardinal Cogen to the Stanford Substation
at Palou, tripped open. Power to the Campus was not affected at this
time due to the permanent interconnection with PG&E electrical transmission.
At 12:13PM, Cogen Operations re-closed the open circuit breaker. Within
seconds a power transient tripped open a Palou Substation 4160 volt circuit
breaker that feeds the Panama Substation in the center of Campus. The power
outage affected more than 100 Campus buildings. Campus Utility High Voltage Electricians responded to the
outage and re-closed the circuit breaker. Power was fully restored to all
buildings at 12:40PM
Thursday, July 10th, 2003 3:22PM - 3:40PM
Campus Wide Power Outage
On July 10th at approximately
3:22PM, Stanford University experienced problems with some 60kV high voltage
equipment, resulting in a short power outage that affected the entire campus.
An intermittent fault in the A phase 60kV potential transformer tripped the
Stanford University main substation off line at 3:22PM. At 3:28PM automatic
equipment operated that began restoring power to the campus. With assistance
from High Voltage Shop Electricians, full campus power was restored at
approximately 3:40PM. This failed equipment is being removed from service until
it can be replaced. The repair will be transparent to the campus.
Tuesday, April 29th, 2003 7:14AM - 9:45AM
PG&E Transmission Voltage Sag
At 7:14am Campus electrical
power dipped for a few milli-seconds due to PG&E's transmission system
experiencing a problem at Metcalf Substation. One of PG&E's breakers
tripped open at Metcalf and all of Stanford University experienced a voltage
sag. In many cases, the Campus Building Emergency Generators started up,
but did not transfer power to the building. PG&E initial investigation of
the problem, failed to identify the location.. Re-closure of the tripped breaker
created a second voltage sage at 9:45am when PG&E tested into the fault.
Subsequent investigation determined the location of downed lines. The
lines were repaired and the breaker re-closed successfully..
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Wednesday, February 26th, 2003 12:54AM - 7:00AM
Traffic Signals & Street Lights on Palm Drive
At 12:54am Evening Maintenance Services received a call reporting that the traffic signals were out at Palm & Arboretum. A generator was brought out and by 7:00am the traffic signals were back in service.
A 4160 volt fuse was found blown at fused switch No.100-2. The cable was isolated and tested and it was found to have one grounded phase. Trenching was necessary to repair a collapsed conduit in the cable run. The generator was used for several days to power the lights at the intersection. Power was restored back to the normal source after replacing new cable in the new duct bank conduit.
Thursday, October 17th, 2002 7:00PM - 1:02AM
Cable fire in Vault outside SAL II
A report from Facilities Operation Maintenance Customer Services was received, noting that a Manhole was on fire and spitting and arcing. The fire service initially called PG&E. Upon PG&E determining that the service area was not theirs, they contact Stanford High Voltage Electrical Shop. High Voltage Electrical Shop Electricians responded to the problem in 30 minutes.
Problem was caused when the cable insulation burned off a 4160 Volt Cable feeding SAL II Transformer. Because the Manhole had 12 inches of water in it, the cable arced to ground thru the water. Repairs to the damaged section of the cable, and re-splicing was conducted. Power was returned to SAL II at 1:02am on Friday, October 18th.
SAL II repaired cable splice
Friday, August 9th, 2002 7:00AM -
4:40PM
Electrical Transformer Fire ....... Lucas Center (MSLS) 07-570
Around
6:53am on Friday 9th August the Emergency Generator system transformer caught
fire. This transformer is located in the basement of the Lucas Center. The
Generator was shutdown at the time of discovery of the fire, but just prior to
the start of the incident the generator was being tested. The HV Utility shop
responded to the fire and at approximately 8 :40 am were directed by Palo Alto
Fire department to shutdown all electrical power to the building. The
emergency service transformer was completely destroyed by the fire.
Smoke and debris clean-up of the two adjacent normal power centers continued
into the afternoon, and at 4:40 pm the building normal service power was
restored.
Restoration of the emergency power system is being coordinated by Medical School
and Hospital Maintenance Department.
Thursday, 21st March, 2002
2:15 PM - 1:47AM
Electrical Transformer Fire
Tresidder Memorial Union 02-300
A shorting
connection on the outside power transformer created a brief fire & smoke
condition. Electrical Power was lost to the building. The fire service was
called and the building was evacuated. HV Utility Electricians responded to
the outage and found that the 4160Volt cable and connections to the pad mount
transformer, had burned. The cable and connections were replaced. A mobile
generator was hooked up to the building main panel to provide temporary
electrical power. Normal power was restored at 1:47am on Friday morning.
Tuesday, February 6 2001 3:00PM - 5:00PM
The power outage that occurred on Tuesday Feb. 6th @ 3:07PM, affecting all Campus Electrical Distribution, was caused by a failure of the connected PG&E Transmission System.
Main Breakers opened at PG&E's Jefferson Substation and Stanford Palou Substation. The Campus Cogeneration Plant initially remained on line, but the Plant was ultimately forced off-line because it could not handle the load rejection from sudden isolation from the PG&E transmission grid. Had the Plant several minutes advance notice, the trip could have been prevented. The Plant was running at near maximum output in support of the PG&E power system and could not dissipate.
Once off-line, the Plant delayed re-starting as both PG&E feeders to Stanford Substation were open. PG&E requested time to check the transmission lines prior to re-starting Cogen & powering up the Campus.
Initial information from PG&E indicated that the problems were due to the high winds in the area.
Power was restored to all Campus locations at 5:13PM
Saturday, January 20 2001 11:20AM - 11:31AM
All electrical distribution to the Campus was interrupted on Saturday 1/20/01. The main transformer banks at Stanford Palou Substation tripped off line at 11:20 am. Power was restored 11 minutes later at 11:31 am.
The outage was caused by a Substation protection relay malfunction. This outage was not connected with any PG&E or Palo Alto rolling black-outs.
Tuesday, November 28 2000 11:51AM - 12:16PM
The power outage that occurred today at 11:51 AM, affecting a large number of Campus buildings, was caused by a Main Breaker trip at Palou Substation. During termination of control wiring at the substation, contractor personnel inadvertently activated a relay that tripped the Main 12,470 Volt Breakers.
Power was restored to all Campus locations at 12:16 PM
Thursday, September 14, 2000 6:30PM - 8:58PM
The temoprary reactor that is needed to unload Palou Bank 2 & 3 transformers during construction Modification is fed from Cogen Bus Breaker F7. F7 feeds through to the Ice Plant. The Ice Plant Fused disconnect S713/714 is used to provide power to the reactor and on to Campus distribution Feeders F5, F7 & F8. Starting the Chilled water Compressor tripped the breaker F7. Recalculated Relay settings and re-set. Started Compressor to prove no overload.
Monday, March 27, 2000 8:07AM
Cable blew, C phase to ground, tripping Trayer Breaker S25 position L3 on ground fault.
Mobilized crew and proceeded with Switch Tag ‘13-00’ to identify section of cable that was affected.
During switching operations on Switch Tag ‘14-00’, Main Feeder F-6 tripped on C phase
over current and ground. Reset and closed F-6 Breaker restoring power to all but original buildings affected by outage.
Restored power to Escondido Village, Housing Maintenance and Bing Nursery.
Restored power to Fac-Ops area of Campus.